Hello world! I hope
you all had a terrific Father’s Day weekend!
As expected we were very busy. The
highlight of my weekend was taking the kids to the local Johnston Greendays
Festival where there was a carnival. Ava
(5) and Mia (2.5) completely shocked me when they bypassed the kiddie rides and
aimed all of interest at the fast rides.
By far their favorite ride was the Scrambler!
The funniest part about all of this was that neither of them
said a word during the entire ride. Then
when it was over they started yelling Again, again, again!!! And that’s the update from Des Moines !
Today I was perusing the internet when I came across an
article titled - What
Guarantees a Second Date by Christine M. Coppa – No - I wasn’t looking for tips… things are very happy in the Thompson
household. However, I’ve always believed
that interviewing for a job is very similar to dating. Let’s compare they are both worrisome,
stressful, create sweaty palms, often not fruitful, both have the goal of
generating a long term outcome, and you only want about 10% of either to call
you back. Anyway, the article gave four
tips that in my opinion are just as applicable when you interview. Have a look!
1. A Shared Passion is Extremely Powerful
The dating article suggests that when there are shared
interests there is a higher likelihood of sparks. It
continues by saying that even when there aren’t sparks the common
interests can lead to a second date as the common ground is reason enough for a
second look. Interviewing is the same
way – I’ve often believed that someone’s work history and skill set accounts
for only 50% (probably lower than this) of the reason someone gets hired. The rest is personality, culture fit and - to
be totally honest - how much the interviewer likes you.
So… how do you find common ground? You can do this in a couple of ways. First, Google your interviewer. Be careful not to dig too deep into their personal
life and instead look for any bio’s about
them and their LinkedIn page.
Look for common professional interests like education, associations and
hobbies. The other way you can do this
is to look around when you enter their office.
A brief glance of my office shows about fifteen Iowa Hawkeye trinkets
and even some bobble heads from the movie A Christmas Story.
Don’t make it the center of your interview but when you are
gliding through the warm up, find a way to work it in. You can say things like:
- So… have you ever stuck your tongue to a light pole?
- How about them Hawkeyes!
- It’s really nice to meet you – I noticed you are in this association. I just joined. How long have you been a par of them.
- I was
looking at your bio and noticed that you went to
At the end of the day its just a way to grease the wheels
and make your interview go smoother.
They will be more comfortable with you and will remember you!
2. Put some Advanced Listening Skills into
Practice
The article gives some really novel advice. Listen to your date – it even suggests that
you remember what they say and mention it again later. Not so surprising is that you should listen
to your interviewer as well. One of the
biggest problems I encounter is that people assume that the sole purpose of an
interview is as an avenue to showcase
their skills and put themselves on display. WRONG!
This is certainly an important component. However, interviewers are looking for you to
show off your social skills and your ability to interact in a
conversation. Furthermore, they are
looking to promote their company and inform you about them and the
position.
This means that it must be a two way conversation and that
you need to listen and listen well. This
can manifest in two ways. First of all,
you can refer back to something that the interviewer said later in the
interview – as a bonus you can also refer back to something they said in a
thank you note as well! Secondly, you
can practice active listening when they are speaking. Make sure that you appear attentive and that
you are making eye contact, maybe taking
a note or two and giving the appropriate body language – try nodding why they
are talking.
3. Comfortable Atmosphere = Comfortable with
Each Other
This one is probably a better tip for the interviewer than
the interviewee. Yet I think that it is important. The article suggests that a dive bar is
better for a first meeting than a 5 star restaurant. I agree – if you are surrounded by formalness
you will probably act formal instead of being yourself. Like I said you really can’t control this as
much you would like but there are a couple of things you can do:
- Make yourself comfortable by wearing the suit you look the best in – not your best suit
- If given the chance to suggest a meeting place – suggest somewhere casual and laid back – Starbucks always is a nice choice
4. Being Courteous is Key
I’m pretty sure I’ve written before that we are in the post
Emily Post world – for those of you who don’t know, Emily Post is a world
renowned expert on manners. It just
seems like we are increasingly forgetting to use our manners. This goes without saying on a date but the same
is true in an interview. Below are a
list of common errors people make:
- Not holding the door for someone
- Not saying thank you
- Sitting down before your interviewer
- Not shaking hands
- Chewing gum
- Not turning off your cell phone
- Not wearing a suit
- Showing up late
All of these things are in poor form and will hurt you.
That’s all I’ve got for this week! Please let me know if you have any questions
or comments and make it a great week! As
always you can email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com
or leave a comment below!
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