Why you should interview for a job you dont want

Why you should einstellungsgesprch for a job you dont wantJob hunting is a lot of work, whether youre unemployed or looking while working. You put so much effort into revamping your resume, networking in person and online, and writing cover letters with the hopes of landing something truly great. And then, after weeks or months of the hunt, theres a biteyoure offered an interview. But, youre not excited. At all. Maybe youre waiting to hear back from your dream company. Maybe youre just hesitant to accept anything less than awesome before youve really gotten yourself out there. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) You might think the best use of your time is to decline politely and wait for something better to come along. But sometimes its smart to take the interview, even when you already know you dont want the job. Here are some reasons why.You might find you do want the job.You never know when the job you dont think you want turns out to be a perfect fit. Part of the interview process, we often forget, is for the company to sell you on the standort (not just for you to sell yourself to them). Go in, see the workplace, and let them woo you. Find out about the company culture and meet the people with whom youll be working. On paper, its hard to get a sense of what the day-to-day of a job will be like. In person, your perspective might shift. Dont cut out options before you know everything about them.Practice makes perfect.The more you get used to putting on your most professional clothes, signing in at an unfamiliar front desk, and sitting in front of strangers while they ask you about your professional expertise, the better you will get at the entire process. If youre at the departure of your career or havent been on the market for a while, every interview is excellent practice for the next interview you get. Youll get your anecdotes down pat and start to get a sense of the questions managers in your chosen field ask p eople at your level. Youll want to be as sharp as possible for the interview youll get for your dream job. Get all the kinks out when the stakes are low and youre not buzzing with nerves.You might meet someone to connect with down the line.Its also always possible that you will meet someone in the course of interviewing who can lead you to your dream job. First, if you get an appointment with a recruiter, they often interview for multiple positionsand sometimes at different companies. Comport yourself professionally and you never know what networking wins you might rack uphe or she will keep you in mind for gigs in the future. Second, if you make a great impression but ultimately turn down the position, you now know a face and name at the company. Maybe for your next move youll want to hauch base to see whats open. You can absolutely do so if you rock your intervieweven if you dont take the job.You can use an offer for leverage.Say you really want job X, but theyre dragging their fe et in making decisions or final offers. Maybe youre even on a third or fourth round of interviews. But youve also interviewed for jobs Y and Zand both have made offers. Now you can go back to job X and tell them other companies are vying for you. Dont be too forceful or demanding just be truthful. You can politely tell them you have other offers on the table and ask about their decision timeline. Being in demand is always a desirable trait.Bottom line be careful not to waste your time, especially if youre totenstill working full time and have to steal away for interviews. If you know theres no possible way you want to work at a certain company or in a specific position, dont take the interview. Use your judgment and feel free to pass up duds. Just dont stay away if youre not totally certain a job isnt for you.

These Work Email Punctuation Mistakes Can Lose You Credibility

These Work Email Punctuation Mistakes Can Lose You Credibility Ive a thing with punctuation. I cant date a man who doesnt know how to identify an em dash from a hyphen. Ive an affinity for exclamation points because lowly periods following enthusiasm instill me with social anxiety. Semicolons properly executed with two complete clauses fulfil me mora than stuffed crust pizza. And statements freighted with trailing question marks are rather nausea inducing.But Ive recently learned that my own punctuation choices in schmelzglass are perhaps setting the precedent for my conversations and not always in my favor. While traveling with a photographer, collaborating with hostels and hotels, weve discovered that her emails receive more cooperative, compliant, friendly and frequent responses than mine. One client actually stopped responding to me entirely and still responds to her emails but were working on the same project. The difference, weve concluded Shes grounded and Im somewhere in la la land.I will send you 10 photos, she states, firmly. Meanwhile, Im effusively typing away, Great Does one blog post and a TripAdvisor review sound good to you? Im not even sure why I ask thats always the deal unless otherwise specified.Some recent interactions have me thinking a lot about how much I just love exclamation points And how uncertain I sort of somewhat maybe sound in my emails. I make myself come across as an overeager pushover (Im not), and Im potentially losing credibility because of it.While putting periods in place of exclamation points pains me at points (I also have a thing for alliteration its unintentional, I swear), Ive been working on it. And Ive also been mulling over my evidently questionable email punctuation choices in general. So after taking a deep dive into some cringe-worthy reviews of my own email exchanges, Ive decided how Ill try to use punctuation going forward and why. And you may want to consider these guidelines, too.Periods They set the ton e that you mean business. Periods take precedence over exclamation points. Theyre simply the most benign punctuation option. Theyre also definitive and clear, which is how Id like my professional emails to read. Exclamation Points They set the precedence that youre either not being genuine or just overeager. Unless Im wishing someone happy holidays or a happy birthday, Im going to strive to steer clear of exclamation points. Women are too often afraid of coming across as bossy if they dont go out of their way to be the smiling suckers were socialized to be, but I want to be a boss so, so be it.Ellipses I dont see a real need for the ellipses in most email conversations besides, they usually imply incomplete thoughts. Emails should have complete thoughts and, ifa thought isnt yet complete, perhaps that email shouldnt yet be sent.Question Marks I vow never to use a question mark unless I am, indeed, asking a question. A legitimate question to which I dont already know the answer. An d a question that doesnt give someone else the ability to walk all over me, like the aforementioned one.Parentheses The way I see it, theres always a way to avoid parentheses. They break up thoughts and, therefore, generally make sentences harder to read. Emails should be easy to follow I dont want to give anyone the idea that Im all over the place.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist and an adventure aficionado with a keen cultural curiosity and an affinity for solotravel. Shes an editor by day and a travel blogger at HerReport.org by night.