“I’ll have the blueberry pancakes with home fries and a mug of joe.” Sarah told the waiter.

Sarah met her husband in university, and due to a death in his family, she agreed to move to Paris, France so they could be closer to his family.  Sarah had majored in business and minored in Spanish, but the only job she could find was a part-time job as overnight receptionist at a two-star hotel.

“There is an American restaurant in Paris, and sometimes I like to go there after work on my way home.  This one particular Friday morning, I overheard a group of three men in the talking in Spanish at the table behind me.”

Two of the men were Spanish, and they were having a Q&A session with the third man, an American.  After a few minutes of eaves-dropping, Sarah realized it was a job interview.

The two men worked for an import/export company in Barcelona, Spain, were looking to open an office in Paris to extend their operations, and during their brief business trip to Paris they were interviewing candidates.  As Sarah ate breakfast she listened in on the interview.

“This job was right up my alley, but I’m wearing an old and faded rolling stones t-shirt and jeans, and look tired and horrible after work, how could I introduce myself? And when?  And is that even appropriate?”

The man’s job interview lasted longer than Sarah’s meal, so she stayed there drinking coffee, listening to the interview, and since the restaurant had wifi and she had her laptop, she read up on the company right there behind the candidates back waiting for him to finish.

20 minutes later the interview was over, the candidate, having been informed that so far he was the most suited candidate they had interviewed so far, shook their hands and headed out the door with a smile on his face.  This was her chance.

“Excuse me,” Sarah addressed the two men in Spanish as she spun around to face them. “That guy seems like a good candidate, but the problem is that because he’s American, you’ll have to spend a lot of time and money to negotiate with the French immigration office to obtain his work visa and then get him installed in France.  What you need is a person already living in Paris that already has a work visa.”

The two men looked at each other quizzically. “And do you have somebody in mind?”

“Yes I do,” Sarah replied. “The message you received five minutes ago that made your blackberry ring was my resume.  I got your email address from your website.”

After reviewing her resume on his telephone, they conducted a mini-interview with her; she thanked them for their time, and then went home.  Three weeks later the company contacted her and offered her the job.

True Story.