Take Nothing Personally in Job Search

In my professional career in software development, Lee Babbitt, my friend and mentor, once advised me that I needed to slow down and not to take things personally. I thought of Sonny and Michael Corleone in the first Godfather movie, “...it’s not personal, Sonny, it’s strictly business!” Many years later, when I began my professional career in career consulting, we were told in training, “Tell your clients that it’s not personal and don’t take things said or even things not said personally.”

I hear this from clients all the time. They had a great interview and the hiring manager said they would be making a decision by the end of the week, and now it’s ten days later and they still haven’t heard anything. They begin to doubt their experience and become fearful, saying thinks like, “I must have blown the interview.” or “Why are they doing this to me?”  Then a few days later they call the hiring manager or the HR Rep and find out that something unexpected happened and now they expect to start the next steps soon, or tomorrow.

Those times when the client missed the job opportunity and wasn’t chosen--when they learn that they didn’t get the job--they are crushed. They start going over the experience looking for something they did to “blow it” in the interview process. They must have done something wrong, or they think that the interviewer just didn’t like them from the start! Often neither is the case, they just picked someone else. The job seeker didn’t do anything wrong, nothing! But, this is hard for many job seekers to accept. It’s hard for them not to take it personally and start to move on to the next opportunity.

It makes sense. Being turned down for a job hurts... but to get past the hurt, think of it this way: Say you were out looking for new shoes and you find a pair that looks great. You ask the clerk for your size and they have a pair a half of a size smaller and a half of a size bigger, but not your exact size. You try on the shoes and they don’t fit, they don’t feel right. Would you buy them anyway? Or would you go to another store? Remember there are two outcomes to an interview...

The two outcomes to an interview are: Get the job offer or get a referral. If the shoes don’t fit it’s easy to ask the clerk if they could suggest another store that sells those shoes; then you could get them in your size. The job seeker can do the same thing in the interview process: ask if they know of anything else where they could use your skills and abilities. It’s professional, proactive and takes the focus off the negative. Often the interviewer will realize the job seeker would be great in an other department and they are happy to recommend you.

So refusing to take bad news personally help to keep you in a positive frame of mind and often find an equally good opportunity.

Interviewing: Two Questions to Answer

The two most common interview questions asked candidates are:

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. What are you looking for?

   Its really important to have answers to these questions. But don't make the mistakes that most people make. What is the first mistake most people make? These are easy questions and can be answered off the top of your head. They are not simple questions and you need to be prepared. The other mistake people make is akin to throwing spaghetti on the wall hoping something sticks. The candidate who keeps talking until they get a reaction is losing the interview.

   Consider this: in the interview you cannot pass along negative info, a negative vibe or answers that would create a poor perception. So you need to be prepared to answer these questions. However, your responses in the interview need to come across in a confident, positive and natural way. If your replies sound like canned answers they will be discounted. So you really need to have the answers down pat.

   Another thing to consider is who is your audience? What does the interviewer want to hear? When they ask you about yourself, do they want to hear your life story from when you were born up to today? No! They want to know what you bring to the table that will benefit them and their organization. When they ask you about your ideal position they don't what to hear about how you would like to cure world hunger, unless of course you are interviewing with the World Health Organization or UNICEF. They want to hear what roles you could fulfill that would make them look good to their bosses. I have some examples on my website check them out.

   It is important to keep in mind what the interviewer is looking for. People hire people to solve problems and they ask questions to ascertain who can do that for them. Question one is really asking about your skills and abilities. Question two is slanted toward learning about the roles and responsibilities you would be willing to cover. If they are a fit to what is needed on the team, you're moving forward.

   You also want to keep the answers brief, between 50 and 100 words. My examples in the website average 66 words per response. A good answer is general enough to capture the interviewer's attention to envision you in their team. But maybe the most important thing about answering any interview question is to be positive!