Every Day is a Job Interview

Wherever I have worked, coworkers have asked me why I tend to dress up so much for work, even when the position I had didn’t necessarily require it. My answer was always the same, “I’m dressing for my next job.” Twenty-five shirts, same brand, same style, same color (white) were my uniform. My motto – “you only have one chance to make a first impression.”

Sidebar: When I was a Director of Accounting and getting my Masters degree in Business Administration, my goal statement at the beginning of my MBA program was “to be a vice president for finance in a university in San Diego County.” Twelve years and four positions later, my dream came true. It wasn’t an accident.

So much for outward appearance – it’s really the behavior that counts – our everyday interactions with people. Especially, how we handle challenging situations, because easy situations are…well, easy. Be professional with everyone; you never know who might be your boss someday – another reason to make sure that we treat our student assistants with dignity and respect – we may be sitting on the other side of the interview table from them in a few years.

Recall from our Finance and Administrative Services values and our FAS Leadership Culture, that professionalism is one of the “beliefs that are the foundation of our culture which guide our actions and affirm our future.” Breaking this down a bit – our actions affirm our future – how we behave now leads us to our destination in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. That is our own responsibility, no one else’s.

In our FAS Leadership Culture, we define professionalism as follows – we apply our best skills, knowledge, and experience as we serve the campus community. Then we further refine what that means:
* Assume a "University-First" perspective.
* Embrace the CSUSM values: intellectual engagement, community, integrity, innovation, inclusiveness, and respect for lifelong learning.
* Embrace change positively with imagination and creativity.
* Project professionalism through presentation of self, and oral and written communication.
* Directly resolve differences with colleagues.
* Arrive to meetings prepared and on time. When unable to attend a meeting, advise the meeting organizer in advance and provide the name of an alternate when appropriate.
* Encourage, help define, and provide appropriate training and professional development to staff to ensure success and growth.
* Become a "learning organization".

People that work with us, know us, live with us believe that what they see is what they get…and what they will get in the future – our competence, our dedication, our positive attitude – everything. Every day really is a job interview.

Looking Out and Looking Up

Some months ago, I mentioned only recently discovering that I have a sunroof on my car – something about skin cancer, wearing a hat, taking risks, and then of course the heavens opening up, metaphorically at least, when you take the time to look toward the sky.

Several weeks ago, winding my way through a tree-lined two-lane road, I had another sunroof epiphany. Sunroof open, wind blowing through my hair (singular), “driving it like it’s stolen,” suddenly seeing the dirt on my windshield that had been there for weeks, I took action. Generous doses of washer fluid and worn wipers smeared away even my porthole view of the road ahead. Simultaneously, blue skies rained blue fluid through the top of the open sunroof – it couldn’t be the blue sky falling on my now wet hair (singular), could it? Unable to see reality ahead and now unable to see my blue sky dream-visions above, I had temporary blindness and a need to pull over and reassess.

How do we get to that place where we might be looking out and looking up at the same time, leading to double vision, or blurred vision, or perhaps no vision at all? Shouldn’t we have gotten clarity before beginning our journey (insert project, plan, implementation, or mission)? Shouldn’t our blue sky idea (insert dream, hope, desire, or wish) been distilled down into something more tangible as part of our preflight routine? It would be wonderfully simple if work, home, or life flowed so smoothly – it would also be unrealistic to think that it might.

With almost every project unexpected results surface. With almost every plan comes change. With almost every implementation new opportunities arise. With almost every mission what was possible seems impossible and then possible again. With all our journeys new dreams appear. So, what do we do with all this stuff that if we consider it fully means that we may have to change our process for getting to our destination, and perhaps even change our destination?

Well, I suggest that we balance our need for outcomes with our need for process and remain open to a change of either one or both. Openness and flexibility will help us to reconcile our dreams with our immediate plans. Understanding that with most every action there can be a re-action (a “do over”) will help us find the opportunities that unintended consequences bring.

My advice – become your own “dream catcher,” clear your mental and physical pathways for imagination, innovation, and creativity, believe that the sky is never falling, and don’t be afraid to change courses in the middle of a dream.

Got the High Speed Wobbles?

Did you ever notice that at certain speeds, the front end of your car can start to shimmy and shake? Well, the same thing can happen to human beings – we can get the “high speed wobbles.” Sometimes we run out of fuel, sometimes we hit a bump in the road, sometimes we’re hit by something unexpected, or sometimes it’s a result of too much time passing without any maintenance – we’re exhausted (the state of too much exhaust?).

When it happens to our cars, we take them in for a tune up or to have the wheels realigned or balanced; and if we don’t do it, it starts to feel like the wheels are coming off and then we can even get the “low speed wobbles” - not good. Like our cars, we can give ourselves a wash and a wax and while we look presentable when we’re parked, we still run sluggish or our engines misfire when going uphill.

The cumulative pace of our busy lives can make finding time for maintenance, time for ourselves, seem like it’s at a premium. Just the daily demands of managing work and home can take everything we’ve got and introducing any new turns into our journey can feel overwhelming. Changes at home, changes at work, well, they will likely never stop – we need to understand this reality and plan for it – we need to take care of and care for our minds, bodies, and spirits.

We all have our individual ways of tuning up ourselves so that we run well and spend time on those things that are truly important to us. For some, it’s their hobbies, for some it’s time with family and friends, for some it’s sleeping in, for some it’s curling up with a book at their favorite bookstore. Whatever it is for you, find it, take the time or make the time and do it. The people and things that seem to demand so much of your time and attention will understand and will embrace a well-maintained you – they might even demand less and help you in your quest to find time for yourself.

So while you still should “drive it like it’s stolen,” remember that you need fuel (diet and exercise), you need alignment (goals and values), you need balance (work and home), and you need maintenance (rest and relaxation) – you’ll have a longer life and maintain your value, long after the warranty has expired and you’ve become a classic.