February 14, 2024 • 41 mins
We had a great conversation about what we need to do for job interviews. Join us today as we look through skills specifically for job interviews and some general communication skills.
It might be hard right now to find a "job" so when you get a chance to interview you jump on it. Here are some ideas on how to prepare and what to say when you get in there.
A few things we forgot are follow up e-mails, thank you emails etc.
Have new questions? Reach out to us on our website.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Microphone Array (Realt (00:00):
Welcome to doctoring decrypted today.
(00:02):
We're going to talk about jobs.
And the interview skills.
How fun is that?
It's not going to be about Stevejobs.
Just normal jobs.
Dad (00:11):
Oh,
Ashton (00:13):
that was gonna be more fun than Steve.
Dad (00:15):
Steve's my bestie.
Is he?
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
Was okay.
There you go.
That's trying to figure that oneout.
Welcome to Adulting Decrypted.
We are your hosts.
I'm Gene and I'm starting myfirst year of college.
I'm Ashton.
I'm a music performer, composer,and educator.
I'm Gene a high school senior.
(00:35):
I'm Roscoe the dad.
Those are my three sons, andthis is Adulting Decrypted where
we discuss ways to become adultsand the things we need to know
to be successful at life.
Anybody make any friends over the.
A couple weeks since we talkedabout that in college.
Yeah, I mean, sorry, g, go.
(00:55):
No, please, please go.
Sorry,
Gene (00:58):
Met a new person named Stephen, met him after a class.
There's like cookies and stuffoutside, so we just eat it and
started talking about like, how.
Like all this good stuff, youknow, like how Jar, Jar, Binks
is really a Sith lord.
You know?
It's
Dad (01:14):
the good stuff.
Classic.
Yep.
All the good stuff.
Well, good.
That's awesome that you metsomebody new and it was, it was
Steve, was his last name jobs oris it a different
Gene (01:23):
Did a different, different, different person.
Dad (01:26):
Okay.
Yeah.
Getting your, you're about tosay something about friends.
Gideon (01:31):
Oh, I was just gonna answer that like.
I've just strengthenedfriendships, I guess, since last
time.
Talked to people that I don'ttalk to as much, but I don't
know if any new friends
Dad (01:43):
were made.
Good.
Hey, that's still progress, Iwas thinking a lot about tribes
today.
It was one of the things that wetalked about and how to grow
your tribe and, and jump intothat circle.
And just thinking tomorrow, I'mgoing skiing with a buddy.
I used to work with and I'vebeen reaching out to just old
contacts and friends and tryingto rekindle kind of like what
you did get in, but I'm alsotalking to complete strangers
(02:05):
just to practice it.
'cause there's, there's no cost,as we talked about transactional
relationships, you might aswell, Hey, how you doing?
You know, whatever.
Look like the weird guy.
It doesn't matter.
But it could be my age too.
Yeah.
So I guess before we get startedon jobs, why do we need a job?
Let's start there.
(02:26):
You need monies?
Yeah, but for what?
To live everything.
Live.
Freaking
Ashton (02:33):
everything, man.
Gene (02:35):
Like you
Dad (02:36):
know,
Gene (02:36):
only the essentials like food and water and shelter.
You really like the only thingsyou really need to survive well
and to make a lot easier likecars.
Being able to listen tobroadcasts.
Dad (02:50):
Just, just those fun things, huh?
Yeah.
Well, you know, one of theinteresting things is I was
looking at the rising cost offood, right?
The rising cost of everythingreally.
From 2021, 8%, you know,increased 5%.
The year after that, they'reclaiming.
Just over four last year, whichwe know if you look at the cost
(03:11):
of things, it's not true.
So just to eat right, you needa, need a job.
And then all the other fun stuffyou guys talked about.
You know, it's kind of, kind ofscary right now just, and you
guys are, I don't know if youguys are feeling this yet this
year being 2024, we've alreadylost over 10,000 tech jobs.
(03:32):
Pretty big drop.
Would that be from
Gideon (03:35):
AI
Dad (03:36):
and stuff like that?
Mm.
Some of it's ai.
Some of it's just the fact thatpoorly ran programs and, and
processes, you know, and, andlost 200 and 260,000 in the last
quarter of 20 twenty-three.
So a lot of people are gettinghit with the job market loss
right now.
(03:56):
Yeah.
They say that they're addingjobs.
You know, you look at some ofthe bureau statistics and they
say there's, there's about 1.2jobs for every person, but if
you look at'em, those are yourlower end, your fast food.
Some of those jobs that aren'treally desired, it's not saying
they're not important, they'rejust not, not as highly sought a
(04:17):
which has led to, and listenerwill post this on our blog, but
if you look it.
The educated job seeker.
Right now, the interview processwithout receiving an offer is
happened about 52% of thepeople, which is kind of
interesting.
Yeah, I,
Ashton (04:35):
well, I saw a video the other day.
It was of a guy.
He, he, he was, I think he wasactually in the tech industry.
But he said he applied forthousands of jobs.
And, and hadn't received asingle offer
Dad (04:50):
in over six months.
Yeah.
Which is crazy.
It's happening, you know, andit, and it, it is.
And what's interesting on thatthough, Ashton is the high
school diploma guy is actuallygetting more callback than the
college guy.
'cause the, the demand for payand the jobs that are there, so
really that's why it'simportant, what we're gonna talk
about tonight.
(05:11):
And really the, the premise isbeing ready for the job
interview, being ready topresent yourself, talk about
yourself.
That's what we're gonna covertonight with adulting decrypted.
The first thing that, that iscritical is your communication
skills.
We've talked about communicationa bunch, right?
We were just talking about howto find a friend, but the verbal
(05:33):
communication.
And non-verbal communication andthen listening skills are the
kind of the three areas to coverin in the communication skills.
Verbal communication.
Gideon (05:44):
Exactly what we're doing.
Talking, I
Dad (05:48):
presume.
No.
Yeah.
It's very valid.
And then we get the non-verbal.
What's the non-Verbal band
Gene (05:54):
gestures, like the way you hold your body.
What you do with your handswhile you're talking.
Your face expressions.
Dad (06:03):
All of it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Great.
Great.
Gene.
And then the listening skills.
What's an active listener?
I, I like to smile.
Gideon.
That's a good, good activelistening.
Maybe.
Gideon (06:18):
Well, I just smile'cause I think of a blog post that we
Ashton (06:22):
we
Dad (06:22):
had Yeah.
About how to make friends incollege,
Gideon (06:24):
right?
Yeah.
And you had to be an
Dad (06:26):
active listener, so That's right.
So verbal communication in a jobinterview, it's, it's important
to articulate use properlanguage for the group that
you're trying to impress, right?
If you're, you don't want to usesome of your street slang, you
know, you don't wanna ums.
You know, you want to thinkthrough, how do I wanna present,
what do I need to present?
Who am I talking to?
(06:48):
Then nonverbal communication.
