Want a Job? Don’t say this in your next interview

“I don’t even know why I was called about this position”

Recently, I had the opportunity to co-interview a candidate for a position my company was looking to fill.

The candidate showed up 15 minutes early, was well dress and seemed personable. I wish I could say that it was the start of a very great interview, but I can’t. All twenty minutes of the interview were horribly awkward and disastrous.

A few “high-lights” include:

-Her cell phone rang
-She fiddled with her purse on the conference table throughout the interview
-Direct quote: “I don’t even know why I was called about this position”
-She never mentioned how she would actually do the prospective job or why she would be good at it.
-The Web site’s URL listed on her resume was her name, but redirected to something equally as childish as “www.snuggly-carebear.com”
-She generally failed to show any enthusiasm about the position.

Needless to say, she didn’t get the job.

It felt very “full-circle” getting to be on the other side of the table. Having just been hired in late October, my mind was pretty fresh on the “do’s and don’ts” of an interview: dress well, be prepared, know about the company, be excited, show off your skills, etc. I can’t say I’m an expert on how to get a job or how to ace an interview, but I ended up snagging a job in this turbulent economy when more than one person was up for my position.

My biggest strategy was to be over prepared. Before I went in, I made sure that I knew the company’s mission, understood the job description, and more importantly, I was prepared to show off my skills and how they would help the company achieve its goals.

In my interview, I brought my portfolio, showed the team my blog, and described how my work on previous projects had prepared me to take on the position I was interviewing for. I brought crisp resumes and an “about me” page that included a brief description about myself and  links to my blog, twitter, and LinkedIn profile.

For those of you entering your final semester of college I would recommend you start putting together a portfolio of your past and current work. You’ll be surprised to see how much you’ve done and how it actually relates to jobs you might want to pursue.

Don’t confine yourself and only highlight conventional skills, think out of the box. My portfolio includes writing samples, power point presentations, short bio’s about my extracurricular involvement, and  screen shots of the Shop Boysz MySpace Page (Yes, Party Like a Rockstar) and Amy Winehouse’s Facebook Page (Rehab, yes, no, yes, no…yes) that I managed while interning at Universal Music Group. Before I put anything in my portfolio, I made sure I had a clear purpose for it and could describe succinctly how it reflected one of my skills.

I can’t say these are the end all, be all steps one should take, but I know they helped me. If you know yourself and know your skills, you’re ahead of more people than you think.

What tips would you include? Do you value conventional skills more than transferable skills?

Charting the Detour

Since my last post about deciding what sort of job to get after ending my internship with Live Nation, and completely freaking out because I don’t have a salary, benefits, or a 401k (are those even important anymore?), I found a job as a server at, Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande Cafe.

Now, those who know me best, know that there are somethings I wasn’t born to do. When contemplating what my next move ought to be after ending my internship, I mentioned becoming a nanny. My dear friend Emma flat out told me it was a bad idea. She just kind shook her head and said, “That’s not you.” And she was right, I don’t think I’m very good w/kids or have the patience required for such a feat (thankfully, I still have lots of time before having to have my own!).

So, I got a job at a Rio Grande, where they only hire one in thirty people who come in for an application. Having never been a server, I was surprised I made it through the interviews, but apparently, my “ability to communicate” was the deciding factor that got me the job. Much like the nannying proposition, serving wasn’t really me. I’m clumsy, kinda quirky, and more useful collaborating on a team about marketing proposals than making sure your enchiladas come with green sauce instead of beef sauce.

Regardless, I decided to accept the offer and attend a two week training session that was anything but a walk in the park (only two of the four new hires made it through training). We endured three written menu memorization tests, uniform inspections, and late hours learning to roll silverware and learning table numbers.

I’m not going to lie- becoming a server was h-a-r-d. Physically, it is tiring, mentally it is overwhelming, and emotionally, its draining, because subconsciously, I feel as though I’ve failed- A college graduate working as a waitress. Whenever I drove to the restaurant, I would become overwhelmed and pray that I’d get cut early- I was acting as though this was the hardest thing I had ever faced (not true)!

Feeling this way put a lot of doubt, and surprisingly, arrogance in my demeanor. I began to position myself as someone who thought they were “too good” to be working in a restaurant, and the reality is- I am lucky to have been hired and to have an income in these rough economic times.

Today’s shift started out like all the others, I was nervous and less than thrilled to be there. But then I thought about it…how was I going to get better and feel more comfortable if I continued to allow my disappointment and unease of not being in a permanent position continue to keep me down. So, I decided to “be there, 100%”.

The night started out really slow. I had three tables in two hours, and the first two tables were each single individuals dining alone. While I wasn’t attending to my guests, I forced myself out of my comfort zone and assisted other servers, helped the kitchen manager prepare accompaniments for the entrees, and took it upon myself to get out onto the floor and check-up on tables that didn’t even belong to me.

Towards the end of the night, things were pretty steady and I had a consistent flow of three tables. I was ringing in orders, processing checks, serving food and providing my best hospitality. At one point I was carrying a tray back with two big fajita platters and some side dishes, when I hear a voice behind me say, “Great work girl, keep it up!” I peak back and its a fellow server, who knew I had not started the night out in best of moods. As I approached the kitchen, I pass my floor manager and he also responds with a “good work, girl!”

