Six Minutes and Out

I recently had a job interview that lasted all of six minutes.

Six. That’s barely enough time to brew a proper cup of tea, let alone convince someone you’re the right fit for their team.

I sat there afterwards staring at my laptop, thinking: Was that… it? Did I say something catastrophic? Was I wearing the wrong shade of lipstick for Zoom?

But as I replayed the scene, I could see it unfold like a badly edited rom-com. I gave one answer that didn’t quite match the job spec. And just like that, the recruiter’s energy dropped faster than a Wi-Fi signal in the countryside. Moments later, I was politely ushered out of the conversation.

At first, I thought I’d failed spectacularly. I sat there staring at my laptop, replaying the call like a bad date I couldn’t stop cringing over. Was I too honest? Too vague? Too… me? But then, a few days later, I found out the truth: the role wasn’t a job at all. It was a pyramid scheme hiding behind corporate buzzwords and LinkedIn polish.

And suddenly, six minutes didn’t feel like a rejection. It felt like a great escape.

Because really, isn’t that what happens in life sometimes? You think you’ve messed up, only to realise you’ve dodged something far worse. That “dream job” wasn’t going to be a career; it was going to be me flogging miracle products to my friends and family while pretending it was “entrepreneurship.” No thank you.

I realised then that interviews are less about performance and more about connection. When the energy is flat, when someone’s rushing you along, when the whole thing feels more like a transaction than a conversation, it’s probably not your stage. And maybe that’s a good thing.

So no, I didn’t land the job. But I did land clarity. Sometimes the fastest endings save you from the longest regrets. And honestly? Six minutes never felt so well spent.

So yes, I didn’t land a “job.” What I landed was clarity. And maybe that’s worth more than any salary they were never going to pay.

Because if love takes time, why do we expect careers or scams to happen in six minutes?