“No jobs for designers in India?
”
I was going to be late late late late late for a job interview.
I had done everything correctly: wake up early, got my materials and portfolio together, and of course, drycleaned my outfit, put on my “work” make-up early, and my car wouldn’t start! After trying futilely for 10 minutes, I knew traffic was going to pick up on the freeway so I had to go go go.
Eric picked me up in his white Kia. He was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, looked like a hippie and he obviously hadn’t shaved in weeks, and I thought I caught the scent of weed, which tended to make me more anxious than normal. But late people can’t be choosers. I hopped in, and we were on our way.
My heart was pounding, and I wasn’t in the mood for small talk as I scrolled through emails and looked through (for the 200th time) the website of the company I was interviewing at.
“Everything alright?” Eric had a Texan drawl. My hippie Hawaiian shirt uber driver was a Texan.
“Yes,” I said tersely. “Interview.”
“Woah, good luck.”
“Thanks.” I hoped that would be the end of it and he would be silent, but he didn’t get the hint.
“What’s the job?”
“UX designer.”
“Man, what’s that?”
“Designing for people.”
He caught my gaze in the rearview mirror. “You’re not from here. Where are you from?”
“I’m Indian. But I’ve been here since I was a child.”
“Huh. UX designer from India, huh?”
His drawl had thickened, but his eyes had narrowed.
“Yes.”
“No jobs for designers in India?”
I was taken aback. I lived in one of the most liberal areas in California, and wasn’t prepared to deflect like I would have been if I had been living in the south.
“I’m not sure how that’s relevant,” I replied.
He shook his head, and didn’t say anything else. I was extremely uncomfortable and of course, we had to sit in traffic for a good 30 more minutes.
Finally, we arrived at our destination. As I descended, Eric started the car before the door had fully shut. And I think, if I’m not wrong, I had him yell, “Fucking go home.”
I didn’t get the job.
About the artist
Jocelyn Moreno is a Mexican/American artist and activist born and raised in Chicago 