Have Some Personality, Please!!!
This week’s blogswap comes from Michael Dragone of Mickerochip. Thanks Mike!
Many years ago I went on a job interview where the interviewer had no personality whatsoever.
I mean that very literally. Typically you can make a determination as to whether some is funny, serious, withdrawn, a total shmuck, etc. within a few minutes of speaking with them.
Well, not this fellow. In fact, I wanted to ask him if he had ever interviewed anyone before. It seemed like this was a totally new activity for him and that he’d much rather be doing something, no, anything, else.
I feel I should quantify the lack of personality a bit since everyone I tell this story to always says, “Well, he must have had some personality.� Nope. He didn’t smile, laugh, cry, nod or shake his head, or give any indication that he was thinking of another question to ask me. He didn’t even clear his throat.
It was the most arduous interview I’ve ever been on and it lasted for 90 minutes. Since I would have been working for this stick-in-the-mud, there’s no way I would’ve taken the job if it were even offered to me (it wasn’t; I like to think I had too much personality to work for him).
Job seekers are told to go into every interview with a smile and a positive attitude no matter what. The same should hold true for the interviewer. Please have a personality. The jobseeker is evaluating you every second of the interview. They need to decide if you’re someone they want to work for, if you’re someone who will support them in their career and, if necessary, go to bat for them on work-related issues.
Even if you’re a reserved individual who doesn’t show much emotion – fake it! What do you think the majority of jobseekers are doing?
If you show no personality, the jobseeker can’t make a good determination of you. They will err on the side of caution and not want to be associated with you or your company. And they’ll be telling all their friends.
Michael Dragone is an MCSE: Messaging who spends more time exploring technology than even he thought possible. You can reach him over on his Mikerochip blog at http://www.mikerochip.com/.
HRSEO provides Internet recruiting solutions to employers.
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