the hands gave it away

i am officially halfway done with my training with one more month to go. . .this has been a source of confusion for many of my friends- since officially i started my new job on feb 4th. technically however, i have to complete the training program which includes computer based training, shadowing in our assigned departments, learning about different aspects of working as a merchant (advertising, brand strategy, etc). during the 6th week of training, interviewing begins for our final placements. there are several rounds of interviews, during which two trainees are sent in to meet with buyers with open assistant positions, until each trainee is finally placed.

in preparation, we are all required to participate in a mock interview which i had today.

i began obsessing over it on monday, visiting a couple stores to competitive shop and familiarizing myself with the business. i prepared a cheat sheet summarizing the department's business trends and got tips from my shadow. i went to bed extra early last night and woke up at 6AM to review my notes. i got to the interview half an hour before schedule and waited in the reception area during which my stomach twisted with nerves.

somehow i managed to get through and got a lot of feedback from my interviewer. we discussed my verbal and nonverbal interview skills and strategies for improving.

what i learned:

(1) that the only indication of nervousness in my body language was when i repeated touched my neck, jawline, and hair.
(2) my interviewer did not like my russian navy nail polish.
(3) i come across as mature, comfortable in my own skin, creative, and highly analytical.

as is commonly the case, while there were equal parts if not more, good rather than bad comments, i mainly remember the criticism. . .