ISSUE NO. 491

POWER IS POTENT . . .


many people spend their lives feeling they don't have it, wondering how to get it, and/or exploiting it when they do find it. 

The thing is, everyone has power. The power to learn, the power to change, the power to make a difference. In fact, the most potent power - and the most powerful influence - comes from creating good. 

Last week, we posed a call for readers to share the stories of their worst interviews. Your responses fell into two distinct buckets:

1) Those who found themselves unprepared in an interview and felt a distinct lack of power in relation to the interviewers, who seemed out to prove them wrong in their questioning, and

2) Those who wound up in bizarre and / or potentially dangerous situations in which the interviewers wielded their power in exploitative ways, leaving the interviewee feeling unsafe and / or uncomfortable.

Yikes. But here's the surprising insight from these situations:
  • Some interviewees managed to get comfortable enough, mid-interview, to change the dialogue. They eventually landed jobs above their experience level by using their power to make others feel comfortable and included.
     
  • Others recognized their own power to remove themselves from a bad situation. By acknowledging their own worth, they were able to see that, at the same time they were being interviewed, they were also conducting their own interview of the company - and they had the power to choose NOT to take a position that didn't acknowledge their worth in return. 
At the end of the day, power is not a pie to be divvied up, it's a well that runs deep. It's something to be shared so that we all, collectively, do better. With that in mind, this week's question is:

Do you have a positive interview story (either as the interviewer or the interviewee) that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear it.
 
Tay + Dor

Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs

video still by Cam Buker for GFJ Stories

tidbits...

what we’re reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday…

Seth Godin + MLK = a powerful combination. 

The NY Public Library most checked-out books of all time prove the power of early reading and introducing stories in youth. 

Slow cooker giant chocolate chip cookies. Say no more. 

got a tidbit? drop it here for us, and you just might see it in next week's newsletter.