Passion Off-Campus / What's Love Got To Do With It

February means Valentine’s Day, so what better time than now to talk about passion, seduction, and love in the job search. 

Don’t give me interest, give me passion.  Interest says I’m curious, I’ll stick around, I can stand it.  Passion says:  give me that or give me death, my eyes light up when I discuss that, I will do whatever it takes to have that in my life.  Most candidates choose boilerplate reasons that are often very me-focused as to why they are pursuing a certain job or company:  I want consulting for the opportunity to learn about different industries; I want media b/c of the dynamic and fast pace; I want what I want b/c I want it.  Employers have thousands of candidates to choose from.  We’ve heard every come on line but it’s passion that gets our attention.  How can you infuse more passion in your search?

Don’t sell me, seduce me.  You want the employer to hire you – in other words, you want them to want you, to find you attractive, to desire you in their presence.  So this isn’t a romantic seduction, but it is a seduction.  Ok, I am taking a chance using this language.  I may offend some people.  But I believe in my point and I am going to take a chance to grab your attention with something different, rather than sit on the sideline and play it safe.  Yes, when we coach our clients we don’t suggest that they are provocative or bold just for the sake of being provocative and bold.  But when we see a spark, something that might not be in the Conservative Jobseekers’ Playbook but that resonates with that individual, then you bet we encourage them to go for it.  How can you be bold?

What’s love got to do with it?  Everything.  Love is reflected in the care you put into every call, every correspondence, every interaction.  Love dictates that you respect your targets enough to ask intelligent questions, to show up on time, to bring your best self.  The day-to-day activities of a job search can be very tedious, almost mechanical and can distance the jobseeker from the emotional richness that makes a successful search.  But at the end of the day, the proactive jobseeker is not looking for just a job, but pursuing a dream.  You are not filling your days, but fulfilling your life.  Your dreams, your fulfillment, this is all about doing what you love.  And while it might be scary to put yourself out there to be judged and sometimes rejected, it’s the candidates who are this vulnerable that ultimately show how strong they are.

I would hire someone with passion over experience any day!  Passionate people have focus, energy and optimism that are infectious.  Passionate people are on a mission and bulldoze through obstacles.  If you’ve seen Slumdog Millionaire, think about the passion Jamal felt as a little boy when he wanted to get a movie star’s autograph and he was locked inside.  He went through quite a lot of *$#@ to get it, literally.  But he got it!  Passion is something you can see and sense the minute someone enters a room.  And, most importantly, people gravitate towards people with passion.  And that might just get you either your internship or your full-time job.

Career Services has hundreds, if not thousands, of students to work with.  In a bad economy, their job is even harder because they need to seduce companies back on campus that could easily skip a year or two.  Given that they may have a limited amount of time to work with students, they will work with the students who have passion because it’s easier, it’s more fun, and it’s likely to have a better outcome.

Professors have hundreds, if not thousands, of students in their classrooms over the years.  They probably have been teaching the same class with the same material for several years.  They will perk up when students are excited about what they are learning.  That can translate to more help during open hours, or better grades overall.  They will go the extra mile and make connects for students that care.  Show passion and genuine interest, and you will be in the top 5% of the class.

Employers have dozens of students to interview when they come on campus.  At the information sessions we put on at Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, and Pfizer, we had hundreds of students in the room with all of them lining up to speak 1:1 with the representatives.  Those with passion got on our interview lists.  In the round table discussions we had, when we selected those that will receive offers, we fought for those that showed passion!

Passionate people get noticed.  Passionate people get attention.  Passionate people get jobs.  It’s as simple as that!