Why you should practice your laugh before an interview

I have spoken in the past about the need for preparation ahead of an interview - think of questions that might come up, form some initial answers, and be sure to research the company before going in for the interview.  So you may ask - why in the world should you practice laughing before what could be a very serious and challenging interview?

I can think of plenty of reasons, but there are really a few that are most relevant if you really try to break it down.  This thought for a blog about laughing all came about when my family sat down for our weekly viewing of America's Funniest Videos.  I was upstairs getting the popcorn ready when I heard raucous laughter coming from our basement.  I feared they had started without me and seen a really classic clip already.  I raced downstairs only to see the DVR still paused and nothing happening.  Meanwhile my wife and children are rolling around on the floor in hysterical laughter.  Turns out they were "practicing" their laughter to get warmed up for the show.

They were immediately in a good mood and expecting the show to be hilarious.  Almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Which brings me to my first point about practicing your laugh before an interview.  If you think going in that it is going to be an enjoyable experience, I argue you have already increased your chances of that happening.  Think of the opposite thought - if you are nervous and anxious going into the interview, so much that it impacts your ability to coherently outline your professional experience, do you think there is a chance you might come across as nervous?  Instead why not walk into the room with a smile on your face?

Secondly, a good laugh can always break the ice.  I once had a meeting with a very important client and I was scheduled to sit down with the hiring manager who was known to be incredibly serious and dare I say occasionally grumpy.  It happened to be a Wednesday, so I asked my HR contact before the hiring manager arrived if she had seen the Geico hump day commercial with the camel walking through an office.  Which at the time had recently aired for the first time.  She started laughing and said it was her favorite new commercial.  The hiring manager came in while we were in the midst of our laughter, and we shared the story briefly with him.  He admitted to having just seen in the night before and said it was the funniest commercial he had ever seen.  We jumped right into a very productive meeting with a smile on our face.

Lastly, a good laugh can be memorable.  When interviewing for a position where you might have significant competition, being memorable is necessary.  I am certainly not suggesting an out of control hyena laugh, as that would create a bad memory.  Having a genuine, heartfelt, really solid laugh could be something that could put you over the edge.  Am I stretching things a little here?  Absolutely.  A good laugh alone will not get you hired.

The bottom line is that you need every edge you can get out there in a competitive job market.  If not a laugh it could simply be your smile.  Or your posture.  Or being articulate.  Or prepared.  Or well dressed.  The list could go on and on and on.  So I challenge you to think outside of the box when considering how to prepare for an interview.  And if laughter some day gets you the job, I want to know about it!

When to add an accomplishment to your resume

This morning I was reminded in a powerful way that it is never too early or too late to accomplish something meaningful in your life.  I attended the installation of class officers and representatives for the elementary school my son attends.  They elect individuals from each class in third through fifth grade.  After the election they attend meetings to make the school a better place.

I felt challenged and inspired by these young up and coming leaders.  The mayor of our city also attended to swear them in to their newly elected positions.  She made a few remarks and told the children that it is never too early to begin showing leadership skills and aspiring toward higher offices or greater accomplishments.

It got me thinking about all of the parents sitting in the audience, myself included.  It first led to an even simpler question - what have I accomplished recently at work or at home that I was proud of?  I was able to come up with a few good examples and felt encouraged to add to that list in the coming weeks and months.  I am not a job seeker, but my job is obviously to counsel those that are.  So what have you accomplished recently as a job seeker that may benefit your search?  And how to you properly outline those on a resume?

I have a couple of thoughts.  First of all I think accomplishment or achievement sections on a resume have officially replaced "hobbies and interests".  When I started in the business over a decade ago it was commonplace to see people listing things like fishing, hiking, golfing, etc. at the bottom of their resume.  With social media there are many more opportunities to make that information known without listing it on your resume.  Today what most employers are looking for are prospective employees that have actually done something noteworthy that could impact their performance on the the job.

