Intimidating Interviews
By Pastor Troy
The INTERVIEW has always been a little mysterious for me. Think about it . . . you are expected to cram your entire life experience into less than an hour in order to convince someone you have never met that you are someone that he or she would like to hire. The type of employment you are seeking will usually dictate what you choose from your life to insert into the one hour interview time slot. The pressure is on, it has to be good or at least better than everyone else interviewing.
When I was in college I remember an interview that I had in order to work as a waiter in a truck stop called “The Pine Cone.” Who names a restaurant “The Pine Cone?” Is there anything even remotely appetizing about a pine cone? Certainly, there were pine trees (notice the past tense, because they had to cut them down to make room for the building) around the restaurant, but please correct me if I’m wrong, do you name a restaurant “The Acorn” if it is near Oak trees or “The Dog” if it is near some Dogwood trees. It would seem to me that if I was going to name a restaurant after a tree I would start with something appetizing like “Maple” or “Apple” or realistic like “Ash.” Actually come to think of it, the most fitting name would most certainly have been “Ash.” There were days I would go from work to football practice without having time to shower and some of the guys thought I was a firefighter….“Nope, just worked a full shift at the “Pine Cone”’….no other explanation needed.
Back to the interview…the manager asks me, “So why do you think we should hire you?” I am looking around at the current employees and want to say, “Have you seen the people working here?” Instead, I break into a long explanation that includes my previous work experience at a restaurant and strong character and work ethic. Next question, “Are you dependable.” Why even ask that question? Does he really think that someone is going to say, “Well probably not, I mean, I usually skip about one day of work per week and like to show up late without notice.” Where do they get these questions? One of my favorites, “Are you honest?” Do you really think a dishonest person is going to answer honestly?
So after a handful of ridiculously worn out interview questions, the hiring manager (I worked for him one entire semester and I can’t remember his name) turns to me and asks me what questions I have for him. I start with, “Is this a good work environment?” What was I thinking? Of course it’s a good work environment….minimum wage, no benefits, one 15 minute break every 8 hour shift, I have to wear short shorts (they weren’t that bad-but when you’re the only guy that is a server and the majority of customers are truck drivers, wearing shorts can be a little AWKWARD). “Is there room for advancement in the company?” “Yeah, you can advance from the breakfast bar to the main dining room….tips are a little better in there….but you have to be fast.” As I think back on this great life experience, I tend to agree, the single guy that tried to order from the senior menu to save 10% and demanded that his coffee be refilled 15 times was more likely to leave a $1 dollar bill when seated in the dining room rather than give me exactly 15% of $4.75 down to the penny (.71 cents if you were wondering) while seated at the breakfast bar.
By the end of my interview at the “Pine Cone”, I think we each had plenty of time to share our entire life experiences and clearly explain our individual objectives. And yes, I started work the next day. :-)
Not all interviews are that lackadaisical or meaningless. Some interviews can mean a major change in life from greater opportunities to moving to a new location to increased salary and benefits. When preparing for these interviews, the stakes are much higher and the margin for error is much smaller. So you really must make your opportunity count. Each answer must be carefully worded and each question must be clearly communicated.
In our passage for this Sunday, John 7:14-36 Jesus is answering questions from both the crowd of Jews and the Jewish leaders gathered at the Feast of Tabernacles. The situation is similar to an interview because the questions are difficult and somewhat unexpected and the reply is extremely important. Jesus once again proves His perfection as he smoothly navigates around each potential landmine. I hope you will be able to join us for the service on Sunday, as we break down four different explanations from the Messiah. I also ask for you to personally pray with me for God to be glorified and each person in attendance to be challenged and encouraged.
The INTERVIEW has always been a little mysterious for me. Think about it . . . you are expected to cram your entire life experience into less than an hour in order to convince someone you have never met that you are someone that he or she would like to hire. The type of employment you are seeking will usually dictate what you choose from your life to insert into the one hour interview time slot. The pressure is on, it has to be good or at least better than everyone else interviewing.
When I was in college I remember an interview that I had in order to work as a waiter in a truck stop called “The Pine Cone.” Who names a restaurant “The Pine Cone?” Is there anything even remotely appetizing about a pine cone? Certainly, there were pine trees (notice the past tense, because they had to cut them down to make room for the building) around the restaurant, but please correct me if I’m wrong, do you name a restaurant “The Acorn” if it is near Oak trees or “The Dog” if it is near some Dogwood trees. It would seem to me that if I was going to name a restaurant after a tree I would start with something appetizing like “Maple” or “Apple” or realistic like “Ash.” Actually come to think of it, the most fitting name would most certainly have been “Ash.” There were days I would go from work to football practice without having time to shower and some of the guys thought I was a firefighter….“Nope, just worked a full shift at the “Pine Cone”’….no other explanation needed.
Back to the interview…the manager asks me, “So why do you think we should hire you?” I am looking around at the current employees and want to say, “Have you seen the people working here?” Instead, I break into a long explanation that includes my previous work experience at a restaurant and strong character and work ethic. Next question, “Are you dependable.” Why even ask that question? Does he really think that someone is going to say, “Well probably not, I mean, I usually skip about one day of work per week and like to show up late without notice.” Where do they get these questions? One of my favorites, “Are you honest?” Do you really think a dishonest person is going to answer honestly?
So after a handful of ridiculously worn out interview questions, the hiring manager (I worked for him one entire semester and I can’t remember his name) turns to me and asks me what questions I have for him. I start with, “Is this a good work environment?” What was I thinking? Of course it’s a good work environment….minimum wage, no benefits, one 15 minute break every 8 hour shift, I have to wear short shorts (they weren’t that bad-but when you’re the only guy that is a server and the majority of customers are truck drivers, wearing shorts can be a little AWKWARD). “Is there room for advancement in the company?” “Yeah, you can advance from the breakfast bar to the main dining room….tips are a little better in there….but you have to be fast.” As I think back on this great life experience, I tend to agree, the single guy that tried to order from the senior menu to save 10% and demanded that his coffee be refilled 15 times was more likely to leave a $1 dollar bill when seated in the dining room rather than give me exactly 15% of $4.75 down to the penny (.71 cents if you were wondering) while seated at the breakfast bar.
By the end of my interview at the “Pine Cone”, I think we each had plenty of time to share our entire life experiences and clearly explain our individual objectives. And yes, I started work the next day. :-)
Not all interviews are that lackadaisical or meaningless. Some interviews can mean a major change in life from greater opportunities to moving to a new location to increased salary and benefits. When preparing for these interviews, the stakes are much higher and the margin for error is much smaller. So you really must make your opportunity count. Each answer must be carefully worded and each question must be clearly communicated.
In our passage for this Sunday, John 7:14-36 Jesus is answering questions from both the crowd of Jews and the Jewish leaders gathered at the Feast of Tabernacles. The situation is similar to an interview because the questions are difficult and somewhat unexpected and the reply is extremely important. Jesus once again proves His perfection as he smoothly navigates around each potential landmine. I hope you will be able to join us for the service on Sunday, as we break down four different explanations from the Messiah. I also ask for you to personally pray with me for God to be glorified and each person in attendance to be challenged and encouraged.
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