I've had the recent privilege of working with quite a few young people on resume writing and interviewing skills and there's one piece of advice I give them at the very beginning of our time together. If they don't get anything else from their time with me, I want them to walk away with this reminder...
You are more than what you do.
And this message is for parents just as much as it is for their young people.
Because much of the focus is around experience, involvement, accomplishments and the like, I want young people to be fully confident in who they are as a person just as much as they can talk about the things that are listed on their piece of paper. We do much work on building a resume so we can get the college acceptance letters... the scholarships... the medals and awards that are the symbols of achievement... but do we, as those who have traveled this road ahead of them, work to help our young people know themselves outside of their distinguished dossier? Do we allow them to be themselves when the things they like (or don't)... the ways they think (or don't)... are different from what we would want? Do we give them the freedom to express their story from their perspective or do we just want them to tell it in a way that makes us look good? Do we push them to grow their vocabularies so that the words they choose would be the best representations of their knowledge and abilities and personal life experience or do we just want them to use the buzzwords we think others want to hear? All I'm trying to say is...
Learning to interview is about growing in your ability to express yourself to the best of your ability... telling your story in a way that others remember you in a sea of thousands of other applicants. Getting the job (or not) is only an indication of how a panel felt you fit the job description. Not getting the job does not necessarily mean you had a bad interview or did poorly in communicating who you were. The art of a conversational interview is a skill that must be built by practice, as is learning to throw a softball... or studying for an exam. Yes, some are innately better than others in the beginning but the same is true for someone who has an aptitude for music or an ability to run fast; but repetition is the key because repetition builds skill. The more you do it... the better you get. And as we head into the season when competitions for college admissions and compensation (in the form of scholarships) are in full force, I want to leave you with this...
You are more than what you do
What you plan or what you've done.
So, remember as you set your gaze
Toward the rising sun;
Be proud of your accomplishments
But don't let pride be your downfall
And past mistakes don't make you less loved
Just answer when He calls.
He knows the plans He has for you
To both struggle and succeed
So trust Him in the days to come
And follow where He leads.
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance" - Colossians 3:23
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