August 13th, 2017
"Hey, good luck with your interview today/tomorrow/this week"
I appreciate when people tell me that - and I do feel lucky several companies want me to come in for interviews - but I can't help but think of the immortal Ron Swanson: "I'd wish you the best of luck, but I believe luck is a concept created by the weak to explain their failures."*
Most of all, it reminds me of my friend and former colleague Tom Plewniak, who also took a break in his career and rambled across the world a while back.
In Canada, the most common status symbol - yes, I know that is a contradiction - is the Canada Goose jacket. Not that I've seen any recently, now that true summer weather is finally here. When the temperature drops roughly 50 to 60 degrees Celsius over the next 6 months, however, they'll start popping up everywhere. They're quite pricy jackets, but they're quality.
I remember when Tom (at the time a recent immigrant in Canada) got his first. He told me: "I now realize there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing." In deep winter, he actually parked his car on the company parking lot as far away as possible from the entrance, just to enjoy the comfort of his jacket more. Our jolly German would almost dance from his car to the door.
What has all of this to do with 'luck'?
Well, Belgian Arctic explorer Dixie Dansercoer - who wears these jackets in climates they were made for - said it even better than my friend: "If problems follow you, you don't suffer bad luck, you are simply ill prepared."
Long story short, if you want to be successfulin an interview: Don't rely on luck. Be prepared.
* Quote from Parks and Recreation (NBC, 2009-2015) season 6 episode 10.
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