A job interview for The Ultralight...

[catherine]

Follow the money. Passion will disappoint you nine times out of ten.

Money will not save your sanity if you have a job you are not excited about. I agree that the "Follow your passion and money will follow" line of thinking is flawed, but what a waste of a life if you are working ONLY for money.

I'll bet you have some passion for numbers.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Money will not save your sanity of you have a job you are not excited about or which doesn't . I agree that the "Follow your passion and money will follow" line of thinking is flawed, but what a waste of a life if you are working ONLY for money.

I'll bet you have some passion for numbers.

Passion is a fairy tale for children and not even a useful one. There are a lot of things besides passion that actual adults regret not seeking in a career. For some money sure, lifelong poverty is WAY OVERRATED! But ALSO ... I'd probably give up a kidney to have a career where there are lot of openings without nightmare commutes (sure like accounting, like healthcare, etc.). I talked to a recruiter for a job I know I'll be commuting close to 3 hours a day (in stop and go and standstill traffic the whole time), I have to admit that's likely not doable . Oh and public transit would take 2 hours each way, so out of the question as an option. An hour drive each way, sure that's reasonable even if exhausting, but any more than that ... So commute, also hours working, a lot of people would also trade a less passionate career to have a straight up 40 hour workweek rather than a 60 hour one, so there is time for the things they maybe value a lot more in life than just earning a living even if earning a living must be done.

But if you are interviewing and you want the job, fake passionate (think harry met sally fake), you love the work and what is more you luv luv luv the industry as well!!! You have always, trust me always, wanted to work in that industry! If you really really don't want the job but somehow landed up in an interview eh well sometimes hard to fake passion there ...

[KayLR]

I have a job that is quite satisfying, but far from what I would call passion-fulfillment. It is not what I had originally hoped to be doing at this or any stage. Nonetheless, I am content with it.

[catherine]

Passion is a fairy tale for children and not even a useful one. There are a lot of things besides passion that actual adults regret not seeking in a career. For some money sure, lifelong poverty is WAY OVERRATED! But ALSO ... I'd probably give up a kidney to have a career where there are lot of openings without nightmare commutes (sure like accounting, like healthcare, etc.). I talked to a recruiter for a job I know I'll be commuting close to 3 hours a day (in stop and go and standstill traffic the whole time), I have to admit that's likely not doable . Oh and public transit would take 2 hours each way, so out of the question as an option. An hour drive each way, sure that's reasonable even if exhausting, but any more than that ... So commute, also hours working, a lot of people would also trade a less passionate career to have a straight up 40 hour workweek rather than a 60 hour one, so there is time for the things they maybe value a lot more in life than just earning a living even if earning a living must be done.

Don't get me wrong. I'm in the pharmaceutical business for the money. My idealistic son once asked me "What are the creative rewards you get from your job?" and I said, "I do it for the money." And he persisted, confused because he believes everyone must be passionate: "No, I mean there must be SOMETHING that you love about your job." And I said. "Nah, I do it for the money."

BUT I was trying to impress on him a point--that, as you said, ANM, we simply have to earn a living. But honestly, I LOVE talking to patients. I LOVE figuring out how to transform information into actionable ideas and strategies. I LOVE traveling. I LOVE the intellectual challenge of a liberal-arts-major-theatre-geek needing to learn enough science to speak intelligently. I LOVE the ability to be autonomous in my job.

I have had to take jobs that I hated, just for money (and poor money at that). I'll never do it again. I'd rather be poor (and it's not as if I don't know what living a poverty-stricken life is like).

[pinkytoe]

Sounds promising. Have fun with the interview and remind yourself the person(s) on the other end of the line are just people too. Even if it doesn't pan out, doing job interviews is good practice.

[ToomuchStuff]

I was of the type that tried to do things I loved for a living. I learned to hate those things, as others were happy to pay to have their problems fixed, to the point I could have easily been working 24 hours a day.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I wish you the best with this, UL. Even if you don't get the job, it's interview experience......and the office job I recently interviewed for and didn't get? This process showed me that I am a good fit with where I am right now and made me yet more content in my current position. Who knows? Maybe you will have the same experience, or maybe you will get the job and it will be a great thing for you, who knows? Once again, I wish you the best. Rob

[Tammy]

The word passion is overused. When I hear someone use it in an interview I’m immediately suspicious.

[JaneV2.0]

The word passion is overused. When I hear someone use it in an interview I’m immediately suspicious.

Along with "driven," "high energy," "team player," "people person," and all those other corporate descriptors that make me want to head for the hills.

There are vanishingly few corporate jobs that engender passion in me. I can't think of one offhand. I had a phone interview with Microsoft that went badly because I couldn't feign interest in whatever hugely boring product, service, or concept they needed an editor for.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Along with "driven," "high energy," "team player," "people person," and all those other corporate descriptors that make me want to head for the hills.

There are vanishingly few corporate jobs that engender passion in me. I can't think of one offhand. I had a phone interview with Microsoft that went badly because I couldn't feign interest in whatever hugely boring product, service, or concept they needed an editor for.

at least microsoft is big prestigious company etc. so I could see *some* people getting excited (I don't get excited about corporate jobs either though). I had an interview for a job in the gambling industry that wanted me to get excited about that. Uh it's more scraping bottom of the barrel it feels but what can you do. I did ok on the interview I think, even if it felt like scraping bottom of the barrel I let none of that show. But ecstasy uh no. Maybe why it didn't get beyond a phone interview, but I never know, I was near perfectly qualified. It turned out it was fairly legitimate for gambling industry. They also wanted me to spend potentially up to 25% of my time traveling to eastern canada (which when asked if it was a problem I of course correctly answered: "no, I'm willing", all the while thinking: good grief, way to spring that on me, why didn't you mention this in the job ad?). But faking ecstasy on the phone no.

So any industry, next the porn industry will interview me for an office job and want me to be excited about finally getting to work in porn(!), any company no matter how tiny and obscure, now wants passion I guess. And I'll have to pretend that working in porn (but only behind the scenes see) is now my lifelong passion or else I'll starve I guess. Fine, I will, I will any song and dance you want, but it isn't really to my favor that ALL jobs have become all about the emotional labor at this point. That's why Microsoft I could forgive for that expectation at least to a degree especially back in the day when it was the big player ... but only non-profits can really excite any degree of it for me, sometimes.