Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Recruiting lessons from my trip to the Super Bowl



Ok, so as some of you know, I was at the Super Bowl in Indy last weekend watching my Patriots lose AGAIN to the Giants.  So yeah, that was great...not!  But, I did have some time (mainly on long flights and drives) to contemplate a few lessons that will be helpful and relevant to your job search.  Here we go, job search lessons from my Super Bowl experience:

You can’t make every catch - Yeah, I’m thinking still about the Wes Welker drop.  Coulda, woulda, shoulda...the moral is that you just can’t possible do it 100% right every time.  You can’t ace every interview, it’s impossible.  Remember that when you don’t get a job and you’ll be in a much better place next time you interview.  We are all human (even Wes) and humans make mistakes sometimes.

Mental errors kill - Ah, Rob Ninkovich lining up in the neutral zone.  BRUTAL mental error that really hurt the Pats chance of winning the game by giving the Giants another shot on 3rd down.  But you know what?  Mental errors happen, and, most of us are humans so we make mistakes.  When looking for a job or interviewing the trick is to minimize mental errors and do the best you can.  What do I mean by mental errors?  Swearing in interviews would be one....I’ve seen it, not pretty.

Small things matter - Ever hear of Steve Weatherford?  He’s the Giants punter and he KILLED the Pats on Sunday night.  Every punt was a thing of beauty.  He made the game very difficult by pinning the Patriots deep in their own zone all game.  Recruiting link?  Sometimes it’s not the big things in your experience that matter....it’s the little things.  The little things like the way you smile when you meet someone or remember to follow up with a “Thank You” note that mean the difference between an offer or not.  So, next you interview channel Steve Weatherford and sweat the small stuff.

Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good - The Giants fumbled three times during the game...and all three times the fumbles bounced back to the Giants. Random.  Rarely happens.  The ball bounces differently and my Pats win.  Crazy.  The recruiting lesson?  Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.  I once interviewed with a guy who LOVED the Red Sox.  We talked baseball for about half the interview and I got the job....pretty sure my recruiting skills were important too but if that guy was interested in cooking or physics I’d have been toast.  

That’s it for now, still recovering and I can barely talk...ugh, more tea for me! Until next time, good luck out there hopefully the economy is getting better!

5 comments:

  1. Hello Jeff, it's been a while since i've done an internship at Google and failed on the jobs interview. Your lessons "fitted like a glove" on mine experiences at those interviews. I'm preparing for a new try and I wish those lessons help me, among all the study on programming. Thanks for your contribution. :-)

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  2. Hello Jeff!
    Is there a change your next post will be about how to be recruited for the Google Ambassador Student Program in Europe? Or at least, who should I nag about it?...
    By the way, I love red soxs too! Especially in Christmas!!
    :lying shame blush:

    All the best!

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  3. one of the most important lesson which everyone should always remember

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  4. We all are familiar with the fact that resumes do not get much attention from the HR managers and sometimes even get no attention at all if they are weeded out by the Applicant tracking Systems and other tools which are used by companies for the screening process.So, stay with Resume news for always updated.

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