Secondly, it is important to have current information listed in this section of your resume.  Not to slight anything that might have happened fifteen years ago, but unless it is incredibly significant I want to know what you have done recently.  For instance I went through a powerful leadership course about 12 years ago.  It was an incredible experience that I cherish and still keep in touch with many people that I met.  But if that is the only "recent" accomplishment that I can list I am probably in trouble.

Next, show me the direct correlation that accomplishment has to your professional experience.  If you read my blog from a few weeks ago you would know that one of my partners at Capstone completed her first half marathon.  If her only goal was to lose a few pounds or raise money for a worthy cause that is still great, but doesn't necessarily correlate to making her a better employee for our organization.  I know for a fact, however, that it impacted her work product in a very positive manner.  She set similar goals for herself here at work and it inspired all of us to keep pace with her aggressive goals.  It was related to the achievement and absolutely helped her professionally as well as personally.  

Lastly, I would emphasize that treating accomplishments as more of a verb than a noun will provide exponential benefit going forward.  Keep accomplishing on an ongoing basis and challenge yourself to make a change to that section of your resume every single year.  After nearly twenty years of professional experience I can say I hope my greatest accomplishments are all still ahead of me.  Surround yourself with like-minded individuals, find ways to incorporate this into all of your job search, and absolutely add them to your resume when you can.

What is something you accomplished recently that you were proud of?  Did you add it to your resume if you are in fact in an active job search?

Why you don't need all the answers in an interview

Have you ever had that one tough question you just didn't have the answer to during the course of an interview?  Or walk out of an interview stewing over an answer you thought of to a question that came early in the conversation and you simply didn't give the best possible answer?  It happens all the time from my experience, and I am here to tell you it is okay.

My wife and I went to a movie over the weekend that had a cliffhanger ending.  It really left you wondering with more questions than answers.  It drove both of us crazy for a period of time until I told her that in my opinion that lack of clarity in the ending made it the best possible ending.  The director did their job very well as it is something I will likely talk about for a long time to come.

Don't get me wrong here, I don't want a hiring manager or someone in HR finishing an interview with you simply scratching their head like they don't know what just happened.  Quite the contrary as I am suggesting that the best possible outcome of an interview just might be everyone wondering and talking about you for a long time to come.  And not because you had mustard stains on your shirt or totally blew the interview, but rather a sense of intrigue and numerous directions for the conversation to go well in the near future.

I can give you a real world example from something that happened recently for a candidate of mine.  He went in for an interview for Position A.  That hiring manager was not available and he instead interviewed for Position B and Position C with two other hiring managers.  The candidate was not prepared, but handled it with grace.  The client got back to me that he could possibly be a candidate for those positions, but they wanted to bring him in again for Position A.  He nailed it, the client hired him, and everyone was pleased with how well he handled the situation.  Had he tried too hard to answer all of the questions in the first interview with the positions that weren't as well matched to his background he might have looked like he was just trying to get any job he could other than his current one.

The other thing to keep in mind is that companies don't often have all of the answers regarding a position or role that may open up.  If that is the case, how can they then expect you to have all of the "right" answers as a candidate?  Instead I always encourage productive dialogue that seems like it is progressing in some sort of linear fashion.  As long as that is happening, you are usually heading in a good direction.  If you simply have no answers at all then you have a problem.

Lastly, I like to empower candidates to say "I don't know" in an interview.  I know I have been caught in questions before where I tried to make up an answer on the fly.  It usually hasn't turned out well for me.  Instead try to focus on your ability to learn quickly or relate to something that is along the same lines as the original question.  You don't want to say it too many times as you eventually look incompetent.  Admitting up front you may not know an answer to a question shouldn't disqualify you from the job on the spot.  Maybe the company has interviewed five people before you, and they have all replied "I don't know" as well.

Have you ever had a difficult question you couldn't answer in an interview?  If so, how did things shake out at the conclusion of the interview?