Happy Valentines Day! I’d like to start by taking a moment of silence for Whitney Houston… thanks so much for providing the music to many an awkward moment at Junior High dances. Her rendition of “I Will Always Love You” led to many uncomfortable and uneasy feelings for anyone that is my age. Anyway, keeping with the Valentines theme I’ve always felt that looking for a job is very similar to dating. Just like in your personal life you are looking for that perfect match, putting yourself on display and (if you are like me) getting rejected a lot – that is until I met my perfect wife and got my great job…
That said I think that if you treat your job search like you are dating you will have a lot of success. With this in mind here are eight tips for making the perfect match for Valentines day!
1. Wait Three Days before Calling after the First Interview
Ok – so I don’t think that three days is the actual rule you need to follow but the idea is right. If you follow up too aggressively, too quickly you run the risk of looking presumptuous, overly aggressive or desperate. Protocol is to follow up with a thank you email and written note and go from there. Let the company dictate the next step. If they gave you directions to follow up – do so exactly as they told you. If they didn’t, wait three days to a week and then drop them a call. If you don’t hear back operate under the assumption that they aren’t interested and be excited when they call back – keeping with the love theme think of it as a if you let them go and they come back then they are yours kind of thing.
2. Don’t be Presumptuous
This is one of those things is really key. When you start dating someone it is an absolute deal breaker to start into issues like marriage or babies or the like on the first date. It reminds me of that time in some chick flick movie where the girl walks in with pictures from some internet site showing what their kids would look like:
In a job search and interview setting the same is true. A little confidence is good but if you start acting as if you have the job on your first interview you are screwed. Same goes for salary and benefits – asking about those makes it seem that either you are more interested than that or that you are making the assumption that they are hiring you. Total turnoff!
3. Follow Social Conventions
When you are dating there are all sorts of unwritten rules that were written by people conspiring to keep other people lonely. Shower before a date – the guy should pay – hide all of the warts. These are all unwritten rules that are just expected. The same people wrote rules for job searches and you need to follow them no matter how stupid they seem. These include:
- Wear a suit to the first interview
- Send a thank you note – (How archaic – don’t they just throw them away without reading them?)
- Bring a copy of your resume to the interview (even though they probably have it on their desktop in the interview)
- Answer questions in the interview about things that are blatantly written on your resume (sometimes they just want to hear it in your own words)
Here’s the deal – sometimes in life you have to do things because you have to do things. I’m not a big rule person but in the grand scheme of things you need to just suck it up and do something because you are supposed to. If you don’t your date or future employer will wonder what other social conventions you don’t feel like doing.
4. Send Flowers Thank You Notes
This is a continuation of the last one. If you have a great date and it really feels like the one – you send a huge bouquet and tell them how much you can’t wait for that next meeting. The same goes for interviews. If it was a great interview – send a thank you note and email. Hand write the note and tell them how much you enjoyed the conversation and that you can’t wait to meet again. However, just like dating remember that overkill can happen. Make the note polite and positive. Don’t get too specific because you can be creepy…
5. Pay Attention and Be Engaged
I think I remember hearing one time that the way to catch a great mate is to listen to what they are saying. Pay attention to them and actually ask questions about them. If you focus on the other person then they will come to like you. The reason… PEOPLE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES. It makes them feel good. The same goes in an interview. Ask the interviewer about their company, why they like it, what there job is like. This will always result in a more positive feeling about you when they recall the interview.
6. Be Honest
I’m not going to beat this dead horse so here goes. People don’t like it when they find out that the person they are dating are married – usually a dealbreaker. Surprises are bad. Be honest from the beginning in your job search and you’ll be better positioned for success.
7. Make it about what you can Offer
Let’s look at this candidly. People don’t date others because of what they can give. They date people because of what they get. Same goes for jobs. Make your interview about what you can do for the company. What you can offer. Don’t make it about why the company would be a good place for you. Remember they are the company – they know why they are so good. It is up to you to research this outside of the interview.
8. Make your Pick Based on What is Right for You
Look I know that I’m lucky. Not everyone can have a trophy wife that is also their soul mate. Sometimes you have to choose the person that will make you the most happy even though there are some things that need to be worked on. My wife settled and after eight short years I’m a reformed bachelor that does most things right.
Job hunting is the same way. The biggest company that offers the best benefits and most money is not always the best place for you. I once was working with a candidate that had a job offer from two companies. One was a small company that she really liked and felt was the right place for her. The other was a large company that offered her slightly more money and a whole host of perks including a gym membership. When I asked her about it she said – well I like company A better but company B offers all of these perks. I asked if she went to the gym and got dead silence. She ended up choosing company A and is still very happy. The moral of the story is that you need to know what matters to you and make you decision based on that.
That’s all I have for today. Happy Valentines and as always please email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com or leave comments below.
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