Smile for God's Sake!

I was interviewing for a job one time and it was nerve racking because the interviews were all in this open hotel lobby, so you could see all the other candidates being interviewed. It wasn't intimidating but it was kind of voyeuristic seeing other people in the process of going through what you were about to do.

I was watching the guy before me interview and I noticed he had a very loud voice and a good presence. He sat up straight, was well spoken(you could hear him through the whole lobby area), and he was well dressed. He had one fatal flaw though. He never smiled. Not once! Not when he was telling a story, not when he talked about his family. Like I said you could hear everything in this lobby. Not one time did he crack a smile.

I thought to myself, "I wouldn't hire this guy. He's way too serious about himself, about life, and customers don't respond well to that type of behavior. They're intimidated. As the interview ended he finally smiled as he shook the interviewer's hand. Too little, too late. I knew he wouldn't get the job because when I came over to the table, the interviewer said, "Man that guy was intense!" I smiled and laughed and she did the same.

Have you ever had someone smile at you and you feel the need to return the favor and smile back? It's call the Law of Psychological Reciprocity, which means essentially people tend to give back the feelings you convey. So if you don't smile, they don't smile, and if you're mean then they're mean right back at you. If I'm having a particular bad day, or dealing with some unruly customers, I find myself smiling a lot to overcome the negative feelings. It makes me feel better and keeps me upbeat, so I have a better day. Try flashing those teeth every now and then, especially when you need someone to return the favor. It works!

-M

Dear Sales Diary - Is that a purse?

As usual today was one of those days where the contact didn't know me in an account, and so I had to introduce myself. It's always difficult getting people to like you immediately, but I've always found humor to be a good ice breaker. It seems to put people at ease if you can make fun of yourself. Even in very stressful situations.

So today, I met with a Nursing Director who was instantly as cold as ice when she shook my hand. In fact, her hand was freezing and I swear I saw ice forming on her hair and over her shoulders. Her blood must have been made of liquid nitrogen, because as she said "hello", I thought I saw the letters of the word billowing out from her lips in icy pillows the way dry ice "smokes".So in order to deflect the Ice Princess, I had to change the call quickly. I looked around for something to comment on, and saw a whole line of weird little purses positioned on her window sill.

"Okay mister....uh whatever. I don't have a lot of time. So what company do you work for again?", she said.

" Does it matter?", I answered and she looked shock.

" The more important question is this. Are those really purses up there on your window sill?"

She looked at me and I smiled and then she began laughing hysterically.

"Those are the weirdest looking purses I've ever seen.", I said, and she continued to laugh.

" Those are ceramic vases made into the shape of a purse. My daughter's an artist. I can't believe you thought they were real. That's great. What did you say your name was again and how can I help you?"

Game over. One little endearing joke and the Ice Princess warmed up. And I was sincere too. I didn't know what the hell those things were and it would've bugged me through the whole call. Glad I asked. Make sure to keep people at ease and keep'em laughing.

-M

Choose Wisely Job Seeker...

With so many people out of work, it's tough not to take a job, even if it's a position you don't necessarily want. You have bills to pay, mortgages, kid's tuition, and cable bills. The financial demands can be overwhelming, and the pressure to take a job in today's market are greater than ever.  However, keep in mind, you need to be just as happy in your next job as you were in your last. Or maybe you weren't happy with your last job, but you truly need to try and find a job that will make you happy. It doesn't make sense to work somewhere if you're miserable.  Your new job needs to be the right fit for YOU and the company. Here are few tips to observe in the interview process, that will let you know if the person interviewing you doesn't like his/her job or the company:

1. No smile - When they greet you they shake your hands but don't smile. This is a tip that this person is a total jerk or is having a bad day, which for them could be everyday. They're all about business because they don't have time for anything. Hell you're lucky they're even speaking to you right now.

I was once 10 minutes late for an interview because I was given directions to another branch by the hiring manager. When I entered the office for our interview, I offered my hand and she just looked and it, shook it meekly, and didn't smile.  Not once.  An immediate sign this was not going to go well.

She started the interview with, "Thanks for FINALLY making it here. Are you really serious about this job? Cause if you were, you would have left early enough to account for the miscommunication."

