Persuasion

As I waited in the corridor I was trying to read a few pages of my book to take my mind off my nerves. Suddenly they welcomed me into the interview room. It was time to sell myself. I was a bit nervous but I did my best to answer the first question the panel put to me.

“Oh yes I know a lot about the second world war. For example, I know that Winston Churchill, when he became the Prime Minister and he was having to decide whether to keep waging the war against the Nazis or to try for a peace deal by negotiating terms and conditions, I know he went down on to the tube in London and the conversations that he had there with the ordinary Londoners persuaded him to make up his mind that the country should carry on fighting and….”

“Well, that’s not really strictly true,” said the chair of the interview panel. “That scene is not based on historical truth. It was a scene that was made up for the film The Darkest Hour. Pure Hollywood invention. It makes for a great scene in the movie but it isn’t true. What else do you know about?”

“I know a lot about the part that the Home Guard played. This was a local volunteer force made of local residents such as the bank manager, the local butcher and the undertaker. And they would meet up regularly and would do things like guarding places in the local town. And they would try not to panic. But sometimes things would happen like an unexploded bomb might land in the bank. Or they would put on a Christmas party for the old folks.”

“So you are a fan of Dad’s Army?”

“I’ve heard of it. But also I know that bluebirds flew over the white cliffs of Dover. I don’t know if you know but there are some white cliffs at Dover down on the coast. I think they are still there. During the second world war there were bluebirds flying over the white cliffs all the time.”

“Do you mean like in the song by Vera Lynn?”

“I don’t know. Is there a song? I’m more of a Kylie Minogue fan.” I laughed hoping they would find that charming.

The interview was not going as well as I hoped. I had applied to be a volunteer at the museum and this was what in the email they had called an informal interview but it was in reality turning into a formal interview. I was never very good at interviews. I used to get nervous and often my mind would go blank.

“Of course the most famous battle in the Second World War was in 1944 when we won the battle of Dunkirk and it was…”

“Dunkirk was in 1940. You are thinking of D-Day. Dunkirk was a retreat when over 300,000 British soldiers were evacuated.”

“Sorry, I always get those two battles mixed up. D-Day and Dunkirk. They were both in the Second World War, weren’t they? I suppose the other famous victory in the Second World War was Waterloo. As you know, the history book on the shelf is always repeating itself…”

“Right. Thanks very much for coming in. Your answers have been interesting. We are seeing a number of candidates today. We will email you within the next few days to let you know if you have been successful.”

“I really would love to be a volunteer in this museum. It is such a fantastic museum and I’m just really keen to be involved.”

On the way home I was reflecting on how the interview had gone. I hoped that I had done enough to persuade them that I would be a good volunteer at the museum. However, I knew the ability to sell myself was not one of my skills. Even if this interview did not work out at least I still had my volunteering job at the charity book shop. I opened up my copy of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (which I had bought from the shop for just over £2 including my staff discount – it was quite old but in surprisingly good condition) and carried on reading. Anne had rejected Captain Wentworth. But it looked like she was going to have a second chance at happiness. If only that sort of thing happened in real life. I was really hoping that I could get a volunteering post at the museum and that would help me to apply for jobs working in a museum.

I checked my phone to see if I had any emails. To my surprise there was an email from the museum. That was quick. I opened up the email and started reading, “Thank you for coming into the interview. We regret to inform you that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful…” I didn’t need to read any further. Another setback. Another failed attempt at trying to convince a potential employee that I was the answer to their prayers. At least I still had my volunteering job at the charity shop.

An hour later I arrived at the charity shop ready to start my afternoon shift. I was just checking through a large pile of books by Jeffrey Archer when the manager asked me to step into her office for a quick word.

“Sorry,” she said, “it is not urgent but I need to have a word with you in private. One of the other volunteers has told me that you stole a copy of a Jane Austen book.”

“Me? No, that’s not true. I paid for it. This book here,” I said lifting the book up. “I didn’t steal it. I paid for it and I made use of my staff discount.”

“I’m really sorry but I think the best thing for all of us would be if you stop volunteering here.”

“But I paid for it.”

She said nothing. I could see that my powers of persuasion were not going to work. I threw the book down on the floor. It bounced up and knocked over a large pile of DVDs that scattered over the floor. The one nearest to me was The Darkest Hour. It somehow seemed a bit ironic.

I didn’t stop to pick up my copy of Persuasion.