Before The Interview I filled a job application form covering personal details, work history, education & professional qualifications, personal statement, referee details, and equal opportunity. I emailed the filled application form to the HR department. A month later, I received a postal job-interview letter from Croydon College. The letter detailed the interview proceedings thus: candidates should prepare a lesson plan and seminar session plan for an introductory lesson on International Marketing for a third year undergraduate programme. candidates would deliver a 10 minute-interactive lecture of the lesson to a group of students and staff. If successful, you would be progressed to the the panel interview in the afternoon on the same day. Interview Day I was ushered into a waiting room, therein were three candidates. The head of department (HoD) entered, and warmly briefed us on the interview proceedings, basically restating the details in the job interview invitation letter. She also stated candidates would be called in for the presentation in surname-alphabetical order. Because I was the only candidate with a surname that begins with an "A", I would be the first to present. She left the room, and the four candidates including myself open up to each other. It then became knowledge to me that one of the candidates was a former employee of the College, and had worked with the HoD. For some reason, the former employee excused himself outside the room. It was interesting to realise we—the three outsiders including me—had the same concern about the fairness of the interview proceedings. You can't have a former colleague interviewing another colleague. we concluded that this interview is likely a window dressing. One of the candidates proposed we (the outsiders) exchange phone numbers to determine later whether the insider got the job. After the presentation, I was asked three questions regarding the subject of my presentation which I answered brilliantly. After everyone has presented, we were taken for a 20-minute tour of Croydon College campus. The insider candidate refused to join the tour. After the campus tour, we were offered lunch—to our surprise. It is the first ever interview of my many job interviews spanning two decades that I have been offered lunch. The lunch attendees comprised job candidates, panelists, students and staff . After lunch, we were told—all four candidates have successfully made it to the interview phase to be held in the next hour. I was the first to be interviewed. The interview panelists comprised the HoD, Dean and HR representative. They asked the following questions: • Why have you applied for this job? • How do you assess student learning? • How do you deal with adult learners? • How do you handle deadlines? • How do you use IT to support teaching and learning? • What CPD activities have you undergone in the last two years? And how have they improved your professional practice? The interview proceedings lasted for about 25 minutes. I was told if successful I would receive a call the following day. Next day came and gone. Therefore, I was unsuccessful. I After The Interview The next day, the outsiders—me and the two other candidates—rang each other. Since none of us got a call from the Croydon College, we suspected the insider might have got the job. Since then, we've all become friends. Three days later I received a letter via post from Croydon College stating the usual lines typical of rejection letters. I called the College to seek insight into my job-interview performance, specifically areas I should improve on. I later realised the reason for my unsuccessful interview as conveyed by the HoD were the same reason given to the other two candidates. Was it a fair or fake interview? I shall never know the answer. However, this interview is my best interview performance by every measure. A month later I was offered a job by another organisation. Blessing in disguise, indeed.