Jean, you just did a greatexample of where you're shaking
your head.
You're like, yeah, I like whatdad's saying.
I'm buying into that.
Yeah.
Any, any thoughts on that?
I've
Gene (06:59):
heard this is Tistic.
I don't remember where it was.
I don't remember how true it is,but like, what was the
percentage?
I think it was like 80%.
The communication we pick up onis nonverbal.
And then it's like 30% is like,no, and then it's like 20% is
what you 10% is what you say,and then 20% is how you say it
(07:21):
or something like that.
I don't,
Dad (07:22):
I don't know.
But yeah, I think you're right.
I think there's a, a lot of itis how we're engaged in the
room.
For example, when I am in a jobinterview situation, I'm sitting
on the front of my seat.
I'm not hunched back.
I'm not laid back.
Even if the, even if theinterviewer is right, I slide
myself forward.
I get to the edge of my seat,not in their face, but I'm
(07:43):
leaning forward.
I'm sitting up straight.
I'm looking'em in the eye,right?
Those are all nonverbal.
It's all critical.
It also blows into that, rollsinto.
The listening skill that we'retalking about, right?
We're actively listening.
Any questions on communication?
I feel like we've covered that alot.
(08:04):
Quite a few different, yeah, Ithink so.
Well, the next one is companyresearch.
And back when I was doing this,initially when I was looking for
jobs, a lot harder to find aboutcompanies and trying to do some,
some research on the company andunderstand what their mission
was, what their values were.
(08:24):
What do they think is important?
It's all critical as as far asthe interview process.
Finally, interviewing with acompany.
How do you find thisinformation?
I mean, every
Ashton (08:39):
company's got a website
Dad (08:40):
nowadays.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Any other thoughts?
Well, I mean,
Ashton (08:47):
you can find their mission statement if you know
someone that's worked there forthem before.
I applied for a job once.
It was using drones to map outlike house ceilings, so like for
re-shingling stuff.
And did not do great at that jobinterview, but something I could
have done was maybe talk to theindividual who gave me the lead
about what that sort of culturewas like and what, what people
(09:11):
were looking for.
Dad (09:12):
Didn't do that.
I like that.
Reach out to your network,right?
If, especially if you knowsomebody that's in the, in the
industry or at the company.
I found it pretty interestingwhen I went for my Amazon job
interview.
There's people that are actuallydoing blogs and a bunch of stuff
on YouTube about how do you besuccessful at Amazon job
(09:33):
interview.
They told me exactly what theywere gonna ask, and then when I
was being an interview forAmazon and I was interviewing
people, I was surprised at howmany people didn't even Google
it, didn't even look and say,what are some of the questions
they're gonna ask?
What's the star method?
Which is what they're big on.
It's, it's subject time and likehow you contribute it.
(09:56):
I can't remember all the stuff.
Now.
I go look it up real quick.
In 30 seconds, I could tell youwhat it is and, and so that
research is important, but learnto look it up
Ashton (10:07):
would not serve
Dad (10:07):
you well.
No, but if, if I knew that goinginto it, I'd be prepared.
Right.
That's what I'm saying.
Yeah.
It's sitting in the interview.
It's a little late.
Gene (10:15):
That's something that kind of strikes me as interesting
because when I've gone to jobsbefore, it's been like, okay,
yeah, well I'm gonna go overthis place.
But it's mainly for your lesssought after jobs.
Like you were talking about,like working as like a janitor
in a movie theater, working foodor like retail.
(10:37):
I.
With Walmart.
I think it's, it's not one ofthose places that are gonna have
a bunch of, of those biggerthings, but yes, if you're, if
you're trying to impress, I'dsay definitely look it up.
Dad (10:46):
Something I never thought of before.
In this type of a job market, itprobably makes sense to look it
up and, and more so on the nextpoint I was gonna bring up Jean,
which is understand the roleyou're going in for, right?
So if you're, if you're goingin, for me, I'm looking at a
higher-end job.
I'm gonna look at.
What did that company do?
One of the questions I askedwas, why did the last person
(11:08):
leave?
You know, so I, I'm digging intowhat their roles and
responsibilities are before Ieven sat down.
Gideon (11:16):
Yeah.
And I like where you're goingwith that too, is not just
answering questions, but askingquestions as well.
I'm not sure if that's later onyour list, but
Dad (11:25):
I know active listening, we've covered it.
So this is, I love where yourhead's at.
That's fair
Gideon (11:30):
and like.
Yeah, just as a furtherexplanation of active listening
is like I said, just coming ineven with some questions, like
you said why'd the last personleave?
Or like, one that I heard frommy marketing teacher at Mtek
Mountain Lion Technical Collegeis what is the best day and the
(11:50):
worst day at work look like?
I like that.
And if they're like, oh, there'sno worst day, you know, you're
not talking to the right personbecause there's always a worst
day.
So it's like, and that'll, youknow, show you part of the work
environment and just be preparedwith interesting questions, and
that can give you more of a, anassertive nature in your
(12:11):
interview.
Dad (12:12):
Yeah, I, I love it.
And you know, some of thosequestions, this isn't where you
say, what's the pay?
How many hours do I have to worka week?
But you're asking kind ofthought provoking questions.
What's your big goals thatyou're trying to accomplish?
I loved it when somebody did askme that, you know, what's, what
are you trying to get done?
Where's your company going?
(12:32):
So I give the listener a littleperspective.
I know my kids know this, butI've probably interviewed over
2000 people for jobs.
I do a lot of warehousing.
I interview a lot of people, andyou'd be surprised at what
people tell me in an interview.
First off that I'm not allowedto ask and, and I'm not even
(12:53):
allowed to make a note of it,but it makes me very
uncomfortable sometimes some ofthe stuff that's been said.
You know, and I just disclose,you know, while, while we're
talking about this a little bit,you know, as you're preparing
and researching the role, lookat, as we're trying to figure
out the company culture, I, Ihired a lot of felons because of
what I do.
I'm not afraid of it.
(13:14):
But I will ask a follow upquestion.
Right.
The only time that I've had tofire people is if they don't
disclose.
If they're not up front.
If they don't tell us.
Because it's one of thequestionnaires, mark, just be
honest.
And, and one thing that I
Gene (13:27):
think is interesting is that you said think about what
job you're going in for, becauseit reminded me of an experience.
Where it, it was when I was atWal-Mart, I went there and I
hired, I played for a coupledifferent positions there.
'cause
Dad (13:39):
I was just looking for
Gene (13:40):
a job.
And then when I got there, they,they talked to me, they did the
interview and like, sweet,you're hired.
And I'm like, sweet.
And they're like, oh yeah, wenever told you what you were
interviewing for.
I'm like, no, no.
I don't know at all.
That's awesome.
And so that's something that Ithought was
Dad (13:55):
interesting.
That is
Ashton (13:56):
an experience I also had at Walmart.
Throwing that in there.
