Unexpected Outcomes

Yesterday I completed day one of our two-day on-campus interviews for our 2017 Summer Internship program. We interviewed 23 candidates in four group sessions lasting approximately just over an hour each. While it wasn’t a long day by any stretch of the imagination compared to my normal workday, I found the day an intense, brain-taxing, memory- testing, and overall emotionally-draining day. I find these sessions particularly taxing on my memory; trying to remember each candidate’s name, the next question I want to ask, while at the same time trying to capture impressions and insights about each candidate’s response, words, actions, and thoughts for future recall. Luckily, I have two other colleagues with me in each group to share the burden of leading the discussion and capturing insights. Now this morning, day two of interviews, I find myself sitting at the coffee shop performing my morning ritual which usually includes sifting and sorting through my inbox, sucking down a Venti Americano with an add-shot (yes that’s six shots!) while preparing for another full day of meeting energetic candidates with the hopes and possibilities of joining our summer internship. As I reflect back on yesterday’s events and discussions, I can’t help smiling thinking about how excited each candidate was to introduce themselves, or how they reacted with both panic and exhilaration as we explained our interview gameshow rules. Or, their confidence and self-satisfaction as they answered questions and just “nailed it” on their responses. Their excitement and energy were infectious. Their hopes and beliefs that they could be one of the six chosen interns, and the effort and genuine passion which they put forward in achieving that outcome was evident in every word, every action, every interaction.

Then I thought back to the beginning of the week. I remembered how I prepared for work that morning: my laptop already booted up on the table from the night before, my inbox summoning me to my unread emails just waiting to be opened, read, sorted and then prioritized or deleted.  A few thoughts and questions rattled through my brain. How did I feel about my work that day? I asked myself what excitement and passion was I bringing to my work that morning? Did I approach and look at my work that morning the way the intern candidates looked when walked into the interview room shaking our hands? Did I respond to each email with the attention to detail that each intern candidate showed in answering the questions as they had 30 seconds to respond? Did I go into each meeting on my calendar with the energy and preparedness that each intern demonstrated throughout the hour-long interview? Did I engage and participate? I came to the conclusion that I had not. It was a typical Monday. 

So my personal take away, and commitment to myself and my colleagues, from these two-days of on-campus interviews, is to remind myself of the magic and possibilities of the new. I want to remember to tap into that natural enthusiasm that comes with being a student looking for that internship opportunity and bringing that preparedness, excitement, enthusiasm and raw energy that comes with that situation to my daily work and personal life. 

Thank you to all the candidates that participated in these interviews. While you all were seeking a summer job opportunity, you gave a worker caught in routine patterns some ideas and tips about shifting how I approach my day. You gave a wake-up call to the magic and possibility of the new.