Describe a time when you were late for something important

I'd like to talk about the time I was almost late for a job interview, about two years ago. It was for a position that I'd really wanted, and I'd spent several days preparing for it, so I wanted everything to go perfectly.

The interview was at ten o'clock in an office on the other side of the city. I left home at eight, which I thought was plenty of time, but I hadn't checked the traffic. About twenty minutes into the journey, my bus stopped moving. There had been an accident ahead, and the road was completely blocked. I waited for a few minutes, but nothing changed, so I got off and tried to find a taxi. Of course, every taxi was busy, and I ended up running for a metro station that was almost a kilometre away.

I reached the right stop at five to ten, then had to find the building, which was hidden behind other offices. I finally walked into the reception at exactly two minutes past ten, completely out of breath, with my hair a mess and my shirt wet from running. I apologised to the interviewer and explained what had happened. Fortunately, she smiled and said she'd heard about the accident.

I felt very embarrassed and anxious, because I'd wanted to look calm and professional. Amazingly, the interview went well, and I got the job. But the experience taught me an important lesson: always leave much earlier than you think you need to, especially for something that matters.