It’s spring in the northern hemisphere, and for many of us that means two things. 1. Winter is over (well, at least for some), and 2. The Masters Tournament. In light of these two wonderful events, we’ve decided to take your job search off the internet for a moment and invite you to imagine yourself on the golf course at Augusta National. In today’s post, we’re going to explain how playing golf and the job interview process can actually go hand in hand. So sit down, grab an Arnold Palmer, and enjoy these lessons learned from golf as the apply to the job interview process.
1. Practice Makes Perfect
Like many things in life, practice is critical if you want to master the skills needed to perform well on the golf course. Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson didn’t get to where they are today simply by reading books on how to play the game. Instead, they practiced - and they probably did it so much that they could play the game in their sleep. The same logic applies for the interview process. As a job seeker, your job (in addition to other responsibilities you may have) is to essentially find a job - therefore you should be doing everything you can to make sure you master the art of interviewing before you set foot in your next job interview. Take time to study the organization you’re interviewing with and learn their values, mission statement and company vision. Become familiar with their products, services, and standards of operation so when your interviewer asks you about them, you can deliver an informed response. Also, practicing your interview skills with a friend or mentor can be helpful since, like in golf, you often can’t detect your own weaknesses unless someone else points them out to you in a constructive manner.
2. Patience is a Virtue
In golf, patience is one of those things you just have to have - regardless of whether or not you consider yourself a generally patient individual. On the course, you have to have patience for the people playing ahead of you, the people you’re playing with, and you have to be patient with yourself when things aren’t going the way you want them to. Likewise in the interview process, patience with your interviewer is something you must have in order to maintain your sanity. This holds especially true at the conclusion of an interview when the only thing you have left to do (after sending your thank-you cards, of course) is wait for an answer. In golf, patience is easily disrupted by dwelling on your performance on the last hole. Similarly, you can avoid losing your patience in the interview process by not dwelling on your performance in your last interview, but rather, focusing on submitting applications to other positions, even if you think you got the job you just interviewed for. This way, if the job you recently interviewed for doesn’t work out, you’re not left scrambling to secure another interview. Overall, patience can help you shave some strokes off your golf game, and keep your head on straight during the job interview process.
3. Attitude is Everything
When it comes to being successful at anything, your attitude can play a significant role in whether or not you achieve your goals. In golf, if your attitude isn’t positive, then your score will be (keeping in mind that the lower your score is, the better). Of course, for the purpose of this blog post, the same principle can be applied to the job interview process. If you walk into an interview with a negative attitude, the outcome isn’t very likely to play out in your favor for many reasons. For one, how you carry yourself can speak volumes to a potential employer. Interviewers can usually detect if someone is pessimistic, egotistic, or apathetic within the first few minutes of a face-to-face interview, so put on a smile and check your attitude at the door. Furthermore, a negative attitude can impact your quest for a dream job even after the interview has concluded. By remaining generally positive while taking the steps necessary to avoid disappointment and unpreparedness in the event you don’t get the job, your overall job search experience will be much better in the long run.
Overall, golf can teach us many things about life, and how you handle the job interview process is certainly one of them. With a little practice, a lot of patience, and a positive attitude, you, too, can achieve success in your next job interview as long as you stay the course and avoid the hazards that lay before you.
Do you have a job interview on the horizon? If not, and you’re looking for a job in eye care, then Local Eye Site is a great place to get started.
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