The Rundown : The toughest job interview ever
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2008
I once had a job interview at a large newspaper. It was a daylong event. Upon arrival, I was given a schedule of my day. I met individually with about eight different editors, with each meeting lasting about 30 minutes. At noon I went out to lunch with several reporters, and while that outing was pleasant enough, it naturally felt just as much a part of the interview as the rest of the day.
By the time I got out of there, I was exhausted. Each editor had his or her own questions for me, but many of them were the same: How did you decide on journalism ? Why do you want to work here ? What are your career goals ? And on and on.
If I ever get the ambition to run for president, I'll just think of that interview and the feeling will subside quickly, because when I think of what the presidential candidates go through to get to the White House, I imagine it's like that interview, only every single day, day after day after day.
There are a few other differences, of course. Imagine walking into a job interview and speaking not to a few people, but to millions of them. Then imagine that many of those people hate you before you even introduce yourself, simply because of your political-party affiliation.
Most people going to job interviews have to worry only about how substantial their resumes are or whether there's a scandalous photo of them floating around on the Internet. As a presidential candidate, you'll worry about that, too, but you'll also fret about CNN talking to your sister's ex-husband's aunt about a conversation you had with her 25 years ago, or some blogger unearthing your fifth-grade report card, or your private e-mail account being hacked. Suddenly, everyone will want to know everything about you, no matter how relevant it might seem to the job you seek.
You'll get up early and go to bed late, travel from city to city and discuss your stance on taxes, Iraq, health care and more. God help you if you don't have a polished answer for every imaginable question - an answer so polished that it can't possibly offend anyone.
You'll be asked to participate in several televised debates, each of which will be broken down afterward by countless reporters, pundits and anyone with a blog. Your performance will be so heavily scrutinized that a group of undecided voters will provide immediate reactions to every comment you make.
Sound fun ? Not to me. Which is why I am continually amazed that any sane person would ever subject himself to this.
I'm not implying that we shouldn't dig into the background of our candidates for president or any other office. We, the voters, are the boss, and we need facts to make informed decisions on whom we hire.
But the race for president has become such a bizarre exercise - like a never-ending reality show - that I wonder how many people who would make great presidents are scared away by the whole thing. Yes, it's the most important position in the world, and you have to want it, but should you have to want it that badly ?
• • • It's October (there's only one October !), and you know what that means: Major League Baseball playoffs. It's also that time when players spray each other like idiots with champagne and beer. A team that wins the World Series will have done these champagne celebrations four times in less than two months. They do it once after clinching a playoff berth, once after winning their Division Series, once after winning their League Championship Series, and finally after winning the World Series.
It seems a bit, I don't know … excessive. If anyone else did this kind of thing so much, we'd say he had a problem.
Look, I'm not against having some fun, but shouldn't the champagne celebration be reserved for really special occasions ?
I would say making the playoffs is special; after a six-month regular-season grind, only eight of the 30 teams make the playoffs. And of course, winning the World Series is super special. The Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox and Rays are still playing. It would be refreshing if the winners of these playoff rounds just gave each other high-fives and said," This is great, but let's not go crazy. We still have work to do to reach our ultimate goal."
• • • Dave Perozek is opinion page editor of The Benton County Daily Record. His column appears on Sundays. Reach him at (479 ) 271-3754 or davep @ nwanews. com.
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