Gideon (14:00):
Funny thing, the experience I had at Walmart, I
didn't even have an interview.
They just started talking aboutschedules.
I'm like, I guess I'm hired.
Like, I don't know.
I didn't even have to talk toanybody about it.
So it was a
Dad (14:13):
plus and all three of you guys were hired when it was
really a what I would call anemployee market, meaning that
people were looking foremployees so bad.
Hey, Gideon, you breathe.
You have a pulse, come get ajob.
Right?
Well, yeah.
It was that
Ashton (14:27):
big boom of, of like online buying during covid and
like self shopping and like,just the whole market was
changing Yeah.
In that, in
Dad (14:38):
that sphere.
Yeah.
So, hey, and, and now we're morein a employer's market, so you
need to employ like how I didthat, some of these techniques.
So when you're talking about therole that you, you want to
tailor your answers towards thatrole.
So for example, I love that yousaid you talked about going in
and being a shopper.
I don't know, what are thosecalled?
(14:59):
GDP gps, O-G-P-X-Y-O-G-P.
Unlike a little bit of research,I did not remember that.
What was it called?
Gene (15:09):
The OGP Online
Dad (15:11):
Grocery Pickup.
Look at that.
How fancy is that acronym?
So you're going in for that joband you, you're trying to figure
out who you're, what you'regonna do, reach out to one of
your friends who's doing it.
You might know somebody theremight go watch a little bit and
see what people are doing.
Say, Hey, you know, do you mindif I ask you what job you're
(15:32):
doing here at Walmart?
They'll tell you, most peopledon't care.
They're just doing a job.
And you can figure out a littlebit.
That way you can tailor youranswers towards it.
For example, Ashwin, what's astrength?
If I'm interviewing you for anOGP role, I'd say, Hey, what's
one of your strengths?
What might be an answer youcould give me?
(15:54):
I'm really good at lifting milk.
Okay.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about that experience?
Ashton (16:00):
Oh, yeah.
Well, all growing up my, myparents, well my mom, she'd come
home from Costco and be like, Ijust bought.
18 gallons of milk, can youcarry them?
I'll be like, I got you.
And I'd do that.
And so did you say 18 gallons?
One, eight?
I mean, sometimes it was more,sometimes it was less.
It
just
Dad (16:16):
kind of depended on, okay.
So that's how Ashton did.
We'll rate him in a second.
Gene, if I were to ask you thesame question, Hey Gene, what
makes you qualified for OGP?
TQ?
XYZ?
I can't remember what, I can'tremember where I stopped that.
Well, right after the bomb,
Gene (16:33):
what one strength I feel like I have that would fit well
with this job is being able toquickly, but correctly identify
items.
Dad (16:43):
That's perfect.
What a great answer.
And I'll be like, oh yeah, soyou're, I forgot to what you're
interviewing for.
No.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's a great answer.
Right.
So he made it relevant to theirjob.
It is one of Gene's skills.
We would all agree that heidentifies products and that,
that he knows how to movequickly.
(17:03):
So that, that's great.
Great answer.
There was no lying, there was nofibbing.
It was very honest and direct.
Yeah, so any, any thoughts onthat before we move on to the
next point?
The next one that's prettyimportant is to be adaptable.
And what that means is they'reprobably gonna give you a
problem-solving question, right?
(17:24):
Especially if you're going for ahigher-end job.
You're ready to discuss thissituation where you face the
challenge and the challenge andhow you overcame it.
Right?
I've been asked that questionprobably.
I've had eight real jobs withW-II jobs, and I've been asked
in every one of them, tell meyour biggest challenge and how
did you overcome it?
(17:45):
Amazon's was worded a little bitdifferent.
Tell me about the most moneyyou've ever saved and how did
you accomplish it?
But it's the same principle.
Gideon, how would you answerthat job and what job would you
be going for?
So not saying OGP, but let's sayit's a different company.
I'd say what's one of yourbiggest obstacles and how did
you overcome it?
Gideon (18:07):
One of the biggest obstacles that I face is knowing
the right thing to do, the rightdecisions to make.
And how I often overcome thoseis laying out pros and cons as
well as seeing where I wouldlike to be in the future, maybe
looking at my goals, and then Ican directly and accurately make
those decisions
Dad (18:27):
perfect.
See, employers value somebody.
That's one insightful, right?
Gene said, oh, or Gideon.
Sorry, I've never done this.
Listener with both of the back.
It's hard again.
Gideon looked at himself andsaid, Hey, that's a great
question.
One of the things I have is,there's so many options in
today's world.
There's so many opportunities.
I have to make a pro and conlist, and then I know which way
(18:49):
to go.
So you can critically think, youcan prioritize.
Employers love that kind ofstuff.
Great answer.
That would be, you know, theability to solve a problem and,
and have these stories kinda inthe back of your mind.
I, I have eight or nine casestudies that I have ready to go
at a drop of a hat because nowinstead of traditionally getting
job interviews, I'm now talkingto business owners and telling
(19:12):
'em how I can help them.
And so some of that is me stilldoing the research.
What's their problem?
What's gonna be their biggestproblems?
What's their values?
What's important to them?
The next one is in adaptabilityis be flexible.
What's one of the things we say?
The only thing that's certain inlife is change.
Everything's always changingthey want a candidate who can
(19:35):
succeed in changingcircumstances or even unseen
'cause they don't knoweverything, especially on some
of these higher end jobs.
So you'd wanna think of a storyof when was I adaptable?
What did I do that wasadaptable?
What did I do to help facilitatea change or process?
What would one of thosequestions look like if a
(19:56):
employer's trying to gauge yourflexibility?
I.
So what would be a
Gene (20:00):
question I'd ask as an employer?
Or how would I answer as anemployee?
Dad (20:04):
Yeah.
What, what, what would a,'causesometimes we think, how do I
answer a question, but we don'tthink of all the questions.
What would be one of thequestions an employer would ask
that really they're asking Howadaptable are you?
One question that comes to mythought is, how do you do with
ambiguity?
How do you do if I don't defineevery step of your job for you?
(20:26):
And can you tell me about a, asituation where you've had that
and how you succeeded?
I
Ashton (20:31):
think, I think another one that I think of is if, like,
if you're talking about changingprocesses is like have there
been any situations where you'vegotten into something?
And you've had to change thewhole process.
Like have you ever been taskedwith this job that you're
(20:51):
volunteering before?
So can you, have youdemonstrated this skill that you
claim to be
Dad (20:59):
offering?
Right?
And so you're asking themexactly for a very specific
example, that's a great point.
Action.
Asking somebody how they adaptedin a changing environment or
having to revamp a whole system.
Really helps me as an employerevaluate are you the right
candidate for this changingenvironment that I'm currently
in and that you can help mewith?
(21:22):
And then there's other times ifI was interviewing like a
quality control, some person I'dwanna say, well, tell me about a
time that you were able torepeat a task over and over.
And you need to think throughthat on the fly.
