40-ish, matey, balding?

Whoever invented the job interview has a lot to answer for.

It's like a byte sized photo shot, in ten or fifteen minutes you are expected to look good, appear intelligent, work out what the other person is thinking, work out what they want you to be thinking, think it, and say it without looking like an idiot!

I had my first ever telephone interview today. This form of interview is even more ludicrous because you have to make your voice sound like the image they want to have of you... and use all of your initiative to estimate what the person you're speaking to looks like, acts like, thinks like...

The image I created from Mr X on the telephone today was of an early 40-ish, matey, Brit., trying to make it seem like he had estimated what the world was like and was doing well in living in it. But I felt it was all a facade. Perhaps that's because of the stereotype I have of early 40-ish people living in the gulf, (see pic) or perhaps it's because emails he had sent me over the week contained spelling mistakes that a teacher wouldn't allow from a pupil. What on earth is a 'bushell'? Can I really go 'parallell' to something?

He seemed impressed, but not sure what to make of me. I obviously felt at home in Cairo, had done an awful lot with my life, and was a well-groomed, interesting person (at least, that's what I was trying to make my voice sound like).

If I don't get the job it's because of pre-conceptions he has about people who write for interior design magazines... not matey enough, mate!