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Did you know that I’m just a big moron?

Throughout a large percentage of my career, I learned the fine skills necessary to ignore all of those red flags and bells going off in my head during the interview.

“Just do well in the interview and get the cash,” I told myself. “After all, this company can’t be much worse than the last one…” I was not always correct about that.

It turns out that a lot of candidates do the same thing. They just want a job and will ignore all of the nonsense that happens before that.

Ignoring what happens in the interview is a bad idea.

Allow me to explain…

OF COMPANY CULTURE AND SAND

I went to the beach this weekend and came to the conclusion that company culture is a lot like sand. Without anyone even trying, it gets in, on, and between everything.

Now, companies cover up their culture quite a bit with advertising and PR, but they apparently haven’t figured out how to cover it up in the interview process.

The reason for that is because interviewing is done by people who have been affected by the corporate culture. So, while there are policies in place, you get to see the real deal when you’re interviewing.

Have to wait 30 minutes for the interview to start? That’s a sign of things to come.

Do the interviewers seem like they don’t know what’s going on? Chances are that isn’t limited to the interview.

Does it take 3 weeks for someone to get back with you about the next interview? Think about how long you’ll wait to get a paycheck issue resolved.

Was there a last minute change and the person you were supposed to meet with isn’t available? Better get used to flying by the seat of your pants.

After the company decides to hire you, does it take 2 months to generate an offer letter? I’m guessing your coworkers’ nicknames aren’t going to include, “Speedy”.

Does the interviewer not seem to care a whole lot about what you have to say? It ain’t gonna get better later.

Does the company insist on too many interviews or too few? Get ready for either an overly cautious or knee-jerk management style to go with it.

Every single one of these situations has happened to me until I finally figured out that I need to pay attention to what was going on in the interview.


THE HIGH PRICE OF PAYING ATTENTION

Keep in mind that if you start paying attention, too, it’s going to be a long, painful job search. You’ll start to see all of the warts that you’ve been trying to avoid.

You’re going to notice that the vast majority of companies are just as screwed up as your current employer.

You’re also going to notice that “the one” is going to stand out like a sore thumb once you finally do find it. You’ll feel respected. You’ll feel wanted. You might even feel important.

Like the say with finding your “soul mate”, when you find that right company, “you’ll just know”.


SOME ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE JOURNEY

Until you do find the right one, however, you’re going to lose hope and figure that every company sucks and it doesn’t matter.

Also very much like the dating process, you’ve got to interview a lot of companies before you find the right one. And you’re going to have to let a bunch of them know that they’re just not right for you.

I have had calls for permanent recruiting positions since I started doing contract work a few years ago. I’ve been on a lot of interviews. And I still haven’t found a fit.

Keep looking. Keep searching. Keep interviewing. The right company is out there.

Accept that this process is going to take a long time and work your “long search” into your schedule so that it’s something you work on every week.

You’re worth it. Your career is worth it.

So stick with it. You’ll get there.


Enjoy the Search!

Dan
—–
Daniel R. Sweet
Chief Cook-And-Bottle-Washer / Technical Recruiter
FRACAT.com - Free Resume and Career Toolbox
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrsweet
Call me on Jaxtr: http://www.jaxtr.com/fracat


Photo by: Evil Paul

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007 at 5:03 am and is filed under Finding The Perfect Job. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.