Sometimes, no matter how much you prepare, you’re just going to have a bad interview! I just wish someone had given me that nugget of advice when I was starting out.
If you’re into fitness, as you’re probably painfully aware, some days you can be really looking forward to a run/swim/workout. But when you start you just can’t get into it! In these situations, people generally have no problem classing it as an off day and moving on. But almost everyone expects to always be on their ‘A’ game when going for an interview. Obviously comparing going to the gym to an interview, the external pressures are completely different:
- Maybe you really need the money,
- Interviews are thin on the ground
- or you just really want the job!
However just like going for that run/swim/workout, no matter how much you want it – some days it’s just not going to go your way! The best thing you can do is look to see what you can learn from the experience and move on. Just like keep fit sessions, you’ll probably ace the next one and wonder why you were so worried.
The one bit of advice I wish I’d received much earlier in my career is: Saying yes to one thing means that you are always saying no to something else! It seems pretty obvious when you think about it, as time is finite. So every little task you take on is consuming a part of that finite resource. When you’re starting out, you’re probably ‘time rich / cash poor’ which is probably the worst combination . . .
Last year, as part of a series of posts, I asked: “Are you investing in your own career?“. This, in part, came about from a great quote that heard: Do you have 10 years experience, or 1 year’s experience repeated 10 times? I think the majority of developers starting out are fired up and excited every day. Everything is new, everything is a challenge. Just getting something to work, no matter how is a success. . . .