The Interview

So, young man, your ambition is to be a bureaucrat? And a wise career it is! And speaking from experience – now going on thirty years – it has its challenges, of course, and its rewards as well. It’s true, if I may brag, we bureaucrats have accrued a reputation for resiliency. And speaking of that, be aware that in certain circles, mostly outside our own, ours has become, shall we say, tarnished. It’s all unfounded, mind you; the pettiness of small minds. No true bureaucrat pays attention to it. So don’t worry yourself about it. Well, I’ve talk a tad too much, and I see by the clock that it’s my coffee break again. So, if you don’t mind and it’s no trouble, please come back in a day or two – I wish it were sooner, say, this afternoon, but I have a few personal errands to do – (it’s something I feel entitled too.) And, please, call first – just in case I’m out or in conference. I’m often called for advice by other departments; part of my many responsibilities, you understand. Just leave a message on my voice machine. Just one will do, so no need to bother me unnecessarily. And if I don’t return your call immediately, or even in a few weeks, assume I am busy, or at the water cooler, or having a smoke with colleagues outside; or if you’ll pardon the expression, “on the seat,” bureaucrats are human, after all.