It’s Valentine's Week, and for a bit of light-hearted fun, we’re here to tell you how your love life and working life aren’t as different as you might think. Job interviews are all about meeting an employer for the first time and finding out if you can both envision a future of happiness working together. First dates are similar, you’re getting to know each other and deciding if there may be a future for you both.
Both first dates and job interviews can go in two ways, sometimes everything falls into place and you find your happily ever after. Other times, you just don’t click with the other person and find yourself on the sofa watching Dirty Dancing and eating ice cream straight from the tub. We’ve all been there.
So, in what ways are they similar, and how can you prepare?
- Research: We can all admit to doing our best Joe Goldberg impression and online stalking the person we’re going on a first date with beforehand. Why not apply those same skills before an interview? The importance of research before a job interview can’t be stressed enough. Take your time to read through the company’s website, find out about their history, how they’ve grown, and what their goals for the future are.
Your date might be a little freaked out if you start talking about a holiday they took to Greece back in 2006 that you found out from scrolling their Instagram page for hours, but an employer will always be impressed with your research!
- Outfit: Has anyone ever gone on a date and worn the first thing they tried on? It just doesn’t happen, it’s a crisis that leaves us feeling like we have nothing in our wardrobe. On a first date, it’s important to wear something that makes you look good, but also something that makes you feel confident and represents you as a person.
The same applies for a job interview. You should always stay on the smart side, but if what you’re wearing isn’t comfortable that’s going to show through your body language.
- Communication: After the date, who texts first? You don’t want to seem over-keen, but you also want to make sure the other person knows you had a good time. The same applies to job interviews. Dropping a short but sweet email to thank the employer for their time is the perfect way to let them know you’re interested without being overbearing.
And finally, if the interview (or date!) doesn’t go well, learn from the experience and move on. There are plenty of fish in the sea in both the dating and working world.