Think About it:  What if Interviews are Like Dating and the Job Offer is like Marriage. .

What’s the Difference between the Two?

You are in your best clothes. You took extra time getting ready for this outing, paid attention to every detail. This is not an average day. You are sitting across from someone that you have either never met or know very little about. But you do know one thing; they hold your very future in their hands. You are sizing each other up, on every imaginable level. You are both on your best behavior, determined to make an impression. So, is this a date or a job interview? Do you see the similarities? Interesting perspective, let’s compare further.

​First Impressions

As you have heard over and over, the value of a great first impression cannot be stressed enough. It matters! Going back to our idea about interviews being a lot like dating, we can see the similarities. We take extra time to get ready and select our clothing, we look our best, we come prepared with our A game. We should be using this strategy with interviews as well.

Check into Your “Date/Interviewer”

Just as we wouldn’t head into a date with absolutely no information about that person, we shouldn’t head into an interview without doing a decent amount of homework. We need to know about the position, the company and even the interviewer if possible. While there may be “blind” dates, there shouldn’t ever be a “blind” interview. Both are highly likely to fail.

Good Conversation

One of the best outcomes of a first date is being able to say that there was great conversation! You want this to be part of your interview as well. You want to be able to be yourself and communicate your thoughts just as you would hope to be able to do on a date. Just remember that the motivations of many interview questions aren’t as innocent as on a date. The interviewer is constantly playing a game of hide-and-seek. There is an additional question that hides behind nearly each initial question asked. You need to stay aware of what they are really trying to determine and then keep your cool. Not to say that questions on a date aren’t the same, but hopefully you are able to loosen up and relax a little bit more in that setting.

Saying Goodnight/Goodbye

Whether it is the end of a date or an interview, the way you say goodbye is very important. I will leave you to decide how to end a date properly and will discuss how to end an interview on the best terms possible, although, you may find they truly are similar. You want to leave with a positive impression. You want to interviewer to have felt your good energy and enthusiasm for the position as well as good information on your work history and skills. You want them to be thinking about you after the interview is over. They should be thinking about what you could bring to the table and that you could be what they have been looking for all along (still sounds a little like a date, right?).

Marriage/Job Offer

While this may seem like a bit of a stretch, it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. To hire you, means to bring you into the interviewer’s life and their business. This involves a lot of trust in you. They need to feel certain that what they have felt about and learned about you is the truth and will serve them well in the future. They are looking for commitment. No one wants somebody to come in full of hopes and dreams only to get bored or be under-qualified and have to leave without seeing things through. As a marriage takes two, so does a work relationship. You must be ready to jump in with both feet and say I do!

By Brandy Higginson, Five Strengths Contributor

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