Extracurricular Activities
I recently went in for an interview with a very reputable company. I had prepared for this interview for hours. I did research on the company. I even met with a friend who knew all about the company for a couple hours going over history, product education and management structure. I wrote down all questions I thought they would ask me and wrote down how I would answer them. I thought that I had prepared for all of the questions, but I was wrong. This is the one question I was not prepared for:
“Please share with me a recent project that you are proud of. This could be personal or work related.”
I was very proud of two projects, one personal and one work related. I told him I had two different projects. He then asked me to briefly tell about both and that he would decide which one he wanted to talk about. Once I mentioned that I was starting a website, he immediately wanted to pull up the website and have me walk him through it. We talked a while about why I was creating this website and what my plans were for the website.
Of all things that were discussed in that hour interview I will remember two thoughts he expressed to me. The one I want to share is when he said, “I have interviewed people that have told me they have personal websites and they are garbage. I am impressed with what you have done with this website. One of the most memorable things that I will take away from this interview is your website.” Why did this impress me?
It impressed me because employers will come across more than one person that can do the job you are applying for. Good leaders of an organization are looking for someone that will fit their culture and their leadership style. This hiring manager had asked me lots of questions to determine if I had the skills and experience for the position. He wanted to know more about what my extracurricular activities were. Those activities are what I am doing when I am outside of work. This makes up part of who I am and what I will bring to the table for the organization. Regardless of what you feel, the company is hiring you as a person and as an employee.
The other thought that came to my mind is that if you are in between jobs, your future employer wants to know what you have been doing during that job search. It is wise, not only doing your job search, to have outside activities that you are engaged in. I remember going through an interview at 10 years ago. I knew this manger personally and felt it weird to interview with him. I had been working for him for a year and a half. He knew how I performed and what I was capable of. His interview focused on what I did outside of work. I find it interesting that two people I respected, even though one was a first time interview, were interested in what I was activities I was involved with outside of work.
The lesson I learned was to have something you are passionate about. For my friend, he wanted to complete a sprint triathlon. He showed that he could put in the hard work and dedication to complete many. This shows me something additional that makes me want to hire him. Invest your time and energy in activities outside of work.
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