What I’ve Learned From Two Weeks of Interviewing.

Hello WordPress, one thing that I have been dealing with in my life has been the constant scheduling and negotiations that come alongside job interviews. Last month I graduated from Texas State University and ever since graduation I have been applying for jobs daily. I have been fortunate enough to have landed a variety of interviews that have really helped give me a perspective of what I think an employer is looking for. Throughout these interviews I can comfortably say that every single opportunity was completely different from the previous. I had an interview where I was alongside another applicant, an interview in a group setting of six people all playing games, an interview where I was able to talk directly with the CEO, and even an interview where they instructed me to drive to one of their job sites and talk with an employee. Nevertheless, these are a couple of insights that I took away from the experiences.

1. You Bring Value To Their Company.
2. Do Not Be Afraid Of Asking The Important Questions.
3. Bring a Book.
4. Answer With Authenticity.

You are valuable

If you don’t believe that you bring the necessary assets to get the job done, neither will the employer. There is a reason that the employer chose you to come in for a face-to-face interview. I believe that it is safe to say that you may assume that the employer has at least a fundamental interest in your application prior to the interview. This means that the spotlight is going to be on you to show them that you are confident in your ability to resemble those desirable traits. Even if you happen to be human like the rest of us and have a little bit of doubt, fake it till you make it, employers want to see confidence.

Ask the important questions

I think that this insight is very important in finding a job that is going to feel fulfilling. In a certain way, you are going to be interviewing the recruiter just as much as they will be interviewing you. If you sit down at the interview and just nod your head as they give you their pitch, they WILL take advantage of you. There are certain questions that I believe are necessary in discovering the hidden truth behind a company. One of my favorite questions that I would ask employers was:

“What is your employee turnover rate.”

Me and Every other careful applicant

This question was perfect because It would allow me to gain valuable insight on not only the job’s security but also whether or not the employees were satisfied enough to stick around. Think of it like you are meeting a partner from an online dating site for the first time. You always want to know what is hidden underneath the profile.

Bring a book

I would consider myself an avid reader and I actually stumbled across this insight on accident. I can not emphasize enough the amount of times that employees and employers would comment on the book that I was reading while I was waiting to be called in. I have been reading a job search book called “What Color Is Your Parachute,” and when I would hear someone tell me about how great the book was I would feel as if I had already gained a valuable connection. These comments also showed me that the person communicating the message was probably an avid reader as well and so this opened up the possibility of exchanging valuable resources for learning outside of training.

Answer authentically

Finally, keep in mind that the goal of the interview is going to be to stand out among the other applicants. If you put yourself inside the perspective of a recruiter, you will quickly understand that It can be a very long and tedious process. It would be intelligent to assume that the employer has heard all of the typical responses to questions such as:

“I am interested in this job because I have a passion for helping out others.”

Your typical job applicant

Regardless of whether this is a good answer to the question, the matter of truth is that they have heard it a thousand times. If you truly want to stand out among the other applicants you are going to have to dig a little bit deeper than that. Additionally, if this requires you to do a little bit of self reflecting, more power to you. You have to understand why you are applying to that job and then you also have to understand what aspects of the job are going to be the most fulfilling to you. First, you are going to have to be completely honest with yourself as to why you are applying. Then, you have to take that information and put it in the prettiest package that you have ever delivered to an employer.

conclusion

All in all, I have learned a lot throughout these past two weeks and I am looking forward to starting my career with a job that I accepted today. I hope that these personal insights will help you land your dream job, and I also hope that you follow my blog Semi-Poetic. I plan to hold myself accountable and post on here at least once a week and I encourage you all to live a life full of mindfulness, empathy, and creativity.

“Peace, Love, and Positivity”

Logic

Reminiscing On My First Written Poem

The Devil’s Advocate 

Written in March of 2017

He who does not withhold his wit nor demeanor.
His conversation travels a two-way road filled with intersections and roundabouts.
He understands that his words are not to be redeemed.

A man whose beliefs are strong and sure, but longs to walk on both sides of the path without crossing the dotted line. 
A jack of all trades who fears commitment, but was called upon to embrace his true purpose through mediation and moderation.

Nevertheless, communication is irreversible and concrete to its full intention. 
Open his eyes and see that contemporary conversation is much like wine that longs to be restored unto water.
For only water may be used to quench the thirst of those it has abandoned.

After stumbling across The Devil’s Advocate poem this morning, I instantly recognized a variety of things that I really liked about this piece. Upon further reading, I also found an assortment of things that I thought I could improve on.

To start it all off, the reason why I was searching through my old journal is because I have not been writing nearly as much as I feel I should be. Part of this situation roots itself in my new found hobby of editing pictures on GIMP. Nevertheless, I feel like I could use some writing momentum to jump right back into writing poetry. I have picked up a new book that serves as an introduction into poetry. As a result, I now realize that I have not been using any form of structure or prose within my writing. My mission now is to cover the fundamentals of poetry prior to my attempt at writing a collection.

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There are 2 main aspects of The Devil’s Advocate that I am proud of when observing in hindsight:

1. I am proud of the message and theme being addressed
2. I am proud of the subjective connotation that encourages the reader to look over the poem more than once.

At the time of writing, I was taking a Human Communication and Technology class at Texas State University. I was also reading a lot of books that revolved around mindfulness which paired well with the lessons being taught in class. I was really frustrated with how little people talked around campus and even more frustrated at the amount of students walking around staring at their phones. The Devil’s Advocate lays out this hope for a genuine conversation.

Finally, the two main points that I think I could have done better are:

1. The Poem is confusing and hard to follow along.
2. There is not nearly enough Imagery of the road. I think more imagery would allow the reader to better grasp the message underneath.

All in all, I feel more confident now that I have started learning the fundamentals of poetry, and I am excited to finish the Introductory book. Hopefully next time I post about a poem I will have already grasped the concept of rhythm and structure. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear your thoughts soon!