But if you know what job andwhat role you're going for,
you've probably thought of someof those questions and how they
pertain to you.
Another question I'd, I'd bringup
Gene (21:41):
for flexibility, kind of like a, on the same side of it,
but at a different perspective,would be like, has there ever
been a time when you've dealtwith a, like a hard customer or
someone that's broughtopposition to you?
If so, how were you able to,like, how was that experience
(22:03):
like for
Dad (22:03):
you?
How would you
Ashton (22:05):
answer that question, gene?
Just outta curiosity.
Gene (22:10):
Well,
Dad (22:11):
you
Gene (22:11):
see what, what I would talk about is the, the second
call that happened that nightthat you guys are thinking of
where we, we talked and he islike, they're very kind and
they're like, okay, so like yourealize that this didn't happen.
So I was able to go to someoneelse who knew the answer and be
able to talk to them like, Hey,what do we offer?
That can help them in thissituation.
(22:33):
And so then we were able towrite down the product, find it,
and give it to'em, all nice anddandy.
Unlike the the first situation,which didn't go quite as well,
let's just put it that way,because it wasn't anyone else
for me to talk to.
And they were getting mad at mefor that, and it was really
busy, and other part wasstressful, but I'd probably do
(22:54):
better now, maybe.
Dad (22:57):
I love that you, you realized you had two situations
you could have shared and youchose the one that showed that
you demonstrated fortitude andcourage and, and changed.
Right?
Even if, even if somebody said,Hey, Jean, I was listening to
the podcast.
I heard you said, my name'sJean.
Come at me.
You could say, yeah, that's agreat story, and that is pretty
funny.
(23:18):
However, I grew from thatexperience and this is what I
learned.
Right.
And then you go into that storyof how, oh, the next customer or
next customer after I evaluatedhow I handled the one before,
employers aren't upset that youscrewed up, you know, unless if
you did it on my watch, right?
Or, or was blatant.
(23:38):
I had one employer when I firststarted, I lost him 10 grand
right out of the shoot.
And I said, oh, mark, are yougonna fire him?
He goes, why'd I fire you?
I just spent 10 grand trainingyou.
You know, and I'm like, oh,that's awesome.
Well then I found him 20 grandand I said, look, I made you 20
grand.
Do I get a bonus?
He goes, I didn't take the 10grand away from you.
I'm not gonna give you my 20grand.
'cause you saved it.
(23:59):
You know, so it it, it wasreally helpful for me, but I
could share that story now in apositive light like Jean is
doing.
Hey, I realized that I needed toslow down and check my numbers
before I spoke and this is thebad and this is what good came
from it, and this is what Ilearned.
So it's not a bad thingnecessarily to share a bad
experience as long as it has agreat ending.
(24:22):
The next one is emotionalintelligence and, and really we
put a lot of emphasis on thisright now in the society.
Long gone are the days that Ican walk into work and be like,
there was some guys at Ford thathad a rule that told their
employees.
You can't talk to me for 30minutes'cause my coffee hasn't
(24:43):
kicked.
And he, he would always use someexplicitives.
He was a supervisor and he'dsay, don't talk to me for 30
minutes.
Leave me alone.
Not really emotionallyintelligent, right?
He's very much old school.
So the first thing is to beself-aware.
And the next one is to showempathy.
So self-awareness is understandyour strength, weaknesses, areas
(25:06):
of focus, things you're tryingto grow.
What are you trying to improveon?
Be prepared to share thoseexperiences like Gene just
shared other experiences.
I like the way you worded yours,Gideon.
Well, I know that I strugglesometimes making a decision.
This is how I handle it, right?
That shows an employer thatyou're really intuitive and that
you really think, and that you,you understand what it takes to
(25:29):
be successful.
So when they say, what's yourgreatest success?
What are you gonna tell'em?
Are you gonna tell'em a time dida backflip off of a ski jump?
Is that probably what they'relooking for?
Gideon (25:41):
I think that that could depend on what job you're
applying
Dad (25:44):
for.
Totally agree.
Because you've done yourresearch, right?
Yeah.
If your boss is a skier, itcould work too.
So there are times, and you'reshowing emotional intelligence,
and then there's other timesthat that might not show what
you need'em to, and, and that'ssituational the second time I
went for a to teach skiing, Ishowed up in a suit.
(26:05):
I think I shared that story withyou guys.
Not really the right outfit orcostume or presentation.
She wasn't offended.
She wasn't bogged.
She's just like, oh yeah, you'rea little overdressed.
But I appreciate the effort.
You know, so it wasn't, but Isometimes you gotta be familiar
with your surroundings.
I love going into a company andalready knowing what their
(26:25):
culture is and dressing one stepbetter just to show that I
respect, but I'm not gonna showup in a suit and tie.
Well in knowing
Ashton (26:34):
the culture too, in tandem with emotional
intelligence.
When I was working in a movietheater, it was like after
school and I was like, well, Iwent home and I showered and I
was running late and I walked inprobably.
Two to five minutes late.
It wasn't like super late, itwas still late.
And my manager, we like, had afun relationship and so when I
(26:55):
walked in he is like, what theheck?
And pretended to be super upsetabout it, but the general
manager was sitting in theoffice and I heard this and he
came out and pulled me into hisoffice and he was like, why were
you late?
And I told him, I was like, ohyeah, I just, I set an alarm
'cause I was taking a shower andI missed it.
And so I was late.
And he goes, well, what can youdo better next time?
(27:18):
And I said, come up with abetter story.
Now, it would've landed with mymanager, but he was like, so
you're lying to me?
And I said, no, no, no, no, no,no.
I was just trying to be funny,but I'm sorry.
No.
Next time I'll be, I'll do this.
I don't remember what I said.
But yeah.
So knowing, knowing youraudience
Dad (27:38):
is important.
Thank you so much, Ashley.
I love the great story.
The other one is show empathy,On that emotional intelligence
side, try and come understandwhat the employer's looking for.
They could be having a stressfulday, right?
They could be having a lot goingon.
And then what would theircolleagues and what other
clients or supervisors be,right?
(27:59):
A good question would be, well,who's your customer?
You know, who would I, who am Igonna be serving?
How am I gonna be helping?
So you're showing empathy.
You're trying to get into theirshoes and, and understand what's
going on in their culture.
I really believe one of thereasons why I landed this client
is I'm like, I've sat in yourchair and when you're done on
(28:21):
Friday afternoon, you're tired.
You can't do anymore.
You just want to go home andrelax.
Yeah.
You know that that's right whereI'm at.
That's what I'm feeling at theend of a work.
You don't need a consultanttelling you what to do, you're
tired, you're done.
So in the job interview skill, Iknew the position, I knew what I
(28:42):
was going for, and I showed someempathy, I talked through what
she's probably feeling orfeeling.
Is that harder to do on a, on anhourly transactional job?
Maybe, but maybe not.
What are some of the things youcan now empathize having worked
at Walmart?
