WorkWise BlogTip: Beauty Contest

Some years ago, Irene Villaverde (cnr.edu), in the early stages of her career, applied for a job as secretary to a school district's top dog. His office manager conducted the hour-long first interview, and she was pleased with the results.

The superintendent and department member conducted the second interview, which took about the same amount of time. She was pleased with the results there, too. Then came the third interview with three people, the superintendent and two of his associates.

When it was over, the superintendent delivered his verdict with a smile. However, it wasn't a verdict. It was an announcement. "We’ll be calling you back for one more round before we make our final decision," he stated.

Villaverde countered with, "And that, I assume, would be the swimsuit competition?"

Her comment, meant to be in jest, shocked him. "His jaw dropped and he blinked furiously before falling into a blank stare," she says.

What did she learn? She didn't want a boss if he didn’t have a sense of humor.

She also saw that humor has its place, but that if it's a tad sarcastic, "there was no way I was getting the job."

Dr. Mildred L. Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2009 Passage Media.