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Saturday, October 04, 2008

If I'd done this, I'd still be unemployed
Posted by Jill | 9:53 AM
An Americablog commenter makes a very good point:
The process of campaigning is, in essence, a job interview, no?

In what universe would does the applicant (candidate) get to choose what question(s) they will be asked or deign to answer and from whom they will be questioned? That is how disrespectful of the electorate (we are supposed to be the bosses last time I checked, no?) the McCain/Palin 08 campaign has been since he put Palin on the ticket.

I think that there should be a full page ad in every paper (on every channel and website) reminding EVERYONE of these simple facts and the GOP’s standard bearer’s jaw-dropping disregard for their (potential) future employers.

As ye campaign, so shall ye govern, no?

We’ve been down this road the last two elections/terms. By adopting their tactics they have more than proven they will be Bush/Cheney/Rove redux.

Would you hire anyone who so disrespected you during the interview process? Would anyone?


As someone who recently went through the job hunting process, I think this person makes a very good point. In the interview for the job I now have, I was asked a number of tough questions about what I've done and also "soft questions" about how I'd handle particular situations. I was even asked the "Where do you want to be in five years?" question.

My experience covers part of what this job entails, but there is a piece of this job that I've never done before. I know that there are some who advocate lying your way into a job, but that's not something I believe is a good idea, because unless one is more nimble than I am, it always comes back to bite you. I answered the questions honestly, and let the voters, or in this case, the interviewers, decide.

The "Where do you want to be....?" question is a "gotcha" question. I'm not sure there's a good answer to it. But if I had Sarah Palin's attitude, I would have either ignored the question or called it a "gotcha." Instead, I answered "Still alive, still healthy, and still employed."

I got the job.

People tend to forget that the government works for us, and that campaigning is, or ought to be, an interview process in which we, the voters, have the power. It's our chance to take a look at the candidates and see who best fits our requirements. When the candidate sees himself (or in Palin's case, herself) as being somehow above or exempt from the requirement to answer questions, that candidate ought to be automatically disqualified from the job.

Most of us are so unaccustomed to being in that powerful position of being the interviewer, rather than the interviewee, and we've so long confused "leadership" with "authoritarianism", that we've forgotten that we're the boss here.

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4 Comments:
Blogger D. said...
As someone who dreads interviews, this post was spot on for me.
10/4/08, 11:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
That's a great observation. My guess is you didn't wink at your interviewer or send shout-outs either. Sigh
10/4/08, 11:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Nor would you deliberately try to make jokes at the expense of other applicants.

Hey Jill, have you read this article on Rachel Maddow yet?
10/4/08, 1:09 PM  
Blogger Bob said...
You're the exception in 2008 to have found another job so quickly. Think Sarah understands that? What's this contemptible "normal" "Joe Six Pack" crap she's pushing? Is someone out there saying , "Yo, I'm Joe Six pack & I'm normal." & why would that person relate to her? Joe Six Pack, whoever he is, admires the best NASCAR drivers, the best football coaches. He doesn't think he's qualified to drive the race car or coach the pro team, he knows he'd screw up. Those are his fantasies. I'm not so sure the idea of a Mrs. Joe Six Pack as VP appeals to him.
10/4/08, 1:50 PM  
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