Category Archives: Interview

Here’s a cool idea I picked up from one of my clients. Before you go for an interview, in that brief few minutes when you are cooling off in the lobby, use your smartphone to take a picture of yourself.

How do you look?  Are your eyes smiling?  Is there lunch in your teeth?  How about your collar?

This is not just an exercise in vanity. It’s a way to check what you’re projecting and what the interviewer will see.  It will give you just that little bit more confidence for that so-important first handshake.

“Smeyes” is a video industry term for smiling eyes.  Apparently, if you are modeling for Sears, this is a key element of how you present. In this new world of empathy and collaboration, it’s a pretty hot item too.

You can practice smeyes at home. Stand in front of the mirror and think of something hilarious. Then force that energy up into your eyes. It’s pretty cool.  You’ll be amazed at what it can do to your relationships with your partner/kids/dog.

So, check your smeyes and your fly and have a great conversation (but don’t take a picture of your fly in the lobby – that might be awkward).

I heard a speaker this morning.  She was a very accomplished person with some stellar achievements.  I was almost inspired by her.  I wanted to be inspired.  I wanted to be in awe but she just did not pull it off.

Maybe this was just one part of her day.  Maybe she had a difficult thing to do after she spoke to our group.  I’ll never know.  What I do know is that she did not make the most of the opportunity that she had to make a lasting impression, and maybe create some legacy moments.

I look at speaking engagements a bit like job interviews.  People are setting aside time to listen to me.  I owe it to them and to myself to put my best face forward.

This does not just mean remembering to put on lipstick.  It means thinking about why they want to talk to me in the first place.  What are they expecting to hear or learn about?  Why have I been chosen?

Of course bad things happen on the way to interviews and presentations:  buttons pop, coffee spills, trains get delayed.  Those things do not change what you have to contribute.  Not at all.

So before you go in front of the people who invited you, take a breath and remember what got you there in the first place.  Put on a smile, make your eyes bright and jump in with both feet!

Interviews over meals are tricky.  I’m not just talking about formal job interview type lunches.  If your manager or even a client invites you to lunch, it’s really an interview too, isn’t it?

This is not about your gang at work going out for pizza on a Friday.  Those meals are meant to be fun and casual.  If you spill your iced tea or end up with pepperoni in your hair, it just becomes fodder for the Christmas party.

Accepting a lunch invitation is like accepting a new project.  Scope out where you are going and who will be there.  Have a few ice breaker questions in your back pocket and chew a piece of gum on your way over.

I arrived at a lunch yesterday and the person I was meeting was already there and had ordered a beer.  It was tempting but instead, I opted for Diet Coke, citing my waist line.  Truthfully, while it was a benefit to my waistline, it was really a way to keep myself from getting light headed and giggly.

The menu was harder.  How do you choose something tasty and minimize the risk of looking like a goof while I eat?   Carrying a Tide Stick is not enough.  Prevention is the way to go.  Trust me.

Here are some things to avoid:

• Any pasta or noodle that may require slurping.
• Things that come with a red sauce.
• Be careful with food that you eat with your fingers.  This may sound silly but only choose this option if the filling is solid or holds together.  I attempted a club sandwich yesterday and no matter how well I managed to wrap my fingers around those little triangular layers, they fell apart resulting in a shower of bacon and tomato pieces.  Ugh.
• Burgers.  They look so good but ketchup and mustard running down your arm leaves a) a nasty residue and b) a sketchy impression.
• Food with a lot of bit and pieces.  Poppy seeds are a real killer.  The person across from you will be staring at your right incisor instead of making eye contact.  Even if they are gracious enough to tell you that there is a seed in your tooth (which they won’t), it’s almost impossible to dig it out without floss.

So good luck and bon appetit!

Let me start with some full disclosure.  I do not like holiday parties at or for work.  I’m okay with a communal lunch in a central area or going out for a group lunch.  Both are casual and don’t require a lot of planning either on behalf of the company or with respect to what I am going to wear.

The holiday work party is fraught with difficulty.  Mixing and mingling with co-workers is one thing but adding alcohol into the mix is quite another.

I am here to tell you that just because wine is offered, does not mean you have to take it.  This is not high school.  No one will think you are a loser because you have a soda water.  If they do, brush off your resume and start looking for alternatives.

If you feel like a drink will help you relax and have a good time, stuff it.  This is work.  Work is not always fun.  Be grateful that your company has enough money to provide you with some nice food and the time to enjoy it.

Gatherings like this are a really good time to talk to and maybe even impress people outside your normal circle and that could mean some new and interesting things for the New Year.

Getting tipsy, telling everyone you love them and throwing up on your boss’s shoes is not the best way to advance your career.  It’s probably not the legacy your parents had in mind when they sent you to college.

So let’s raise a glass of holiday cheer and remember:  it does not have to be a beer.

My son is very laid back.  For the most part, it’s a good thing.  He does not freeze up before tests or freak out when an assignment is due.  He just goes about his business and gets it done.

The down side to this is that he really only has one expression.  It’s neither happy nor sad, it is just kind of flat (except before 10 am, then he looks just plain dopey)

He has started going to job interviews and this has proven to be quite a liability.  His face and body language don’t give off the air of an enthusiastic high school student who wants to learn the ropes.  To a hiring manager, he probably looks more like a bouncer at a club.

I have been talking to him about putting out a little more energy when he is talking to people but I’m pretty sure it’s falling on deaf ears.

People in the workplace, whether they are peers or managers, need energetic feedback.  You don’t have to bounce off the walls but you need to be able to nod and make eye contact with at least some brightness in your eyes.  Otherwise they will keep repeating the same conversation over and over because they think you are just not getting it.

Try it now.  Stare at your screen with a flat “whatever” look.  Now, pretend someone has just come in to take a photo.  Sit up a bit straighter.  Clear your throat.  Crack your face muscles into a smile and turn on the lights behind your eyes.

I’m not saying you need a 10 megawatt smile to tell your boss that you are going to lunch but if you want the team to go with your strategy, then you need to get a little projection happening behind those  eyeballs.