After choosing to remain out of the workforce for a number of years, I spent about a year studying the science of the interview process and experimenting with ways to get back into the workforce.  In the last year, I have been on hiring teams as well as the candidate under evaluation by hiring teams.  I am not generally one for formalities so the invitations to interview for jobs forced me to dedicate thoughts to wardrobe choices, my level of preparedness and the tasks associated with the jobs.  In addition, I had to think about the known members of the interviewing teams and their expectations.  My interviews ranged from a coffee date at a local coffee shop serving as sort of a scouting mission for a prospective employer to a two-day experience on-site walking, talking and answering questions. Hopefully, my experiences will help someone else prepare for the interview process.

I spent time considering how to navigate through each interview process successfully whether I was the candidate or a part of the interview team.  I had to think about what success really meant to me.  Some might have argued that I would only be successful in the interview process if I got the job.  I disagreed.  I considered myself successful when I was able to get to the business of managing my head and my heart before I ever stepped into the presence of the person or team doing the hiring.  Management of the head and the heart proved important for me in other areas of my life and the interview process was no different.

Getting to the business of managing my head meant that I had to remove the emotions and approach the process with a focused, professional, strategic mindset.  I researched each opportunity and the folks offering the opportunities.  I had to read about the organization, the history of the organization and its leadership.  By the time I decided to reenter the job market, most organizations had websites so some of the head work primarily involved using the online presence of the organizations as my research tool.  In addition to researching the organizations, I investigated best practices for the subject matter of the organization.  Then, I studied my work history and my personal life to create a dialogue that would enable the hiring team to see me as a viable candidate capable of fulfilling the tasks enumerated in the job description of the open position.  One of my goals was to force the hiring team to visualize me in their community as a vital contributor.  To me it was like the concept of visualizing your furniture in the space that might become your new home and that lasting mental impression days later that certifies that the place suits your housing needs.  I wanted the people on the hiring team to remember me and engage in the mental exercise of finding ways for me to advance the missions and goals of their organization.

As a member of hiring teams in the last year, I asked questions that demonstrated whether or not the candidate spent any time thinking about the position.  I wanted to know if the candidate had any idea how their particular skills sets or educational credentials made them the best candidate for the position.  Do not be afraid to speak honestly about your strengths.  In my capacity as a hiring team member, I appreciated the candidates who exhibited transparency and direct responses to questions.  It does not serve the candidate or the organization well for the candidate to give the answers they believe the hiring team wants to hear.  Pretending during the interview will become the expectation of the employer if you are hired.  If you don’t feel comfortable being yourself in the environment or the type of work done in that environment will be a challenge for a person like you, this is the time for you to make the decision to ask more questions or reconsider working at that place.

Consider yourself successful if you can do any of those things during the time spent with the potential employer’s hiring team.  It was not and is not enough to present as a well dressed candidate.  Your first impression ought to speak about you in a way that says, “I am well-informed, competent and reliable.”  Because I wanted the jobs I interviewed for I made it a point to present myself with confidence and professionalism.  I wanted the hiring team to believe I was the candidate they could trust to make decisions and complete the necessary tasks to meet and exceed the job expectations.

The heart of the process was the main reason I considered applying for and participating in job interviews over the last year.  My heart cause related directly to my need to be a village builder for young people.  I passed on a opportunity to interview for a full time position with a utility company doing customer service a couple of years ago in order to accept a part time position working with students.  There were times when I considered work just because I needed income and if that’s you then place value in that heart cause too.  Whatever the heart reason, I kept my focus on the reason because that often kept me driven to stay the course during the interview process and after the completion of the process.  I remember one time I had to admit to a potential employer that I needed the opportunity because my family needed to eat, but I couldn’t assure them how long I would be an employee if hired.  Although I got that job, I was concerned that when the hiring team weighed whether or not my truth would be an asset or a liability to the organization the result would leave me unemployed.  It was a risk to be honest and direct, but I earned the respect of the employer and I believed that they cared about the fate of my family and me when they took the risk to hire me.

The heart of the process became the catalyst for jobs on my search and application lists.  Moreover, I returned to the heart matter often during the interview process and during the course of employment to encourage me through the challenges of both.  I used my heart focus to energize me for the interview process.  My energy likely provided evidence to the hiring team that I was passionate about the position.  Owning my passion and living it out loud in front of the potential employer during the interview process made me more confident about the positions I sought.  Additionally, since I was confident about my heart reason for making application, I believed I could perform the tasks and could speak about my goals and visions if I was selected for the position.

It is so easy to over think the process of making application for a job.  I have learned that taking the academic, systematic approach removes the emotionally guided negative self-talk.  Literally putting the job description next to a list of my personal and professional experiences kept me focused on the reasons that I was uniquely suited to live out my passions in the position to which I applied.  Certainly if I could see the connection, I had a better chance of persuading the hiring team that I was qualified and ready for the tasks.  This type of preparation also gave me the opportunity to ask others for advice and feedback on anything that raised questions or doubts.  The last thing I needed was to take doubts with me into the process.  The goal was to project confidence, competence and passion without interjecting behaviors or comments suggestive of doubt, inadequacies or pretentiousness.  My advice is three fold: 1. Study the organization to which you make application. 2. Stay mindful about your heart reason and use it to motivate you to stay engaged in the pursuit of a job related to your passion and to keep you excited about the job when you are hired. 3. Rehearse positive self-talk that vocalizes a plan of action that specifically connects you to the organization. My lessons from interview processes made me feel successful because I believed I was in right place at the right time of my life and because I was convinced that my passion would allow me to serve a community as a village builder for young people.