Job interviews... Some might compare these lovely exercises in awkwardness to other fun tasks in life, like waiting in line at the DMV, or visiting the gyno, or puching one's self in the face. So maybe I exaggerate (Justin tells me I get this tendency from my mom...), but regardless, interviewing ranks fairly low on things I'd like to spend a Friday afternoon doing. However, the process of interviewing generally goes along with the whole "getting a job" process, and so I attempt to take on this undesirable challenge with grace and determination. And a bag of M&M's, my pre- (and,
okay, post-) airport splurge.
Before I go on about the process of interviewing, I want to make perfectly clear that I do not mean to minimize the fact that many in our society today would give up their first-born to have be interviewing for jobs right now. Well, maybe not their first-born, but perhaps their dog. No, maybe just their cat. But still.... The job market, to put it simply, sucks big time. And I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to "strut my stuff" with the expectation that I will be employed come September.
But let's talk a little about interviewing. As much as I want to pull out my Personnel Psychology textbooks from graduate school and bore you all with the reserach on interviewing, I'll refrain. Suffice it to say, interviews have fairly low validity and often worse reliability. In fact, unstructured interviews have the
lowest validity and reliability of any selection tool. And yet, it's rare to find an employer who is willing to hire an individual for a job, particularly a professional one, without having him/her come to the office to check out that the person has all of their teeth. Particularly dentists - they get picky about that.
So despite the lack of solid evidence for interviews as a measure of job performance, work ethic, or really anything other than being able to follow the complicated map to Suite 512 in Super Large Building, we are still asked to partake in the the scripted dance:
Dr. Jones:
"Why, hello! It's so nice to meet you. Did you have any trouble finding the place?"
Nervous Nelly:
"It's so nice to meet you too! Oh no, not at all. The directions you gave me were so helpful!"
DJ:
"Oh good, well we're glad you're here. So, what do you think of the weather this week?"
NN:
"Oh it's just been terrible! I just cannot wait for it to stop [raining/snowing/being so beautiful out]!"
And on it goes, in a fairly predictable fashion, for oh, thirty minutes to one hour. Then you proceed to do it again with Dr. Peters, and then Dr. Harris.
The fun, psychologist-y part comes in trying to figure out what the interviewer is thinking of you. You know, because we psychologist-types are mind readers and all. Possibilities include, "She's wearing panty hose? I haven't seen those since 1996," or "Wow, I should really get that chair she's sitting in reupholstered." When I begin to worry that the interviewer is more focused on their office decor than on me, my tactic is to say something really helpful, like, "Will I be able to bring my pet ferret in for Take Your Child to Work Day?" or "What's the office policy on romantic relationships with your supervisor?" Then I wink, particularly if she's female.
Another important lesson regarding reading the interviewr is to ensure you are making necessary adjustments as you determine what the interviewer wants you to say. A recent example (slightly modified):
"So, Ashley, tell me about your personal policy regarding self-disclosure."
"Well, Dr. Rigid Pants (the modification)
, I make sure that I understand the individual needs of the client and determine my level of self-disclosure based on what will be most helpful in promoting tehir well-being." (Note intentional vagueness.)
"So that means...?"
"So in practice I tend to be fairly open about self-disclosure, as I work from a relational model that emphasizes genuiness."
"Well, we're not genuine here. We can't have clients coming to our houses with baseball bats."
"Oh you're not? Well, I'm not really genuine either. I am actually very behavioral. No self-disclosure. Nope. Not at all. I try not to even reveal my name if I can help it."
"Oh good, I'm so glad to hear that, as I think you will fit so well with our team!"
The point here is that the interview is a human interaction, one based on first impressions, stereotyping, and all kinds of other social psychological principles that boil down to the fact that.... drumroll.... We like people who like and
are like us. And we decide such things quickly. Very quickly in fact - some suggest less than 30 seconds. Thus, the most helpful thing that I believe you can do to prepare for an interview is buy an expensive (or expensive-looking) suit and brush your teeth really well.
Those are the words of wisdom from someone who has interviewed approximately seventeen times in the past year or so and who is in the midst of preparing for an interview tomorrow. I just hope I didn't forget my toothrush!
Good luck to anyone who is similarly taking on this challenge. I'd love to hear words of wisdom or horror stories =)
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