Friday, July 6, 2007

I put myself out there everyday.

No, not like that. Everyday I talk to people, I meet people and I give them glimpses of my life. A little bit about who I am, who I’ve been and who I want to be. And though I have know this for a while, it’s only hit home recently.

I talk to people and they will mention something I said, and I’m taken aback – you mean you listened? And while I know that doesn’t equal care, I do know that it’s odd.

I work in a place where I constantly ask people about themselves. All day – some days I want to pull my hair out, other days I could listen to them talk all day and never care what time it was. I drop those “bits” of information about myself to show I was listening, and how I can relate to them – why they should trust me, want me to help them.

It’s when someone asks you point blank a question about something in your life that I think we all stop short. I know we all talk about “me, me, me, me” but when someone asks about you it throws you for a curve.

It’s that sudden change from me to me? that can really mess with your head.

1 comment:

Mychawd said...

Very true. I think that's part of what makes interviewing so uncomfortable. Talking about me in passing conversation is no big deal, I'm offering information I want to offer. I'm being honest about who I really am. Then interview questions, centering on me, and never really about me. They're about framing some fact about myself in a way that satisfies the listener. Effectively telling them what they want to hear. If the question is truly about me, and I am unclear about what they are looking for, "what type of tree would you be, and why?" then it is sure to blow me over and cause scrambling to get to my footing back.