The common conception is that you need to make a fantastic
first impression when you interview because hell, you want to get out of Dodge,
right? So what happens when you go to an interview out of curiosity? Well... a
LOT happens.
A dozen or so weeks back, I got a random call from a random
agency setting up a random interview... My impression was that, heck if they
called me, they know what they want because it seems they’re sharp as a
tack....................... the reality was a little different to say the
least.
Instead of the well organized flowing meeting I knew wasn’t
going to happen, I had an awkward 40 minute conversation with an ACD with
professional ADD. Don’t get me wrong, the guy who interviewed me was super nice
and I’m actually quite clear we could have countless buddy moments and great
beer-versations... but during the “interview” we talked about him and what he
was doing for more than half the time.
As my brother pointed out, that was all on me because I
should have steered the conversation towards getting a higher paying job than
what I currently have... but I couldn’t help but let things be and not force
anything because it didn’t feel right ever since I arrived.
From the get-go it was awkward because I arrived about
twenty minutes early since I wanted to beat traffic and wasn’t 100% sure about
where the offices were... When I got there, the guy who was going to interview
me was like.... what??? You’re early? It was funny and I was able to fill out
paperwork and save time in the long run.
When he was finally able to get back to me, we get to
talking and he goes like: “so why are you here?” and I immediately switched
things on him and said, I think that’s a great question I think you could
answer, because I got a call from you guys and would like to see what you guys
need.
That’s when I took my psychology pose and an ACD basically
told me all that he’s doing, how he thinks he’s coming off as crazy and that he
wants to diversify his skills to be ready for anything... Talk about knowing
how to butter up a prospect by telling him you’ve got a PHD and are studying
for your JD to be prepared for anything that happens..... and I’m supposed to
push to get this job? Interesting.
So there we sat and talked about life, what he’s doing, what
I’m doing, why I got out of advertising in the first place, that I just didn’t
like having to work late and weekend because people didn’t get their shit
together and were irresponsible and that working with a mentally unstable
person (the bad crazy not the good crazy) was anything BUT fun. Seriously, by
being honest I ended up shooting my foot like twelve times not because I didn’t
know what I was doing, but because I was EXTREMELY clear that they didn’t make
a great first impression and that I wasn’t interested in what they were
selling.
The reason is simple, first impressions are a two way street
and if a job doesn’t deliver the goods in the BULLSHIT process where you are
being fooled into taking a shit job, then why bother?
Cheers
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