110 Percent

Rules of Engagement

110 Percent

We’ve probably all interviewed for jobs we really weren’t qualified to take. But when we see the salary and the requirements, we justify in our own minds we might just be able to fool the interviewer into letting us take the job and see what we can do. It can also sharpen our interview skills, and sometimes just getting out of the house and into the hotseat be a nice change.

The salary was fantastic, and I didn’t have the experience, but I thought I had the skill set, so I made an appointment. It was just after lunch, and I usually can’t eat when I’m nervous, so the next two hours seemed like longer. That’s right. I sat through a two hour interview trying to get a job I really didn’t deserve. I didn’t get the job, but more about that in a moment.

I believe what we give is what we get, and moreover, what we get is what we deserve. I also believe giving more is the real answer.

I am really surprised when people complain about their salaries. There are thousands of jobs available. All kinds of training are available to anyone who wants more skills. But most of us would rather gripe than do anything about it. We want more for less, when that ignores one of the basic laws of the universe. Moving that rock up the hill takes a certain amount of energy, and complaining doesn’t get it done. It seems a basic rule that what we give is what we get, not only in work, but in life. Walk around with a frown and the world seems a very unhappy place. Smile and even the worst of days can have some redeeming value. Work hard, and you’ll get rewarded with more than salary, benefits or satisfaction. You’ll know you’ve done the job you are being paid to do, and you’ll probably get the opportunity to do more. It does remind me of the old joke, “Do more than anyone expects and soon everyone will expect more.”

But in the balance of the universe, I truly believe what we get is what we deserve. Why would we get more than we deserve? Most times we want to do less and get more. But that just isn’t the way the world works. Just ask Thomas Edison. It may have taken hundreds of attempts, but he didn’t stop until the light bulb worked the way he wanted. Even then, he continued to try to perfect it. What goes into our work is what we get out – it’s what we deserve. But even more serious is when we don’t give what we can. We aren’t just cheating an employer, a spouse or the world; we are cheating ourselves. You know the feeling. We may just be trying to get by without really doing what we are supposed to, and we hope no one notices. And if they do notice, we decide to work a little harder for a little while. Then it’s back to cheating others, and mostly ourselves. What would our true potential be if we were always giving the 110 percent we hear so much about?

So here is the mystical problem. Do more, and you’ll get more. Try and put the universe in your debt, and it will reward your efforts. There really is no rational explanation for it, but doing more than is really required is always rewarded. Don’t ask me why it works. It just does. Don’t believe it? Try it for a few weeks and report back.

So what happened in the two hour interview for the job I didn’t get – and didn’t really deserve? I endured one of the most difficult interviews I have ever been through. The guy played nice, then he turned on me and acted angry. I was subjected to every kind of interview technique I had ever learned about. I was asked how I would decide who to fire if I was the boss. I was given hypothetical situation no one will ever have to face as a boss, but I answered my best. The interviewer even told me it was one of the best interviews he had ever conducted, but I was clearly not qualified for the job.

He then informed me he was getting ready to leave his job and take another higher level job back East. He was just trying all his interviewing skills on me to practice for his new job. He dismissed me and I left the building feeling both good and bad. He said it was a good interview, but he was just using me. But remember, I really wasn’t qualified for the job, so I was also using him.

It’s all right. I have a job I love.

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