Coffee and a Conversation
As Told Over Brunch is a home for intelligent discourse from the twenty-something perspective - so the stuff you gossip about over mimosas on Sunday morning or over takeout on your friend's couch when happy hour ends too early. We love chatting about our lives, whether it be the relationships we’re building (or destroying), lessons we've learned at work, struggles at school, growing pains we've felt, or even the food we’re talking over.
Before my current job, I was hitting the town for a few interviews. There was one that seemed pretty promising. I’d get to do marketing and build email lists, write copy and help support local businesses. We even did a whole personality test, which is always alarming during an interview because then I assume if I don’t get it, it’s because my personality sucks.
Read MoreA little over one month ago, we launched As Told Over Brunch as our new joint endeavor. We wanted to do something special for our month-long anniversary and were kicking around lots of ideas. Our decision was made much easier with one email from a local news reporter asking to interview us for a special she's making.
Very cool! However, a little hesitation on both sides because (drumroll please)....she wanted to talk about online dating, a topic we cover regularly on our blog. We automatically said yes, as what better way to commemorate a month of joint ownership than taking on a television interview together? However, we did have a two minor concerns beforehand:
Truth be told, I like the process of finding a job. Playing within the strict limitations of a resume, while still being able to make it your own, is like a little puzzle that I can't wait to solve. Researching companies, and seeing the boundless amount of opportunities out there gets my blood pumping. And don't even get me started on interviews: LOVE THEM!
While it wasn't my goal to go through multiple jobs within a year and a half of graduating, I don't believe there is anything wrong with it. Knowing what you're worth and what you deserve should be able to guide you to the job of your dreams, just so long as you don't hunker down at the wrong one. So in the never-ending quest for a job that satisfies my need for challenges, encouragement and passion, I've done a lot of job hunting. I think I've found where I'd like to grow some roots, so now that I'm out of the job market, I feel content with giving up all my trade secrets for you job hunters (kidding, I don't have trade secrets):
Read MoreSo I haven't gotten this interview question since applying to be a camp counselor in high school, but have long since been practicing an answer to this question anyway. How do you answer "What's your worst quality?" in a way that doesn't totally suck? My answer from high school was a total basic bitch answer of "I am a people person and try to make everyone around me happy, even if that means I'm not happy." Not only does that not really apply to my personality, but it's also like the number one bad answer to that question.
Should I ever be put on the spot for this question, I'm wondering if my inability to get my "who" vs. "that" problem under control is applicable? Is being able to readily name one of my biggest grammatical flaws a strong enough answer to this question? Because in my mind, this just means I am in tune with myself, but also shows that I have great grammar skills to know that it's an issue.
I could even elaborate about how I would CTRL + F my work everyday to double check for any "that" "who" issues. I had a post-it note on my computer to remind myself to do it. And now I can almost always get it right on the first try after being called out on it so often, and learning to mercilessly scour my work for it. So there is even a success story at the end of this proposed answer.
I'm starting to this is the only really good answer possible to the "What's your worst quality?" question because it points out a clear flaw (but not a land mine of an answer), but also highlights what I do to combat my problem, which seems to me like a recipe for a good answer.
I've been through lots of interviews where people have been asking me questions. From trying to get scholarships for school to getting jobs, I would say I've been interviewed at least 20 times. But I've never interviewed someone else before today. Never before have I been in the drivers seat with someone else's livelihood in my hands. And let me tell you, being the interviewer probably made me more nervous than the person I was interviewing. I wanted to ask good questions that allowed her to explain herself, yet difficult enough questions to reveal something about her.
It's a challenge finding a happy mix of tough and informative. Also, I don't want to be THAT person that you leave the interview room cursing under your breath because they were so tough. I can't tell you what she thought of me when she left, but she did end up getting the job, so apparently I did a good enough job interviewing her for my boss to learn about her and make a judgement call. So far she's been an asset to our projects and I've enjoyed her in the office.
Here is my favorite question I asked, why I asked it, and what I gleaned from it:
Have you encountered a time that you had a creative difference with a client or coworker, and how did you handle it? This question is essential for the field I am in, as well as the job she was applying for. We have creative differences all the time in my office, which is never a bad thing. We just are all creative people with unique ideas on how to solve the problem. I wanted someone that would say they would vocalize their ideas and work towards a way to use all of our creative ideas for the betterment of the project.
She didn't seem like one of those people that were rigid in their thinking and do not listen to creative solutions, so I liked her more.
I also think my interview was successful because I avoiding stupid cliche interview questions such as "What's your biggest weakness?" which guarantees that you'll get some bullshit answer that doesn't allow you to gain any insight into their character.
Here's hoping she's a good fit and I can pat myself on the back for interviewing and selecting a winner!