Three Ways to Stay Weird and Land Your Dream Job
Any of your talents can be showcased with the right lens
Weird is the New Normal
I used to think I was too weird or abstract-minded to pursue other passions, let alone career paths that were interesting to me but lay outside of my tried-and-true way of doing things. Like I didn’t fit some mold I need to fill to look the part.
If you’re stuck thinking this, you are probably what’s known as a human being.
We all have our own flavor of weird. When it comes to landing the job of your choice, the key to success comes with knowing just how to show interviewers that your version of weird is not only desirable, but necessary for their success.
Here are three ways to help you own your weirdness to interviewers in way that doesn’t compromise who you are while displaying your talents, strengths, and value as a future employee at any company.
Embrace your talents, whatever they are
First, acknowledge what you’re good at and connect it to an applicable soft skill like being a good listener, or being adaptable.
Simply acknowledging it like this not only helps you further cement it into your identity, but it brings that skill into your interpersonal interactions, as it’s something in the forefront of your mind.
For example, in an interview to get my current job at Facebook, I explained that I consider myself a good listener surely for all the right reasons that pertain to being in a workplace like comprehending important information quickly and establishing good workplace relationships, but also because I had to learn a second language in my early adult years.
“There are many things that go into being good at something. Your potential doesn’t end with that one skill.” — Gary Vaynerchuk
I know how hard it was for others to listen to my broken Spanish while I struggled to speak it.
Before your next interview, take some time to connect your strengths to soft skills. You can also take a look at the job requirements outlined in the job posting and connect your strengths to the needs of position.
If you’re able to defend your unique strengths to the needs of the job, interviewers won’t need to make the effort to draw that conclusion themselves.
Identify your weaknesses and plan around them
Alternatively, being willing to acknowledge what you’re not as good at is just as important. This isn’t just about giving interviewers more data about you to help them make an informed decision, it’s about showing humility and highlighting your ability to get things done when you don’t have answers right away.
At it’s core, identifying your weaknesses can help you accept yourself more authentically. When you’re ok with what you lack in, you’ll collaborate more effectively with teammates and trust those who are strong in areas that you are weak without feeling insecure.
“Knowing your strengths also offers you a better understanding of how to deal with your weaknesses — and helps you gain the confidence you need to address them. “— Laura Morgan Roberts, Professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business
In one of my interviews I shared that at times I have trouble remembering simple tasks. To combat this I make various to-do lists and base them on who I’m working with or what projects they belong to, depending on the situation.
Presenting my weakness in this way showed my interviewers that I was humble enough to talk about my weakness while displaying my ability to conquer challenges and get things done in spite of that weakness.
Portraying this self-acceptance in an interview setting is a hugely positive sign of emotional intelligence that signals that you’re willing to accept others for their weaknesses in similar fashion.
It also shows that you’re willing to be open-minded and lay down your idea if another’s idea is a better one.
Being aware of your strengths as well as your weaknesses in this manner is a crucial mechanism to signal interviewers that you’re self-aware while being aware of others. If you’re having trouble even identifying a simple soft skill as a strength, talk to a trusted friend, family member, or colleague to help you find a place to start. It’s the first step to owning your strengths.
Don’t apologize for being you
I used to think being a musician would hinder my ability to advance my career in ways outside of the music world if I ever chose to pursue other paths, while in fact many employers value those with other talents or disciplines that vary from the position they’re applying for. It shows that you’re multi-dimensional and likely to be a creative problem solver.
As odd as it sounds, some of the toughest times I’ve had working in the marketing world have been when I struggled with my identity as a creative.
At one point I wanted to give up on making music entirely.
Allowing myself the space and time to create in whatever ways would bring me fulfillment helped me reestablish my identity as a creative.
“I tried for a short time to be something I wasn’t, and had no success with it. It’s a practical solution to just be yourself.” — Kate McKinnon
Most of the time it’s with music, other times it’s with words, it may even just be an evening messing around in the Procreate app on an iPad.
This kind of ownership of your identity signals interviewers that you can be trusted to be given autonomy as well as be relied upon by teammates for help.
You don’t need to appear like you have all the answers (that’s actually very detrimental, and quite inauthentic in general), but showing confidence that you can figure out a way to solve any problem will go very far, especially by doing so in your own weird way.
BE WEIRD
I’m convinced that the best chance of landing your dream job is to be weird! If you can simply show that your talents and skills can build value, you’ll stand out simply by not fitting in.
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