What are some of the things youcould empathize that a manager's
going through on a given day?
(29:03):
Employees
Gene (29:04):
not showing up, calling in sick the last minute and just
rude customers having to manageeverybody's schedules and get it
just nice and neat so that itworks for everybody, even though
it's never gonna just work for
Dad (29:17):
everybody.
And right there, gene, you hitit on the head.
You're like, Hey, I'm, I'm, I,I, I'm on time.
I show up.
I'm gonna do the work that youasked me to do.
Right.
That could be one of yourstrengths.
You know, I, Hey, I appreciatethat.
People call off, I try and showup for all my shifts.
(29:38):
You know, something like that.
You're playing towards that.
Sometimes I get the worst shift,and I don't, I'm not really
excited about it.
But you're not gonna hear mecomplain, you know, whatever it
is.
Even if you're gonna complain,you just wanna put forward a
good attitude.
And that's the next step.
And last one I have is positiveattitude.
Enthusiasm goes a long way.
I've sat and I've interviewedperson.
(29:58):
I look across the desk andthink, are you here because you
want to be here?
Or is your.
Significant other is your paroleofficer who's making you come
and sit here across the tablefor me.
'cause right now you don't wannabe here.
And I don't want you herebecause I'm tired of this
interview already.
How does enthusiasm show up whenyou're in that environment?
Gideon (30:24):
I know this isn't quite the question that you're going
after.
But a point that I would like toadd is the difference between
confidence and arrogance.
Because like
Dad (30:36):
confidence and I love it.
That is my next point, Gideon.
So you must be reading from myplaybook.
So yeah, talk about confidence.
I love it.
Just
Gideon (30:44):
I feel like confidence can tie with enthusiasm.
Absolutely.
Because a lot of confidence islike feeling good about yourself
and when you're feeling good.
A lot of it.
Translate into enthusiasm.
So if you're feeling good,you're like, you know, like you
said, excited to be there.
You're confident and you justlook a lot better to the
(31:06):
interviewer, like you had
Dad (31:08):
said, dad, you know, as Reddits were, we get some of our
topics, we, I have goodconversation with listeners, so
I appreciate it, and one of thequestions that was asked is, do
I shake the hand of the personbefore or after the interview?
What's your answer to that?
Why not both?
(31:29):
You hit it.
You said exactly what I did.
I said extend your hand on boththe the on the start and the
end.
Because it shows confidence,?
Look them in the eye and then toyour point, getting arrogance
is, I don't need this job, thisjob's below me.
What?
You want me to be an OGP?
I am.
I'm an OG brother.
(31:50):
I don't need OGP, you know?
That's right, that's right.
Rolling down the street in myAnyways, living in the
eight-O-one.
Ashton (32:00):
That's right.
The eight.
Oh or three-eight-five.
Depending on what generationyou're from
Dad (32:05):
or when your parents got your cell phone for you, that's
yeah, so, so show forward thatconfidence.
You're excited about the job,you're enthusiastic about what
you're doing, and let's behonest.
You should be excited about lifeanyways.
If you finally got the jobinterview, you're excited to be
there.
If this is just a practice job,you're just excited to talk to
(32:26):
somebody, it does you no good toshow up and be angry and bitter.
If that's the day that you'rehaving call off, Hey look, it's
not the right time for me.
I don't want to be here.
Whatever.
I'd much rather you have youcancel coming into a job
interview than coming in angry,bitter.
(32:47):
So there we did not cover inthis episode because I don't
think it's relevant.
You can easily Google what arethe top five interview
questions.
So go Google'em, go look at'em.
Go figure out what people aregonna ask you.
We've talked about'em beforetoo, so it's true.
Yeah.
But now I want you to thinkabout the top five things that
(33:09):
you can do to prepare.
Which is what we've talkedabout, which is being work on
your communication skills,prepare and research the
company, be adaptable, showemotional intelligence, and have
a positive attitude.
Yeah.
Thanks dad for
Gideon (33:27):
Thanks dad, for rounding it all up and of course, like
always we'd love to hear howyour experiences go.
Like that said, we have.
I read it and I think we have aReddit page.
Yep, we do.
We have a subreddit, so, youknow, add your stories there.
We'd love to hear them.
And if you don't have Reddit, wealso have everything else.
Yeah.
(33:47):
All the social medias DM us oremail us even.
Dad (33:50):
Hey, you know, getting along those lines of DM, I had
somebody DM me directly and ask,Hey, can I share your episode
listener?
Remember ACT episode three.
It was on, sex torsion, sorry.
For some reason I struggle withthat word reached out to me and
said, Hey, can I share this withmy dad?
Because he's also in that agegroup and there's a victim
(34:11):
group.
And I did some more research andfound out that two-thirds of a,
two thirds of the victim rightnow in, in 2023 were actually 50
and older.
And why wouldn't they be?
They have the most money totarget, so.
Didn't think about it, but shedid'cause she was thinking of
her dad.
So thank you for doing that.
I'm not gonna disclose your name'cause I don't want to embarrass
(34:33):
you, but happy to drop names inhere.
This isn't one that I shouldthough, but, so yeah.
Please message us.
We appreciate it.
Thank you for listening to thisweek's episode of Adulting
Decrypted.
We really enjoyed having thisweek's conversation, and we hope
you did as well.
If you ever want to comment on atopic, you can send us a message
to our websiteAdultingdecrypted.com, our email
(34:55):
adultingdecrypted.gmail.com, orthrough our Instagram, Facebook,
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If you have any topics for theshow that you would like us to.
Talk about, or if you are aparent and want us to talk about
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If you'd like to be a guest orhave an idea for someone you
(35:15):
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With shop.spreadshirt.comforward slash adulting dash
(35:35):
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Lastly, if you enjoyed the show,please consider supporting us on
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(35:56):
individuals all trying theirbest to adults.
We appreciate you listening.
Enjoying and leaving yourpositive reviews.
Now, the special song from Geneand Gideon.
Gideon (36:15):
Yep, I can hear him.
Can you hear me?
Mic?
I can't really tell.
Ashton (36:23):
Sound fine to me.
Gene, does it sound fine to you?
Recording started at 1
Dad (36:27):
0
Ashton (36:28):
1.
Nope, that's not what I wanna dohere.
I got a free
Dad (36:34):
trial of, so we're chilling.
Ashton (36:37):
What does that mean?
Like there's no time limit?
Because I used a differentaccount account, but I have to
start this.
Messing with camera audio.
Okay, I got it.
Yeah.
3,
Dad (36:54):
2, 1.
Gideon (36:55):
Oh, I was just changing it.
Ashton (36:57):
Screen recording.
Started at Measure sixty-six.
Gene, have you started recordingyourself?
I did, yes.
Okay.
Dean started recording before
Gene (37:11):
50.
Do you want me to stop and startagain?
Ashton (37:15):
No, no, no.
You're good.
You're good.
