December 14, 2004
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I was thinking about something the other month: dating and looking for
a job are very much alike. Think about it. In both instances and on
both sides, you want to make a good impression. You always dress nice,
try to say the right things. You don’t want to come on too strong, yet
you want to appear to be interested (which is a fine line, by the way).
When you leave, you spend the whole drive home thinking “what did they
think of me? Did I impress them? What could I have done differently or
better?”. If you get offered the job at the end of the interview, its
the equivalent to scoring on a date. Then there are the insecurities.
You know, when you have to take a test on an interview, you are always
wondering “did I do ok? What if I did bad” the same thing you say to
yourself after sleeping with somebody for the first time. And if you
don’t get a callback after the first interview, its like not getting
called back after the first date, you are disappointed, but don’t want
to call back and make yourself seem desperate. And, you sit there
thinking “what if they found somebody else? Surely there has got to be
somebody better out there, I just hope they don’t see it.” Just trying
to get the first date or the interview is hard enough. You spend time
answering job postings or personal adds, knowing that a lot of other
people have responded and you don’t even expect to get a reply. You
spend the whole first date/interview thinking “can I see myself being
with this person/working at this job?”. And sometimes, you even have to
give or get references. For example, your friend works at a job and
they say “this job is so cool, let me get you a job here” just like a
friend that says “this person is so cool you would make a great
couple.” And if the job doesn’t pay well, they say “it has great
benefits” which is the same as saying about an ugly person “they have a
great personality.” Really, its all one and the same when you think
about it. And then once you get the job or person, you spend the first
few months trying to not blow it…………….you have to be on your
best behavior. Meeting co-workers, thats sort of like meeting the
person’s friends. Meet bosses and higher-ups, thats kinda like meeting
the parents and family. Calling in sick? Thats sorta like blowing off
the boyfriend/girlfriend so that you can hang out with your friends.
See, when you stop and think about it, you can apply the same thinking
to both, and be ok, don’t you agree?
