Instant Interviews_ 101 Ways to Get the Best Job of Your Life - Jeffrey G. Allen [59]
Once the plane is at cruising altitude and the seatbelt sign is off, you can start walking around.
Go to the back of the plane and talk to the flight attendants. Niceness varies because many flights (and fliers) cause grumpiness, but they’re sharp and helpful. I always ask about how long we’ll be at cruising altitude and when we’ll land.
Mentally compute how much time you have to I.I. It’s cruising altitude time less 30 minutes to allow for carts in the way and fasten-seatbelt orders. If it’s one hour, you can comfortably do two interviews. That’s about the average.
Sitting Next to an Offeror
It’s easy, even in a full plane. People get up and they switch if you ask. The seat assignment doesn’t matter anymore.
Then find that likely offeror and either sit down or ask to switch seats with a neighbor. Open that business mag, look at one must-have travel item, turn to her, and say, “Hi! My name’s Howard. What’s yours?” Then when she says, “Amelia,” you say, “Are you flying to Dallas on business?”
You don’t need a contorted handshake here, and the words are not standard Magic Four (Do 1). But the eye contact and smile are SOP. You have 15 minutes to exchange business cards or to have her write down her contact info.
Then say, “It was a pleasure meeting you. I see that cart in the distance. I’d better get back in my seat before I become a human bowling pin. Have a great time in Dallas! I’ll call you next week when I get home.”
Go back to your seat, then take your pen out of your left front pocket and do the grading on the card. When the coast is clear, repeat the process or go to either end of the plane if you see any offerors there. Interview standing up. Then seat and repeat if there’s time.
When you deplane, try to avoid seeing any of the offerors you approached.
Plan B: Interviewing on Light Flights
On light flights, you still follow Plan A, but the empty seats change your approach.
You can spot offerors easily. You can also be spotted by them and the flight attendants. So two interviews max, unless the cruising time is more than two hours. In between, be sure to talk to the flight attendants at the ends. It will help them know you’re not drug dealing.
These conversations occasionally become instant interviews. Flight attendants have businesspeople in their lives, are natural networkers, and are caregivers. They fit the classic offeror profile.
Can you take off and interview? Can you not? The sky’s the limit!
Do 39: Developing Your Persona
If you were to ask me the single biggest reason people get interviewed, I’d answer without hesitation—personality. Or persona for short and meaning a little more—the way you carry yourself.
Not qual-i-fi-ca-tions. Not ex-pe-ri-ence. Not cre-den-tials. Those are forethoughts in conventional interviewing, afterthoughts in instant interviewing.
Let me ’splain: In the conventional pretend world, you need certain easily learned, largely unnecessary features to be considered. If you manage to present those features through a printed resume or an online keyword play, you’ll get a chance to get hired. You must then have a good per-so-na, or it won’t happen.
In the real instant interview world, having a good persona is all you need. (Exceptions are artificially barriered trades or professions that require a specific ticket for entrance.)
You don’t get a persona. You get what you got. Psychologists call this a basic personality structure (BPS). Let’s look at your persona and see what we can do to make it more marketable.
Do you greet enthusiastically? Do you smile? Do you look people in the eye? Do you shake hands confidently? (Do 1) Do you listen with both ears or do you think about what you’re going to say next? Is it next or is it at the same time?
How do you ask questions? Do you embarrass others with personal ones? Do you