Okay.
Longer the better.
It was actually relativelysimple lining up the audio files
with the
Dad (37:22):
video.
I was surprised.
Gene (37:24):
That's good.
That's good.
Ashton (37:27):
I believe I have done everything I need to do,
Welcome to doctoring decrypted today.
(00:02):
We're going to talk about jobs.
And the interview skills.
How fun is that?
It's not going to be about Stevejobs.
Just normal jobs.
Dad (00:11):
Oh,
Ashton (00:13):
that was gonna be more fun than Steve.
Dad (00:15):
Steve's my bestie.
Is he?
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
Was okay.
There you go.
That's trying to figure that oneout.
Welcome to Adulting Decrypted.
We are your hosts.
I'm Gene and I'm starting myfirst year of college.
I'm Ashton.
I'm a music performer, composer,and educator.
I'm Gene a high school senior.
(00:35):
I'm Roscoe the dad.
Those are my three sons, andthis is Adulting Decrypted where
we discuss ways to become adultsand the things we need to know
to be successful at life.
Anybody make any friends over the.
A couple weeks since we talkedabout that in college.
Yeah, I mean, sorry, g, go.
(00:55):
No, please, please go.
Sorry,
Gene (00:58):
Met a new person named Stephen, met him after a class.
There's like cookies and stuffoutside, so we just eat it and
started talking about like, how.
Like all this good stuff, youknow, like how Jar, Jar, Binks
is really a Sith lord.
You know?
It's
Dad (01:14):
the good stuff.
Classic.
Yep.
All the good stuff.
Well, good.
That's awesome that you metsomebody new and it was, it was
Steve, was his last name jobs oris it a different
Gene (01:23):
Did a different, different, different person.
Dad (01:26):
Okay.
Yeah.
Getting your, you're about tosay something about friends.
Gideon (01:31):
Oh, I was just gonna answer that like.
I've just strengthenedfriendships, I guess, since last
time.
Talked to people that I don'ttalk to as much, but I don't
know if any new friends
Dad (01:43):
were made.
Good.
Hey, that's still progress, Iwas thinking a lot about tribes
today.
It was one of the things that wetalked about and how to grow
your tribe and, and jump intothat circle.
And just thinking tomorrow, I'mgoing skiing with a buddy.
I used to work with and I'vebeen reaching out to just old
contacts and friends and tryingto rekindle kind of like what
you did get in, but I'm alsotalking to complete strangers
(02:05):
just to practice it.
'cause there's, there's no cost,as we talked about transactional
relationships, you might aswell, Hey, how you doing?
You know, whatever.
Look like the weird guy.
It doesn't matter.
But it could be my age too.
Yeah.
So I guess before we get startedon jobs, why do we need a job?
Let's start there.
(02:26):
You need monies?
Yeah, but for what?
To live everything.
Live.
Freaking
Ashton (02:33):
everything, man.
Gene (02:35):
Like you
Dad (02:36):
know,
Gene (02:36):
only the essentials like food and water and shelter.
You really like the only thingsyou really need to survive well
and to make a lot easier likecars.
Being able to listen tobroadcasts.
Dad (02:50):
Just, just those fun things, huh?
Yeah.
Well, you know, one of theinteresting things is I was
looking at the rising cost offood, right?
The rising cost of everythingreally.
From 2021, 8%, you know,increased 5%.
The year after that, they'reclaiming.
Just over four last year, whichwe know if you look at the cost
(03:11):
of things, it's not true.
So just to eat right, you needa, need a job.
And then all the other fun stuffyou guys talked about.
You know, it's kind of, kind ofscary right now just, and you
guys are, I don't know if youguys are feeling this yet this
year being 2024, we've alreadylost over 10,000 tech jobs.
(03:32):
Pretty big drop.
Would that be from
Gideon (03:35):
AI
Dad (03:36):
and stuff like that?
Mm.
Some of it's ai.
Some of it's just the fact thatpoorly ran programs and, and
processes, you know, and, andlost 200 and 260,000 in the last
quarter of 20 twenty-three.
So a lot of people are gettinghit with the job market loss
right now.
(03:56):
Yeah.
They say that they're addingjobs.
You know, you look at some ofthe bureau statistics and they
say there's, there's about 1.2jobs for every person, but if
you look at'em, those are yourlower end, your fast food.
Some of those jobs that aren'treally desired, it's not saying
they're not important, they'rejust not, not as highly sought a
(04:17):
which has led to, and listenerwill post this on our blog, but
if you look it.
The educated job seeker.
Right now, the interview processwithout receiving an offer is
happened about 52% of thepeople, which is kind of
interesting.
Yeah, I,
Ashton (04:35):
well, I saw a video the other day.
It was of a guy.
He, he, he was, I think he wasactually in the tech industry.
But he said he applied forthousands of jobs.
And, and hadn't received asingle offer
Dad (04:50):
in over six months.
Yeah.
Which is crazy.
It's happening, you know, andit, and it, it is.
And what's interesting on thatthough, Ashton is the high
school diploma guy is actuallygetting more callback than the
college guy.
'cause the, the demand for payand the jobs that are there, so
really that's why it'simportant, what we're gonna talk
about tonight.
(05:11):
And really the, the premise isbeing ready for the job
interview, being ready topresent yourself, talk about
yourself.
That's what we're gonna covertonight with adulting decrypted.
The first thing that, that iscritical is your communication
skills.
We've talked about communicationa bunch, right?
We were just talking about howto find a friend, but the verbal
(05:33):
communication.
And non-verbal communication andthen listening skills are the
kind of the three areas to coverin in the communication skills.
Verbal communication.
Gideon (05:44):
Exactly what we're doing.
Talking, I
Dad (05:48):
presume.
No.
Yeah.
It's very valid.
And then we get the non-verbal.
What's the non-Verbal band
Gene (05:54):
gestures, like the way you hold your body.
What you do with your handswhile you're talking.
Your face expressions.
Dad (06:03):
All of it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Great.
Great.
Gene.
And then the listening skills.
What's an active listener?
I, I like to smile.
Gideon.
That's a good, good activelistening.
Maybe.
Gideon (06:18):
Well, I just smile'cause I think of a blog post that we
Ashton (06:22):
we
Dad (06:22):
had Yeah.
About how to make friends incollege,
Gideon (06:24):
right?
Yeah.
And you had to be an
Dad (06:26):
active listener, so That's right.
So verbal communication in a jobinterview, it's, it's important
to articulate use properlanguage for the group that
you're trying to impress, right?
If you're, you don't want to usesome of your street slang, you
know, you don't wanna ums.
You know, you want to thinkthrough, how do I wanna present,
what do I need to present?
Who am I talking to?
(06:48):
Then nonverbal communication.
Jean, you just did a greatexample of where you're shaking
your head.
You're like, yeah, I like whatdad's saying.
I'm buying into that.
Yeah.
Any, any thoughts on that?