And I'm thinking, "Excuse me.  You gave me the address of a different office and directions to that office. And you're going to be my boss? You can't even admit you made a mistake. Uhhh, take your job and your attitude and cram it!"

That first statement immediately put me on the defensive and that was a short interview to say the least. I practically ran out of the office, feeling liked I'd escaped a prison sentence. I waved goodbye to all the other convicts sitting in the lobby, when I left the building.   As I waved, I shouted, "Good luck in hell."

2. Coffee Mug On the Desk - I've gone in to a few interviews where the coffee mug on the person's desk was an immediate indication that the company might not be all that wonderful to work at.  If you see cups which read the following you might want to consider rescheduling the interview:

               "My Employees Gave Me This Mug To Keep Their Jobs!" or "I'm Awesome!"
               "I'm Silently Judging You" or "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful"
               "I'm A Hot Mess", or "Property of Mr. Wonderful"

That's usually a tip that they aren't so wonderful, or they are a hot mess, and the company is probably not the culture fit you were looking for in the first place.  I had an interview with one manager who kept telling me how difficult he was to work for, and he had a mug to prove it which read, "I'm An Asshole. Get Over It!"  He was so proud because he had the mug made specifically for himself, online. I appreciated his honesty but I kept thinking to myself, "Why would I work for you again?  Remind me why I'm here?"

3. Office Chaos - If you show up for an interview and the office your interviewing in looks like a scene from the television show "Hoarders", and it takes the interviewer 10 minutes just to find your resume, then get out of there FAST!  If you see stale cups of coffee, candy bar wrappers, and food everywhere mixed with old candy from the depression era that if you bit into it, you would need a new tooth for sure, then leave immediately. These are sure signs that the place your going to work at is in an equal amount of chaos, and it's not worth the time for you to interview. You should be polite, don't be rude, but don't take the job.

4. No Time - If your interviewer keeps reminding you that he/she has very little time for the interview, this is a sure sign they don't have time for "you" in particular, or that they're totally disorganized and not worth your time as well. It's not that they have to be neat, orderly, and organized. They just have to take the time to interview you properly. If they take numerous phone calls, or they look a lot at their computer during the interview, they could care less about how happy you'll be in your new position. They don't even have the time to look you in the eye. This can be especially true in tech jobs where social skills are valued much less than technical skills. Either way, you're still a person, and you deserve their time and attention.  You may be doing nothing but coding all day, but this doesn't mean you're a computer.  You're a person dammit!

5. Rudeness - Believe it or not most interviewers think they have the upper hand because you're the one who needs the job. And they're right. But that doesn't mean they have to be rude. I interviewed once with a company for one position with 1,000 applicants all with experience.

When I walked into the office, which was more like a cubicle, for the interview the guy said to me,

"This will take 15 minutes and if you're lucky enough to get past me, cause I'm really tough, then you get to interview with our VP of Human Resources. If you can get past ME that is. Keep in mind there are 1,000 people interviewing for this position so you'd better be good if you're going to even be considered. Got it", and as he said this, he seemed to be angry with me, like I had just kicked him in the shins.  It was very odd behavior.

"Okay.", I answered because I was taken aback by his rude demeanor.

"Okay? That's your response. Do you think that's going to separate you from the other 1,000 applicants. Okay? Why would I want to hire you anyway? Tell me why?"

I was pissed at this point. And the tip to him was that my face flushed red.

"Oh did that upset you? Well I'm not sorry.", he said.

"Neither am I. Thank you for the non interview. I understand you do this to weed out the losers" I said, gesturing quotation marks with my hands. "But there's no cause to be rude. My question to you is why would I want to work here in the first place? Thank you for your time.", and I stood up and held out my hand.

He shook it but was irritated with my response. "That's it you're just giving up! You don't want the job."

"I'm not giving up. I want A job, I just don't want this job. Thanks again."

"Whatever!", he said obviously flustered, and I just laughed, turned around, and left without saying another word.


No job is worth being humiliated in or out of the interview process. And why would you want to work for a company that treats you like crap? I wouldn't. People need to be inspired, not retired.


Good luck in your job search, and my advice to anyone looking for a job is get a recruiter!

-M