Interviews
One of them is a qualified candidate. The other one is not.
These are the lies that we tell ourselves to sleep at night.
We force dichotomy when it comes to making a choice, because without it we would be paralyzed by indecision.
Here, let’s start with an example.
You’ve applied for an open job and your resume has landed at my footstep. Human resources has done the requisite screening and somehow you’ve managed to worm your way onto my already busy calendar. I’m going to give you a fair shot. That’s what everyone did for me.
But god damn, you’re going to have to impress me. I was planning on going to a concert tonight but here I am, scheduled to chat with you for forty-five minutes.
So I look at you, grumpy eyes and spiteful heart.
Or maybe I look at you, with dewy eyes and a grateful heart.
Regardless, here I am.
I’m interested in the efficacy of interview. Both for the candidate as well as for the employer.
My first interview:
I wanted to work at an IT shop in my college.
The manager had a couple open computers in front of him and a hurried sense of opinion. He sat me down, looked through my resume and asked me, “What makes you get up in the morning?”
I remember being a little shocked by the question, but I tried to answer it the best I could.
Now, I don’t know if it was my stellar communication, or my dazzling good looks that shone through when I answered the question, but I ended up getting the position.
I said that responsibility was what got me up in the morning.
[I strongly suspect that I landed the position because I was a referral of a close friend at the time.]
Nowadays, I reflect all the time over how important it was that I was able to get that particular position.
At the time, I wasn’t really that all-star individual that could intuitively fix problems. I had my fair share of skills, but I never thought of myself as someone who was… qualified.
But there’s this sense of veracity that wiggles its way in when we defines ourselves as better than what we normally present ourselves as.
Sometimes, we become the people that we try to present ourselves as.
Sidenote: I feel like everyone should be given an opportunity to interview and be interviewed. Simple arbitrary 1:1s can really help build a sense of responsibility that wasn’t there before. Managers who end up taking a chance on a person are just as vested in the relationship as someone who is newly hired and ready to greet the world.
You see, during an interview, there really isn’t much of a chance to get to know each other.
The people that sit in front of us during those oh-so intimidating conversations can so often define who we are and what we seek to achieve.
So, what is all this for?
What can we say and what can we do?
How do we put ourselves forward?
How do we smile and justify the work that we earnestly seek to do and to achieve?
I don’t know.
Honestly, I don’t know if I care to know.
I think that there’s a lot of validity to what we present ourselves when asked about the trials and tribulations that so often lay before us.
There’s a lot of value and validity to the work that we out there. Interviews help us justify ourselves, and birth stories that exhibit who we are.