Sometimes Silence can speak louder than words

It's Friday afternoon, and I am exhausted...but in a good way. I had an interview last night in San Francisco, and one this morning in Santa Rosa. Both of which were preliminary.

I am definitely getting better at these interviews, and learning how to drive in San Francisco. This time no one flicked me off, which means I must have done something right. I've also learned that there are certain places that will charge you less to park depending on how far you are willing to walk. For example, I found a parking garage (Thanks to Yelp) that will only charge you $2 per hour or a max of $20 per day. Some will do $10 per day. The Embarcadero for example will charge you $3 every 15 minutes because it's located in the center of the financial district. I also learned to pack snacks in the car for these trips. From now on when I go on these California trips, I am yelping to find the best prices and the best reviews. Seems like a no-brainier now, but I'm not used to paying for parking on a daily basis.

When I arrived to the hiring event in San Francisco, I was Thirty minutes early and was able to mingle a little bit with the other applicants. There was just one other applicant at the time and he was an engineer from San Luis Obispo(which is mid California; really nice beaches!). We chatted a few, and he showed up business casual, with a hoodie. I started to think I was overdressed wearing the suit and tie. Turns out I wasn't.

Thirty minutes later it was time to go to the event, and forty applicants showed up (in suits)! I was absolutely surprised, and not surprised at the same time.

 I was surprised at how I felt inside because it had been such a long time, since I had been to an event like this; two years to be exact. I wasn't surprised because the unemployment rate is high these days and it was San Francisco. People wanted to work there. The salary has a really competitive base. Most of all I was surprised at the number of experienced professionals. Most of these applicants were two years out of college with experience. Here I was just 3 months out, I was probably the on of the youngest applicant there.

I wasn't surprised for long thanks to UT's business program, and I had actually learned how to handle these career events. I failed miserably in the past and learned that talking too much was a bad thing, but that was accounting. Could sales & marketing be any different?

After a few moments, I regained my consiousness and went into survival mode. Like a flash of lightning I remembered all that I have learned and all the "conversation" books I have read recently. I paid close attention to body language: people's feet, people's gestures.

 It was like a feeding frenzy as many applicants forcibly introduced themselves. Some were smooth, most of them, not so smooth. Realize that sometimes you may think standing around and listening is awkward, but it actually commands more respect than just forcibly talking over people.

Sometimes silence can speak louder than words: your eyes, your feet, and your hands. Knowing when to say something and how to say it is key. Most of all, ask good questions, and genuinely let people know that you find them interesting. In recent years, I have learned that it's not about being yourself, it's not about being someone else, it's about putting your best self out there. Really listen and listen good. (The 007 James Bond movies shows a really good example of this.)

Also find the better applicants, and team up with them. Talk to them and buddy together to talk to an executive can help because you know the recruiters are watching. Heck, she was taking pictures (probably to screen later). 

Good news is I got a call from the company this morning to come in for an interview next week :) Yay!!! Hopefully this is a legit company. It's a start up, so we'll see.

Wow! My blogs are too long. Next time I'll have to tell you about the Santa Rosa interview, a totally different experience.