The Interview That Never Happened

It’s still the best interview I’ve ever had.

At the time, I was convinced I had completely blown it.

I was interviewing with EMA Canada, a firm that provides operational, people, and technology solutions to the water and wastewater industry. I had already met a few people, gone through the standard process, and things were going well. The opportunity itself was exactly what I was looking for. My dream job really!

The final step was a meeting with Rienk, the Canadian VP and the person making the decision.

This was the one that mattered.

We met in his office, not a boardroom. A small detail, but it changes the tone. It felt less formal right from the start.

He came in a few minutes late and apologized. He had been meeting with a city councillor and made a quick comment about how they tend to run on their own schedule.

That one comment was enough. I was curious.

So I asked about it.

That question opened the door to a conversation about water utilities, municipal challenges, and some of the more forward-thinking solutions EMA was working on. It was interesting. Genuinely interesting.

We kept going.

Maintenance and reliability came up here and there, but mostly in the context of the broader solutions they were offering to help keep public utilities public. The real discussion was about the state of the industry, where things were heading, and how EMA was positioning itself.

It didn’t feel like an interview.

It felt like a conversation I didn’t want to end.

And then, suddenly, it did.

Rienk glanced at his watch. “Oh wow, look at the time. I need to catch my train.”

And that was it. No formal questions. No structured interview. No closing.

Just… over.

I walked out of that office with a sinking feeling.

I had just talked my way out of a job I really wanted.

I remember thinking I let my curiosity get the better of me. I never steered it back. I never “did the interview.” I didn’t give him the answers he needed.

I even told Roop, the VP who had encouraged me to apply, that I thought I had blown it.

A week later, I got the offer.

Not just an offer—the job I wanted, with better terms than I expected.

I was pleased. And completely confused.

Once I settled into the role, I asked Rienk what had happened in that meeting.

Why hire me after that… non-interview?

His answer, paraphrased, was simple.

“You had already done the work. You knew what we did. You understood the role. And your questions showed it. People don’t ask those kinds of questions unless they know what they’re talking about.”

In other words, the interview had happened. Just not in the way I expected.

Fast forward nearly three decades, and I had the chance to ask him about it over lunch.

He remembered it clearly.

What stood out to him wasn’t just understanding. It was the combination of preparation, curiosity, and genuine interest. It felt real. It felt aligned.

That was enough.

That moment ended up being one of the most important forks in my career.

And I almost missed it—at least in my own mind.

Years later, when I moved into leadership roles, I found myself using a similar approach in interviews. Less about rigid questions, more about real conversations. If someone understood the work, their questions would show it. If they didn’t, that would show too.

That approach never failed me.

The lesson is simple: preparation isn’t about having the right answers—it’s what allows you to ask the right questions.

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