Tell us a little about yourself.
If you don’t know who Guy Kawasaki is…you should. He is an idol of mine. He was a technology evangelist for a little company named Apple and he is known for bring them back from the dead…twice. He has created numerous software companies, written a few books and I aspire to be like him, a technology evangelist. But this sort of title isn’t granted to someone over night it requires experience, knowledge, passion, drive and most of all time. I have most of the attributes listed above and am working towards acquiring the rest. We all have to start somewhere and that’s why I just interviewed for a promising start-up application design company today.
While I was sitting in the parking lot, because I arrived about 30 minutes early from lack of sleep due to excitement, I browsed the UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) EMAC student group page on Facebook and found a ‘Good short read’ about interviewing tips, posted by Dave Yeti. EMAC is an acronym for Emerging Media and Communication and acts as an umbrella for all emerging media. One of the main goals of this program is to adapt messages to audiences and technological constraints while retaining (and amplifying) the benefits provided by existing and emerging media. In this short but sweet article posted on LinkedIn, Nicholas Thompson, Editor of NewYorker.com, discusses when to “…present yourself as a specialist and sometimes as a generalist” (Thompson, NewYorker.com).
Thompson talks about how that NewYorker.com is in the process of hiring and he is conducting a lot of interviews. He states, “If applying for a job at a place that’s growing fast…be more general.” And that’s what I did. I assured my potential employers that I can offer what many other people cannot, an umbrella of skills that could possibly help the growth of this start-up application design company that is growing fastidiously and vastidiously (okay so maybe the last word isn’t really a word, but you grasp what I’m tossing at you). I was confident, humble and feel I have a good shot at getting the position…fingers crossed. Thanks Dave Yeti and Nicholas Thompson, I might just owe you one in the future!
Also, if you’re not on LinkedIn, you should be. In 2012, I was in the top 5% of most viewed profiles among 200 million users and I only have a standard free account with LinkedIn. This is how I received information about the job opening at the app design start-up and it could work for you too!
Resources:
Yeti, D. (JUL 24 2013) Facebook: EMAC Student Group. Link: A tip for job interviews. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 from: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EMACstudents/607686182584762/?notif_t=group_activity
Thompson, N. (JUL 23, 2013) LinkedIn post. A tip for job interviews. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 from: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130723022529-7070331-a-tip-for-job-interviews
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Billy Simpson 