It must be hard to put in a great performance every time you step on the stage night after night, yet the audience is paying the same amount for the ticket to the show as the people who are in the audience on the second night after the show opens (opening night audiences often pay more).
And isn’t that like interviewing?
Years ago, I coached an applicant for an interviewing; he was someone with great skills who I knew to be very talented but something just wasn’t clicking for him. He thanked me for meeting with him and we sat down for a mock interview. I asked him three questions, paused and said, “John, I have the answer.”
“John, it’s boring to answer the same questions over and over again, isn’t it.” He nodded.
“Well, you may have answered this question 20 rtimes before but the fact is that they are only hearing the answer to your question for the first time. Think of your audience and not yourself. Focus on putting on a good performance, just like the cast of a Broadway show does and remember that the audience is only seeing the performance for the first time.
John went on 5 more interviews and received 4 offers.
So remember that when the phone rings and it’s time to step out on the stage and belt out the answers to all the same questions over and over again, think of the cast of ashow you saw and how well they did, despite singing lyrics, night after night for years on end.
Then belt out the song.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2006 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To subscribe to Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, go to www.headhuntyournextjob.com. To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you or search for openings, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com. For information about personal search services, go to www.vippersonalsearch.com.
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