I felt like I was approaching the end of a marathon and had a nice support team cheering me on. And while, yes, I really hope to be out of this job soon and on to something more permanent, in that moment, I felt contentment for the first time.

Yesterday, Carla of Life Before Noon wrote about how she isn’t supposed to be in grad school, that it wasn’t a part of her life plan. I wholeheartedly agree in her sentiments- I’ve always had a deliberate “life plan” and as I mentioned in my last post- this plan is WAY off track. Carla ends her post with some very simple, but very important reminders. She says:

Life is not a plan.

You make your own opportunities.

Do what you want to do.

Under one rule: Live with passion.

While waiting tables wasn’t on the initial life plan, it’s where life is right now I’m going to be there 100% as I continue to navigate this journey to the next big thig.

If someone asks me what I’m doing with my life again…

My life is 100% unlike what I thought it would be a year ago and I’m still working on deciding if I’m OK with this. 

I spent the summer of 2007 in New York City interning with Universal Music Group. Besides having a fabulous internship and learing about an industry that I absolutely love, I was living “on my own” in the city. By living on my own, of course, I mean I was housed at Columbia University with about 400 interns from all over the country (clearly, a recipe for an amazing summer).

At the end of that summer and throughout my senior year in college, I was determined to move back to the city. New York City embodied a mix of the diverse cultures I had experienced throughout my childhood while living and traveling overseas and throughout America. New York offered a geographic location that was indpendent of my family, but still only four hours away. New York, as they say, offered coutless opprotunities. Come spring semester of my senior year, my resume and cover letters were polished, I was ready to get a job in New York.

 

….and then I realized how “hard” it was, and that I really didn’t know what I wanted to do.

 

I love the music and entertainment industry. Throughtout my life, I’ve graced the stage numerous times, in various capacities. When on stage, you experience an amazing feeling that cannot be described and my ideal job would consist of helping people obtain that feeling…but where do I start?

Do I return to a record label, despite the ups and downs happening in the industry now?
Do I get a job at a PR firm, hoping to be given an account that deals with entertainment?

After graduation in May, I ended up getting a summer internship with Live Nation, the worlds largest concert promoter. This was definitely a great opprotunity to learn about the concert production aspect of the music industry. I had hoped that I would work there for the summer, live at home and save up enough money to afford to move to New York by the end of August.  

That plan seemed so realistic in my head, but when I began to break it down, things weren’t so clear:

While this internship was paid, I wasn’t being paid enough.
Yes, I was living at home, but I didn’t do a good job budgeting my non-income.
Anyone who looks at my resume will tell me “You have great experience!” but most PR agencies or record labels will start a fresh grad in an “assistant” position, with a salary that is reasonable for any place other than NYC.

So, here we are now. Labor Day has come and gone, and even if the calendar doesn’t agree, summer is over and I have some choices to make.

A common factor in any decision I make, is that it will revolve around the Washington D.C. area. I am going to join the 77% of my fellow 2008 grads and live at home. Though I have very limited expenses, I have learned that saving money and being financially responsible is at the top of my priorities. If I live at home, I can put away a big chunk of money and be prepared for when I do make “the big move” somewhere. 

Now, do I spend this year “starting my career” (whatever that means) or do I work a “fun/random/exciting job” to make money? I’m kind of torn between the two, but I’m leaning towards “fun/random/exciting job.” I recently took a weekend trip to Los Angeles, and I was really debating if it was worth the money to do it, but my parents persuaded me to go, saying, “You’re young, you’ll never be this free again.”

 

“…you’ll never be this free again.”

 

I think this is the part where I attempt to bring everything full circle, and make a grand decision about what the next step in my post-undergrad life will be. Honestly, the truth is, I have absolutely no idea what I will do next. My internship ends on Friday, and after that, who knows. Waitress, substitute teacher, barista, professional dog walker, personal assistant….or public relations associate, marketing assistant, entry-level [fill in the blank here].

 

The only certainty: an adventure is sure to follow.

It’s Up-Hill from Here!

Recently, I’ve found myself saying, “blogs are the way of the future!” in conversation with both peers and those that are a few generations ahead of myself. As a member of an up-and-coming group blog, I feel as though I have some authority to make such a statement.

Today, while perusing the Gawker Blog, I came across a post that perfectly speaks to my life’s current situation:

How Things Work: How the Hell Do You Get a Job In Media In This Town?

Being hot on the job hunt myself, this post confirmed everything I’d been experiencing thus far:
Getting a job in Media in NYC is hard, especially if you’re right of of college.

Out of the 150 (and counting) comments to this blog, the overall concensus was this:
pay your dues, temp, get to know the right people, pay your dues, temp, get to know the right people.

My favorite however was by user, Mitchel_Stevens:

“Claim you’re an expert in “New Media.” No one knows what the fuck it is anyway”

…and that there is quite truthful.

For the next few days, I will be registering with temp agencies, sending my resume to a million places, and praying for the opportunity to “pay my dues.”

Wish me luck!