During my college years, I was in desperate need of a good job.
I didn’t need an executive’s salary, just a decent paycheck so I could provide for myself.
After coming across a job posting online that seemed promising, I immediately applied.
It was the exact job I was seeking: Good pay, great company, and weekends off.
Beautiful.
I still remember the exact moment when they called me to schedule the first interview.
I was nervous, excited, and worried.
That’s a lot of emotion for a man to experience all at once.
The recruiter liked my resume and wanted to schedule a phone interview with the hiring manager.
After agreeing on a date and time, I said thank you and goodbye.
I immediately began searching the internet for the most common interview questions.
I even bought the famous book What I Wish EVERY Job Candidate Knew: 15 Minutes to a Better Interview.
Like I said, I really wanted the job.
I made it a priority to learn the BEST way to respond to interview questions.
Let’s fast forward to the phone interview.
The hiring manager called and asked me to talk about myself.
After talking about myself, the famous interview questions began!
Why did I want the position?
What could I do for the company?
What’s my biggest weakness?
What was a difficult situation I encountered at my last job and how did I react?
…And so on.
At the end of the interview, I was asked to come in for a second interview.
To make a long story short, I did great in both interviews and got offered the job.
But…
The company still had to verify my work experience and run a background check before hiring me.
…And that’s when the problem began.
The hiring manager called the HR department for my prior job and asked about my job description.
I was laid off from that job due to employee downsizing.
After losing my job, I began meeting with recruiters to help me find work.
One recruiter suggested to tailor my resume according to the position I was applying for.
Not lie, but tailor. (There’s a thin line between the two)
So, I tailored the job title for my last position to be similar to the one I was applying for.
A few days after my second interview, the hiring manager called me back and said:
“I’m a little confused, in your resume you mentioned a completely different job title than the one your previous HR manager did.”
I froze.
All I could think was that I wasn’t going to get the job for coming across as a liar.
I wanted to say something.
Anything!
But, the only thing that crossed my mind was “HANG UP THE PHONE!”
And guess what?
I hung up the phone.
That’s right, just like a scared little boy, I ran from the situation.
What problem was I running from?
Conflict.
Instead of addressing the issue, I hung up to avoid it.
I felt horrible.
I knew I had just lost a great opportunity by coming across as a liar.
But, I didn’t mean to lie, I simply did what the recruiter suggested.
As I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself, something came over me!
I decided to STOP running and face the situation instead.
Sure, there was a good chance I wouldn’t be hired, but I refused to go away without a fight.
I called the manager back and said:
“Hi, sorry about that. I apologize for the confusion. My work experience on my resume is accurate. However, I’ve been meeting with job recruiters and they’ve explained that it’s a good idea to tailor my job title to the position I’m applying for so that hiring managers find my resume and review my experience. I hope this doesn’t disqualify me as a potential candidate for the position. I really want it and know that I’ll be able to help you and your company with my experience and work ethic.”
At this point, I felt a lot better about myself, but still didn’t expect to get the job.
I mean, I had just hung up on the hiring manager and “lied” on my resume.
Well, to my surprise, he laughed and said:
“Not a problem at all. I just needed to confirm so that I know what to submit to the recruiting office. Your background check came back and everything is fine. Can you start next Monday?”
Once again, I was speechless.
Not only did I land the job I wanted, but I also learned a vital life lesson:
Running away from your problems is STUPID.
If I would’ve allowed myself to run from that situation, I wouldn’t have been hired.
Also, I probably would’ve continued the habit of running from conflict the rest of my life.
But I didn’t.
I made the decision right then and there to stop running.
What’s the moral of the story?
Running from your problems doesn’t provide any rewards, just a temporary escape.
You’ll spend your whole life running unless you stop NOW![bctt tweet=”Running from your problems doesn’t provide any rewards, just a temporary escape. You’ll spend your whole life running unless you stop NOW!” username=””]
Whenever you encounter a problem in life, FACE IT!
No matter how uncomfortable you feel at the moment, don’t run.
You’ll find that it really isn’t much of a problem at all.
Trust me.
I’m not sure what came over me that day, but I’m grateful it did.
When I saw what facing my problems did for me, I never ran from another problem again!
…And I never will.
Talk soon,
Alexander Writer
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