I've
Gene (06:59):
heard this is Tistic.
I don't remember where it was.
I don't remember how true it is,but like, what was the
percentage?
I think it was like 80%.
The communication we pick up onis nonverbal.
And then it's like 30% is like,no, and then it's like 20% is
what you 10% is what you say,and then 20% is how you say it
(07:21):
or something like that.
I don't,
Dad (07:22):
I don't know.
But yeah, I think you're right.
I think there's a, a lot of itis how we're engaged in the
room.
For example, when I am in a jobinterview situation, I'm sitting
on the front of my seat.
I'm not hunched back.
I'm not laid back.
Even if the, even if theinterviewer is right, I slide
myself forward.
I get to the edge of my seat,not in their face, but I'm
(07:43):
leaning forward.
I'm sitting up straight.
I'm looking'em in the eye,right?
Those are all nonverbal.
It's all critical.
It also blows into that, rollsinto.
The listening skill that we'retalking about, right?
We're actively listening.
Any questions on communication?
I feel like we've covered that alot.
(08:04):
Quite a few different, yeah, Ithink so.
Well, the next one is companyresearch.
And back when I was doing this,initially when I was looking for
jobs, a lot harder to find aboutcompanies and trying to do some,
some research on the company andunderstand what their mission
was, what their values were.
(08:24):
What do they think is important?
It's all critical as as far asthe interview process.
Finally, interviewing with acompany.
How do you find thisinformation?
I mean, every
Ashton (08:39):
company's got a website
Dad (08:40):
nowadays.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Any other thoughts?
Well, I mean,
Ashton (08:47):
you can find their mission statement if you know
someone that's worked there forthem before.
I applied for a job once.
It was using drones to map outlike house ceilings, so like for
re-shingling stuff.
And did not do great at that jobinterview, but something I could
have done was maybe talk to theindividual who gave me the lead
about what that sort of culturewas like and what, what people
(09:11):
were looking for.
Dad (09:12):
Didn't do that.
I like that.
Reach out to your network,right?
If, especially if you knowsomebody that's in the, in the
industry or at the company.
I found it pretty interestingwhen I went for my Amazon job
interview.
There's people that are actuallydoing blogs and a bunch of stuff
on YouTube about how do you besuccessful at Amazon job
(09:33):
interview.
They told me exactly what theywere gonna ask, and then when I
was being an interview forAmazon and I was interviewing
people, I was surprised at howmany people didn't even Google
it, didn't even look and say,what are some of the questions
they're gonna ask?
What's the star method?
Which is what they're big on.
It's, it's subject time and likehow you contribute it.
(09:56):
I can't remember all the stuff.
Now.
I go look it up real quick.
In 30 seconds, I could tell youwhat it is and, and so that
research is important, but learnto look it up
Ashton (10:07):
would not serve
Dad (10:07):
you well.
No, but if, if I knew that goinginto it, I'd be prepared.
Right.
That's what I'm saying.
Yeah.
It's sitting in the interview.
It's a little late.
Gene (10:15):
That's something that kind of strikes me as interesting
because when I've gone to jobsbefore, it's been like, okay,
yeah, well I'm gonna go overthis place.
But it's mainly for your lesssought after jobs.
Like you were talking about,like working as like a janitor
in a movie theater, working foodor like retail.
(10:37):
I.
With Walmart.
I think it's, it's not one ofthose places that are gonna have
a bunch of, of those biggerthings, but yes, if you're, if
you're trying to impress, I'dsay definitely look it up.
Dad (10:46):
Something I never thought of before.
In this type of a job market, itprobably makes sense to look it
up and, and more so on the nextpoint I was gonna bring up Jean,
which is understand the roleyou're going in for, right?
So if you're, if you're goingin, for me, I'm looking at a
higher-end job.
I'm gonna look at.
What did that company do?
One of the questions I askedwas, why did the last person
(11:08):
leave?
You know, so I, I'm digging intowhat their roles and
responsibilities are before Ieven sat down.
Gideon (11:16):
Yeah.
And I like where you're goingwith that too, is not just
answering questions, but askingquestions as well.
I'm not sure if that's later onyour list, but
Dad (11:25):
I know active listening, we've covered it.
So this is, I love where yourhead's at.
That's fair
Gideon (11:30):
and like.
Yeah, just as a furtherexplanation of active listening
is like I said, just coming ineven with some questions, like
you said why'd the last personleave?
Or like, one that I heard frommy marketing teacher at Mtek
Mountain Lion Technical Collegeis what is the best day and the
(11:50):
worst day at work look like?
I like that.
And if they're like, oh, there'sno worst day, you know, you're
not talking to the right personbecause there's always a worst
day.
So it's like, and that'll, youknow, show you part of the work
environment and just be preparedwith interesting questions, and
that can give you more of a, anassertive nature in your
(12:11):
interview.
Dad (12:12):
Yeah, I, I love it.
And you know, some of thosequestions, this isn't where you
say, what's the pay?
How many hours do I have to worka week?
But you're asking kind ofthought provoking questions.
What's your big goals thatyou're trying to accomplish?
I loved it when somebody did askme that, you know, what's, what
are you trying to get done?
Where's your company going?
(12:32):
So I give the listener a littleperspective.
I know my kids know this, butI've probably interviewed over
2000 people for jobs.
I do a lot of warehousing.
I interview a lot of people, andyou'd be surprised at what
people tell me in an interview.
First off that I'm not allowedto ask and, and I'm not even
(12:53):
allowed to make a note of it,but it makes me very
uncomfortable sometimes some ofthe stuff that's been said.
You know, and I just disclose,you know, while, while we're
talking about this a little bit,you know, as you're preparing
and researching the role, lookat, as we're trying to figure
out the company culture, I, Ihired a lot of felons because of
what I do.
I'm not afraid of it.
(13:14):
But I will ask a follow upquestion.
Right.
The only time that I've had tofire people is if they don't
disclose.
If they're not up front.
If they don't tell us.
Because it's one of thequestionnaires, mark, just be
honest.
And, and one thing that I
Gene (13:27):
think is interesting is that you said think about what
job you're going in for, becauseit reminded me of an experience.
Where it, it was when I was atWal-Mart, I went there and I
hired, I played for a coupledifferent positions there.
'cause
Dad (13:39):
I was just looking for
Gene (13:40):
a job.
And then when I got there, they,they talked to me, they did the
interview and like, sweet,you're hired.
And I'm like, sweet.
And they're like, oh yeah, wenever told you what you were
interviewing for.
I'm like, no, no.
I don't know at all.
That's awesome.
And so that's something that Ithought was
Dad (13:55):
interesting.
That is
Ashton (13:56):
an experience I also had at Walmart.
Throwing that in there.
Gideon (14:00):
Funny thing, the experience I had at Walmart, I
didn't even have an interview.
They just started talking aboutschedules.
I'm like, I guess I'm hired.
Like, I don't know.
