Interviews are like dates

Hi! (Is anyone gonna read this? exactly how good does it have to be?)

I've decided to blog. This, apparently, is a good place to start - it's free, seems easy enough, and is way less commitment that deciding to write a book. I'm blogging with specific intention too. Besides the fact that I'm bored and have oodles of time on my hands, I have recently discovered an incredibly funny parallel between interviewing and dating - a parallel that I think needs to be shared. I have unfortunately (fortunately?) been a hunter for both a job and a man, and have learned the intimate realities of what it takes to put yourself out there, I understand the vast difference between what you want, and what wants you, and I have mastered the art of tweaking my stories on the fly. I have discovered that both dating and job hunting are more similar that you'd think - and I have stories to prove it.

Let me first tell you a bit about me and why I found myself the hunter in the first place.

I could cut and paste from either my resume, or my online profile, but neither is cynical enough for this post. I'm a 42 year old female, born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, now living in the heart of the city. I wouldn't say that 40something is too old to be looking for either a job, or a love...but I'm no spring chicken either. I'm set in my ways, in both my personal life and my business life - unlike the way I was 20 years ago - trainable and moldable. I have lived an essentially single existence until a mere 3 years ago (except for one incredible poor 2 year decision that I would prefer to pretend never happened). I never consciously made an effort to find me a man until the year I turned 40 and was dared to create an online dating profile. Before then, I was all about me, living with an 'if it happens it happens' attitude and enjoying the occasional fling and/or one night stand to keep the blood flowing. In the latter part of my 30's friends did try in vain to set me up - perhaps feeling sorry for me, figuring my stellar travel record, great job, fantastic friends (both male and female), and spontaneous and FUN lifestyle could never be enough without a partner to share it with. I disagreed and was very happy in my world - but was also interested in meeting a man that I could have regular sex with. Having said all of that, my point is that I've had my fair share of dates in my day - blind dates, online dates, friend of a friend dates, sure-I'll-give-it-a-shot dates. Some were okay, and some were literally horrific. The okay dates have long been forgotten, and the horrific ones added to my repertoire of stories to share at a cocktail party.

I've also recently found myself out of work . Correction: I didn't so much 'find myself out of work' as much as I was kicked to the curb with a laptop, a fat severance package and lots of encouragement by friends, family and former colleagues with statements like "pfft...it won't take you long at all to find something else!", "This is the best thing that could have happened to you!", and "the world is your oyster now!". Ya....well, I did mouth the words, but it certainly didn't feel like a good thing. I was laid off from a company where I had spent 15 years developing a strong reputation for being a great employee - had worked up the ranks to a senior role, was well respected, was getting great results, and had received a number of awards. Then...one day I was told that my job was changing and my skills weren't a match. Devestation like I've never known it...but that's another story and a whole different blog. I took a few months off to travel, chill out, and try to figure out what I wanted to do, and 6 months ago I officially entered the job market, full of confidence and excitement, full steam ahead! To date, I've applied for a gazillion jobs, have aligned myself with 8 different recruiters, have 21 online job boards bookmarked that I review almost daily, and have pretty much exhausted my personal network. It seems that what I want to do has absolutely nothing to do with me finding a job. I'm considering 'settling' just to get a paycheque. The confidence and excitement are long gone. I have been on a lot of interviews with a variety of different types of people - and no two interviews or interviewees are the same. I don't know exactly how many but my brown suit is wearing out between the legs, and my 'new' white blouse now has yellow armpit marks. A lot of interviews. Some were okay, and some were downright appalling. The okay ones have long been forgotten, and the appalling ones added to my repertoire of stories to share at a cocktail party.

And so.... this brings me to the topic of my blog: Looking For Mr. Right, Inc., the parallels between interviewing and dating. You'll be pleasantly surprised how many parallels I can draw - from the "he/this job seems too good to be true" to "I honestly can't be bothered, do I really need to shower first?". All accounts will be true tales of dates and/or job interviews that either I have personally experienced, or someone close to me has. I can't say I won't embellish for humour's sake, cuz really, that's what this is all about.
Stay tuned!

dedicated to finding the humour in it all,
Lisa