“Don’t call us. We’ll call you.” -Unknown
I don’t answer the phone when I don’t recognize the number on caller ID. I have found that it’s usually somebody that wants money from me. But I quickly check the voicemail just in case it’s Publisher’s Clearing House calling to tell me I am the ten million dollar winner.
I do find unknown calls a little more exciting when a long distance number pops up. It momentarily renews my hope that Zooey Deschanel could be phoning me. That hope is quickly dashed every time.
Anyway, on one particular day in January 2012, I got a call from an unfamiliar number. I automatically sent it straight to voicemail. As soon as the alert chimed, I listened to it. It was Beverly Foster from a place called SeaVentures. Apparently I had responded to a their classified ad for a Web and Social Media Manager.
I honestly didn’t remember the ad specifically. I don’t even think it mentioned scuba at all. I didn’t know what SeaVentures was, but I knew I should call her back immediately. We set up a time for an interview. I wasn’t sure what to expect.
SeaVentures is located in the same center as the Studio Movie Grill on Holcomb Bridge Road in Alpharetta. I had actually been to Studio Movie Grill a few months earlier, but I didn’t recall seeing a SeaVentures. This time it was hard to imagine how I missed it. They have a huge 8,000 square foot facility with an indoor pool, classrooms, gear service shop, and a retail store. I had never been in any place like it.
The first person I met was Marvin, an experienced scuba diving instructor from Honduras. He was very friendly with a big smile and long dreads. We talked for a few minutes. He was from the islands. I was from Buford. He had dreadlocks. I am follically challenged. He spoke two languages. I only knew one. He had traveled the world. I had never left the country. I kinda wondered if I would fit in here or in the scuba community at all.
Soon, Beverly called me to the board room for my interview. She told me about SeaVentures’ 22 year history. Her adrenaline-filled husband, Wyatt, popped in and out of the interview. I was impressed with them and their business. Not only do they run a great scuba program, they also provide a variety of swim programs for kids of all ages.
We talked about online marketing and the other things you talk about in an job interview. I told them of my unfulfilled passion to scuba dive. They encouraged me that I was definitely not a hopeless case as a diver. I had to keep reminding myself that I was there to interview for a Web and Social Media Management job, not to become a scuba diver.
They thanked me and told me they had a few more interviews to conduct. They said they would call me in a couple of days to let me know if I made it to the second interview.
By the time I left that interview I had decided that not only could I fit in there, I would fit in there. To be continued…