Comments on: Why Looking Good is a Big, Fat Road to Nowhere

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 18:08:00 +0000

Your behavior was patronizing and sexist. Would you have spoken to a male interviewee this way – asking him why he’s “afraid to fail”?
But first, the title of the article was misleading. You didn’t write about why looking good is a “big fat road to nowhere”. This article has nothing to do with people competing in a world in which attractiveness certainly does mean something. Being good looking shouldn’t be a reason to win a position over someone less attractive, but unfortunately it is, which is why we show up to interviews looking our best, why we diet, go to the gym, etc. But this article was about getting to the core of who we are and being able to speak about our true selves in… an interview? Knowing who one really is is an important topic. But it is not appropriate to question someone, to put someone is such a vulnerable and unfair position, during an interview. This young woman was doing what she’s been told and has read over and over and over again to do during an interview. It sounds like she did an excellent job trying to stay on topic while you were trying to expose her as some sort of fraud. You, in the position of power as the interviewer, and as a man, took advantage of an already unfair power situation and went to a very unethical place for seemingly no reason other that to make someone feel like a fool.

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 02:54:00 +0000

This anecdote is bullshit, we’re talking about a job. This guy is some narsasistic asshole creep, looking to manipulate people into a breakdown, essentially for fun.

He’s temporarily in a position of power, an interview, and seeks to leverage that to empower him self by manipulating others. In this case by seeking knowledge about people that he should not have, and has no business knowing. What does the information he’s gained about this woman allow him to do? Select a better candidate? No. He’s essentially tried to identify her weaknesses, so he can exploit it later. His whole point is that essentially, to be desirable you must give your bosses the insight to easily manipulate you.

Be interesting to see if this guys been on any sexual harassment charges, or the subject of any criminal proceedings recently.

By: dwsa

dwsa — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 21:04:00 +0000

Wow, what a manipulative and creepy interviewer. If an interviewer asked me questions like that, I’d decide quickly that he/she is NOT be someone I’d want to work for.

By: ThinkAbout It

ThinkAbout It — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 19:23:00 +0000

I can see your points in getting to motivation…the why– of why we do what we do…interesting that you are “hiding” how you look by wearing a helmet in your photo..not sure if you are confirming what you are postulating OR to your point, afraid of how others will precieve you based on your looks…two sides to every coin as you point out in your article. Objectively, I might add, I do think you have an unfair advantage in an interview situation where the person is trying to stand out with SKILLS and not by taking a personality assessment; while they CAN be related, most employers want you to accomplish the tasks and a side benefit is if you have a fantastic personality.

By: Alex Dogliotti

Alex Dogliotti — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 18:31:00 +0000

morale or moral

By: Chris Dumler

Chris Dumler — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 17:21:00 +0000

I’m not sure asking what incentivizes and motivates someone is analogous to therapy. I think most of us could benefit from being more self-reflective. I wish more managers would ask these types of questions because, quite frankly, the rest is mostly bullshit. That said, it takes a capable manager to be able to analyze and use that information effectively.

By: Deepa

Deepa — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 17:19:00 +0000

What is wrong with her talking about her achievements? She probably worked hard to achieve something and an interview is a perfect place to showcase that. Were you really assessing her for a position or just looking to make an example of someone for your post? I like the message of your post but not how it was put across.

Plus, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good, or do more, faster, better – so long as the idea is to compete with yourself and be the best version of you that can be, and not get stuck trying to better than everyone else.

By: Alex Dogliotti

Alex Dogliotti — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:08:00 +0000

As I said. A few will do what most can’t.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 13:51:00 +0000

Wait, really? You did that to a girl in the middle of a job interview? An already stressful event? I’m sorry, but at a job interview, I will show you me, I will tell you what I can do, but I definitely will not let you turn it into a therapy session. I feel like you really crossed the line.

The insight itself is valid; the anecdote just really bothered me.

By: Alex Dogliotti

Alex Dogliotti — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 09:43:00 +0000

Hey Ava, there are two things that people want more than anything (in fact many die for them), looking good and being right. Those two things drive the life of most (all?) in subtle ways. I ask people to raise their awareness level and see how they’re doing the same right there in front of me. If they do, they’re usually willing to drop their act and start doing incredible work instead.

By: Ava Cristi

Ava Cristi — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Very inspiring article. Just like Kate,I’m afraid to fail.That’s why I’m giving all my best in order to win in any situation. I always want to stand out from the crowd because I believe that I can easily win the respect of other people by doing this.

By: jrandom421

jrandom421 — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 20:17:00 +0000

An incident long ago illustrates my views succinctly. I was working on an old piece of equipment,, and my manage wondered why I didn’t “pretty it up.” I said, “It may be old, and it looks beat up, but it’s operating within manufacturer’s specifications without any adjustments. I can’t “pretty it up” because parts went out of production 20 years ago.”
I then pointed to a new looking piece of equipment that was being repackaged to be sent to the manufacturer. ” This piece of equipment was sent to the manufacturer, for a specific problem. They “prettied it up”, replacing the case, controls and displays. It still doesn’t work and is going back to the manufacturer again, because they never fixed the original problem.”

My point? I don’t give a damn how it looks., I care how it works.

By: Para Friv

Para Friv — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:42:00 +0000

Health has always been one of the factors that helped us get life more cheerful and happy. What share posts really make sense to me.