First impressions can happen long before a formal interview.

The following story involves a hiring manager who was out smoking with his coworkers.

A woman showed up, trying to find the correct entrance to the call center for her upcoming interview.

She didn’t know they were the managers who would interview her the next day.

Read the full story below for all the details.

Girl you did good. You just didn’t know how good you really did.

One of our call centers had an address that led directly to a closed gate.

This was due to poor planning, city bureaucracy, state bureaucracy, federal bureaucracy, and who knows what else.

I was out having a smoke one day with three coworkers.

A car drove up and a young woman got out.

She looked puzzled. We knew why.

This man and his colleagues instructed the woman on how to get to the closed gate.

We explained to her how to get to the actual gate.

She told us she had a job interview the next day and was making sure she would allow enough time.

She was a very pleasant woman.

We wished her good luck on the job interview.

She drove off.

They were actually the 4 hiring managers who would interview her.

What she did not know is she was talking to the four managers who would be doing the interviews the next day.

Basically, she had just aced her interview.

One of the managers said that as far as he was concerned, she was hired.

He said this was unless she really and truly atomic bombed the interview.

They hired her, and she was still working for the company.

The dry run impressed us.

She also had a great personality.

She, of course, got the job.

She was still working there when I left about three years later.

Let’s find out what others have to say about this.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Yes, indeed.

This person does the same thing.

Here’s a positive remark from this one.

Finally, kudos to her, says this one.

Sometimes, the interview starts in the parking lot, not the conference room.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.