Dealing with failure.

How well do you deal with failure?

I had a second round interview today. The first round interview went excellent. I interview really well, I'm pretty charming and I was really interested in what I was applying for. I had some projects I already wanted to suggest, and that went over famously.

So it got changed to a phone interview, little less comfortable there, but no big deal, I have great answers to whatever their going to ask.

So they asked me about my past, and my experiences growing up. And it occurs to me... I've completely disassociated from my past.

Completely. I can't remember where I was for 3 or 4 months here or there at 16 I'd wake up Tuesday morning and it would be Friday.

I can't remember where I was at 18. So I stumbled over this part of the interview. It went pretty rough for the first half. I didn't even really want to think that they'd bring this up... I think I purposefully avoided thinking about it.

The remainder of the interview went as well as it could have. He said a lot of the rest of what I said was excellent. But at the end of the interview he said he wished I had talked about myself more.

So I'm pretty sure I didn't get it.

 

sorry about the shitty interview...


i differ in how i deal with failure, depending on several things. particularly what i failed at, how hard i tried, how much i cared, my mood at the moment... and probably who's watching at the time. can't throw public tantrums after all...

 

I deal with failure very, very well... A little too well at times..

Sorry to hear Lode but most people feel awkward when talking about their past or themselves in interviews...

 

Don't worry about it.

I honestly think it was more cathartic for me to realize that I've never told myself the story of my life to myself than to get the job.

 

not sure dude. I'll tell you when/if it happens.

sucks about the interview though. But don't fret till its said and done.

 

What kind of BS interview was this?

I don't like talking about my past endlessly with work people, so I may not have done that well either.

Of course you could go to business school and they will teach you how to bullshit with people, then you would have the job

 

Public tantrum would have seemed amazingly appropriate for a phone interview.

Gotten off the phone.

"Sir, you can steal yell at the waterfountain,"

 

Habitat For Humanity.

My proposals were spectacular too. I suggested petitioning judges (Who run for election in Texas in November) to give non violent offenders community service in lieu of jail time.

But we have to get all personal.

And I had thought I did great at interviews in the past. Charm 'em a bit, bam a good job.

 

As dumb as it sounds I never looked for a job, I was always head hunted, jobs came looking for me so I dont know what it would be like but would find it odd they would want to know about your youth and not your skills, goals, ect.

 

Jimmy Carter gave my mom an award for building a park, I wonder if she would put in a good word for someone who I only know their first name, and only via the internet

 

No kidding!

 

Please do.

Last name is Batman.

 

Pronounced like Goldman or Corman?

 

You have to roll the 'r'.

It's wild to me that I honestly can't remember much about my life before 20.

 

interestingly enough...the alumni executive board interview i went to had many questions dealing with my past and my dealings with failure. granted, the 2 people who interviewed me were also alumni of this organization, and they've gone through the same line of questions, and the most important question when we first were going through the interview process to be accepted as a high school student in the program - we were asked to put the interviewers in our shoes, in essence, our life story.

now thats almost 10 years ago, where i was asked to tell 2 entirely new people whom i've never met in my life, my life story...

anywho, i've come to learn to be able to openly talk about my past with just about anyone and tailor it to the specifics of the questions.

back to my recent interview - a lot of the questions dealt with how i handled failure in different areas of my life...work, school, family, my own goals. and i had plenty of ammo to answer those questions.

now that tells me two things:
1. i fail, i fail a lot
2. that i can overcome my failures

as i've grown up, i've been able to "man up" to my failures. i don't run away from them anymore or try to make an excuse for the failure. i accept it and look to find a way to fix or improve the situation. i'm no longer afraid of failure.

for instance, i haven't graduated college yet...in part, yes it is a failure. i could come up with many excuses why...but it boils down to i chose to focus on something else at that time. but the optimistic in me sees this as a great opportunity to learn from and grow and move onto bigger and better things. this particular failure has led me to find an inner drive...getting the fires burning again...

 

If they bother to interview you, they usually already know that you have the expertise they need. They are usually more interested in knowing who you are as a person and if you will fit in with the company.

.

 

That was really helpful Fitzy. Thanks.

The thing I still can't wrap my head around, is the realization that I've never told myself the story of my life.

 

i don't think people know what this means.

 

lode,

From little things you intimated in your posts here and there it sounds like you went through a few traumatic experiences.

Is that right?

Might not it be easier to face your past with the help of someone close?

 

it is an interesting realization, isn't it?

i wsa 14 when i had to tell someone my life story...like you just realized, i had never told myself that story. as the years go by, its evolved and i've been able to understand the story better. i wasn't entirely ready to understand the story and the events that had happened - wasn't mature enough to handle the growth.

after opening up, which was hard...i then shut myself off a few years later when i got to college. i ran away from it because i wasn't prepared for what i was beginning to understand. now i've grown up a lot and am mature enough to handle the story...

i would take some time to tell yourself your life story