Bad Interviews

I've spent a lot of time (and money and therapy) learning to communicate differently than I used to.

I did that art journaling course with Brene Brown where I learned to let people be and started letting go of judgment.

I've learned that my worth is different from what I produce. (Though I'm still not sure about that concept, and I question it almost daily.)

I'm trying to allow people to feel their feelings without fixing them or offering my (genius!) solutions.

I'm getting better at empathy and the power of vulnerability.

I am learning to be less productive and more peaceful.

And none of that serves me well in a job interview.

My first interview was with an alternative health company that needed front desk help. They knew within the first 30 seconds that they didn't want me (and to be honest, I think it's because I have young kids at home) but did the rest of the interview as a courtesy. I knew the interview didn't go well, but I didn't feel particularly responsible for that. Though I definitely didn't wow them with my skills. Bad interview.

Then I interviewed with the Provo temple for a clerk job there. I would have been really fabulous at that job. Exactly what they needed. I would have excelled in every way. But they had no reason to know that. Because when they asked "Tell me about your time working for the church" I said stupid things like "I felt so blessed to associate with the people I did there..." (which is 100% true and 100% useless for a prospective employer to know.) And I gave zero examples of my skills and abilities. I spoke maybe 2 words about what I'm capable of and how I make a good employee and instead listened to him explain their needs and sat with him in that moment. (So empathetic of me! Brene would give me a gold star.) But never did I say "I can do that for you." or "That aligns with my experience!" or "I really enjoyed performing those tasks in my previous job." Instead I just nodded and validated him. :)

After that interview I realized that empathy and understanding are great listening/conversational qualities in a lot of areas, but no in job interviews. So I e-mailed Aundrea and told her I was afraid I was a fool and I needed a reminder on how to interview.

She reminded me that you're supposed to talk about your skills, experience and expertise. You're supposed to give examples of how/when you do those things. And you're supposed to explain why you're so great. (duh.)

So my next interviews went beautifully.

So you see, not all conversational skills are valuable in all life conversation. And I think it would be wise for Brene and all the therapists to add that disclaimer somewhere. "Sometimes you do have to solve the problem. And job interviews are not the place for empathy." (duh)