Have you ever read the children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day? It is the story of a downtrodden little boy, whose life is routinely interrupted by un-fortuitous events, and against whom the whole universe is seemingly conspiring. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day might be interpreted as a narrative driven by Murphy’s Law, which explores the bounds of human perseverance and humanity’s ability to copy with a universe spinning out of control. The fact is, sometimes, no matter what we do, the whole world seems to be conspiring against us. Yet, embedded within Alexander’s sad narrative lays the idea that we are ultimately capable of controlling whether a bad day seriously affects our mental state.
In this vein, I was recently told the story of a job seeker who went into an interview completely unaware that no matter what he or she did or said, he or she was not going to be hired—that, on that day, the universe was conspiring against him or her. It just happened that on that day, his or her interviewer was having a miserable day, and, quite unintentionally, their misery infected the interview and clouded the lens through which they would be assessing the job candidate. In short, this job seeker, like Alexander, was about to have a “terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.”
Yet, even if it seems like an interview, for reasons completely unbeknownst to you, is headed downhill fast, there are three things you might try, to change its momentum in a more positive direction.
- Change the mood. If you notice that your interviewers seem despondent or perhaps curt, do or say something to change the mood. Make a light-hearted joke (if the situation permits it). Who knows, a few kind or light-hearted words from you could turn their day around.
- Keep smiling. I have found that, like yawning, smiling is contagious. Even if you see hot embers burning in the eyes of the person who is interviewing you, keep smiling and stay chipper. Emotions are infectious and eventually, no matter how inoculated, your upbeat cheery attitude will infect the person interviewing you (hopefully not before it’s too late!).
- Eye contact. Eye contact, if used correctly, can be a powerful thing. While you certainly do not want to further enrage your interviewer with an improper amount or degree of eye contact, it’s difficult to ignore someone’s humanity (and, consequently, treat them badly) when they are looking at you in the eye.
Comments are closed.