Why Job Searching & Dating Are So Much Alike
Why Job Searching & Dating Are So Much Alike
1. How to Make A Great First Impression
Imagine you landed a dinner date with a guy/girl who you've been interested in for the longest time. Then, when your big date night arrived that person showed up to the restaurant wearing sweat pants and flip flops, conducting a long-distance phone call with their mother about the fact that true love doesn't exist anymore and reeking of sour cream & onion potato chips.
Not the greatest first impression, huh?
The professional equivalent of that description is showing up 30 minutes late to your first interview because you didn't account for rush-hour traffic, handing the recruiter a resume with a coffee-mug ring on the bottom corner and then forgetting which position you were interviewing for and going into detail about your sales experience when the opening calls for an individual with a strong medical background.
Whether it's personally or professionally, you only get one first impression. Put your best possible foot forward.
2. Manners Are Important!
Imagine we're in the same dinner date situation. From a female perspective, imagine that when your date picks you up he doesn't get out of the car because "his favorite song was on the radio." When you arrivate at the restaurant, he quickly runs to the entrance and shouts, "Grab us a table, okay?" over his shoulder in the attempt to catch the end of "the game" at the bar. After you've waited at the table for more than an hour, he shows up (smelling of top-shelf scotch, mind you) and announces, "Goodness you ate all this bread by yourself?"
While not as obvious in your job hunt, there are similar faux pas that young professionals make.
For example, your interviewer is 15 minutes late and apologizes because a medium-sized disaster occurred in the office. When he/she says, "I'm terribly sorry, there was a problem that came up. Were you waiting long?" you need to be gentle with your response. Of course they kept you waiting, but are you really going to jeopardize your chances with that company by lecturing the interviewer on the values of punctuality?
That's a more subtle example. Other rude actions include mispronouncing the interviewers name (or forgetting it altogether!), criticizing their alma mater (if they have a diploma on the wall, then they probably don't want to hear you bash that university), or asking them to move the meeting time or date on multiple occasions.
Be a polite job hunter. Employers are swamped with enough work as it is. Do everything you can to come across as a mild-mannered professional.
3. Following Up
Back to our favorite dinner date scenario. As a guy, imagine that you took out a charming young woman and the two of you seemed to really hit it off and enjoyed the evening. Then, over the next few weeks, you never call that charming young woman again?
Failing to follow up on the evening tells that you girl that you really aren't interested in seeing her again. If you truly felt good about the evening and enjoyed her company, why wouldn't you follow up with a phone call?
The same holds true for a professional relationship. Imagine sending a cover letter and resume to an employer, and then never calling to check up on it? Or having an interview, and then forgetting to send a follow-up note thanking the employer for their time?
Never leave a professional relationship up in the air. If you have shown interest in a position, continue to pursue it in every way possible by following up on each stage of the process.
4. Say Thank You Until It Hurts
Can you guess which scenario we're going to use? From a man's perspective, imagine taking a young woman out to dinner. You've been extremely chivalrous; opening every door for her, pulling out her dinner chair, standing up politely as she excuses herself to use the restroom. And even though you believe she is having a good time, she has yet to deliver a single, "Thank you."
This can make you feel like a burden.
When your job hunting, you never want to become a burden to those around you. As a young profesional, you need to pull every string and milk every connection to the utmost degree in order to find yourself gainfully employed. That being said, there are countless individuals along the way who have positively affected your career. They come in form of professional mentors, previous employers, and even your peers who have gone out of their way to help develop you as a professional.
The least you can do is say a simple, "Thank you."
Whether it's in the form of an e-mail, a hand-written note or taking 10 minutes out of your day to call and check in with them, saying thank you allows you to express your gratitude and let that individual know that their advice positively influenced your career path.
Plus, it gives you a natural opening to begin a conversation with that person. If they are an influential individual within a company or industry, this is a great icebreaker that allows you to open a dialogue with that individual.
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