I didn't even have to talk toanybody about it.
So it was a
Dad (14:13):
plus and all three of you guys were hired when it was
really a what I would call anemployee market, meaning that
people were looking foremployees so bad.
Hey, Gideon, you breathe.
You have a pulse, come get ajob.
Right?
Well, yeah.
It was that
Ashton (14:27):
big boom of, of like online buying during covid and
like self shopping and like,just the whole market was
changing Yeah.
In that, in
Dad (14:38):
that sphere.
Yeah.
So, hey, and, and now we're morein a employer's market, so you
need to employ like how I didthat, some of these techniques.
So when you're talking about therole that you, you want to
tailor your answers towards thatrole.
So for example, I love that yousaid you talked about going in
and being a shopper.
I don't know, what are thosecalled?
(14:59):
GDP gps, O-G-P-X-Y-O-G-P.
Unlike a little bit of research,I did not remember that.
What was it called?
Gene (15:09):
The OGP Online
Dad (15:11):
Grocery Pickup.
Look at that.
How fancy is that acronym?
So you're going in for that joband you, you're trying to figure
out who you're, what you'regonna do, reach out to one of
your friends who's doing it.
You might know somebody theremight go watch a little bit and
see what people are doing.
Say, Hey, you know, do you mindif I ask you what job you're
(15:32):
doing here at Walmart?
They'll tell you, most peopledon't care.
They're just doing a job.
And you can figure out a littlebit.
That way you can tailor youranswers towards it.
For example, Ashwin, what's astrength?
If I'm interviewing you for anOGP role, I'd say, Hey, what's
one of your strengths?
What might be an answer youcould give me?
(15:54):
I'm really good at lifting milk.
Okay.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about that experience?
Ashton (16:00):
Oh, yeah.
Well, all growing up my, myparents, well my mom, she'd come
home from Costco and be like, Ijust bought.
18 gallons of milk, can youcarry them?
I'll be like, I got you.
And I'd do that.
And so did you say 18 gallons?
One, eight?
I mean, sometimes it was more,sometimes it was less.
It
just
Dad (16:16):
kind of depended on, okay.
So that's how Ashton did.
We'll rate him in a second.
Gene, if I were to ask you thesame question, Hey Gene, what
makes you qualified for OGP?
TQ?
XYZ?
I can't remember what, I can'tremember where I stopped that.
Well, right after the bomb,
Gene (16:33):
what one strength I feel like I have that would fit well
with this job is being able toquickly, but correctly identify
items.
Dad (16:43):
That's perfect.
What a great answer.
And I'll be like, oh yeah, soyou're, I forgot to what you're
interviewing for.
No.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's a great answer.
Right.
So he made it relevant to theirjob.
It is one of Gene's skills.
We would all agree that heidentifies products and that,
that he knows how to movequickly.
(17:03):
So that, that's great.
Great answer.
There was no lying, there was nofibbing.
It was very honest and direct.
Yeah, so any, any thoughts onthat before we move on to the
next point?
The next one that's prettyimportant is to be adaptable.
And what that means is they'reprobably gonna give you a
problem-solving question, right?
(17:24):
Especially if you're going for ahigher-end job.
You're ready to discuss thissituation where you face the
challenge and the challenge andhow you overcame it.
Right?
I've been asked that questionprobably.
I've had eight real jobs withW-II jobs, and I've been asked
in every one of them, tell meyour biggest challenge and how
did you overcome it?
(17:45):
Amazon's was worded a little bitdifferent.
Tell me about the most moneyyou've ever saved and how did
you accomplish it?
But it's the same principle.
Gideon, how would you answerthat job and what job would you
be going for?
So not saying OGP, but let's sayit's a different company.
I'd say what's one of yourbiggest obstacles and how did
you overcome it?
Gideon (18:07):
One of the biggest obstacles that I face is knowing
the right thing to do, the rightdecisions to make.
And how I often overcome thoseis laying out pros and cons as
well as seeing where I wouldlike to be in the future, maybe
looking at my goals, and then Ican directly and accurately make
those decisions
Dad (18:27):
perfect.
See, employers value somebody.
That's one insightful, right?
Gene said, oh, or Gideon.
Sorry, I've never done this.
Listener with both of the back.
It's hard again.
Gideon looked at himself andsaid, Hey, that's a great
question.
One of the things I have is,there's so many options in
today's world.
There's so many opportunities.
I have to make a pro and conlist, and then I know which way
(18:49):
to go.
So you can critically think, youcan prioritize.
Employers love that kind ofstuff.
Great answer.
That would be, you know, theability to solve a problem and,
and have these stories kinda inthe back of your mind.
I, I have eight or nine casestudies that I have ready to go
at a drop of a hat because nowinstead of traditionally getting
job interviews, I'm now talkingto business owners and telling
(19:12):
'em how I can help them.
And so some of that is me stilldoing the research.
What's their problem?
What's gonna be their biggestproblems?
What's their values?
What's important to them?
The next one is in adaptabilityis be flexible.
What's one of the things we say?
The only thing that's certain inlife is change.
Everything's always changingthey want a candidate who can
(19:35):
succeed in changingcircumstances or even unseen
'cause they don't knoweverything, especially on some
of these higher end jobs.
So you'd wanna think of a storyof when was I adaptable?
What did I do that wasadaptable?
What did I do to help facilitatea change or process?
What would one of thosequestions look like if a
(19:56):
employer's trying to gauge yourflexibility?
I.
So what would be a
Gene (20:00):
question I'd ask as an employer?
Or how would I answer as anemployee?
Dad (20:04):
Yeah.
What, what, what would a,'causesometimes we think, how do I
answer a question, but we don'tthink of all the questions.
What would be one of thequestions an employer would ask
that really they're asking Howadaptable are you?
One question that comes to mythought is, how do you do with
ambiguity?
How do you do if I don't defineevery step of your job for you?
(20:26):
And can you tell me about a, asituation where you've had that
and how you succeeded?
I
Ashton (20:31):
think, I think another one that I think of is if, like,
if you're talking about changingprocesses is like have there
been any situations where you'vegotten into something?
And you've had to change thewhole process.
Like have you ever been taskedwith this job that you're
(20:51):
volunteering before?
So can you, have youdemonstrated this skill that you
claim to be
Dad (20:59):
offering?
Right?
And so you're asking themexactly for a very specific
example, that's a great point.
Action.
Asking somebody how they adaptedin a changing environment or
having to revamp a whole system.
Really helps me as an employerevaluate are you the right
candidate for this changingenvironment that I'm currently
in and that you can help mewith?
(21:22):
And then there's other times ifI was interviewing like a
quality control, some person I'dwanna say, well, tell me about a
time that you were able torepeat a task over and over.
And you need to think throughthat on the fly.
But if you know what job andwhat role you're going for,
you've probably thought of someof those questions and how they
pertain to you.
Another question I'd, I'd bringup
Gene (21:41):
for flexibility, kind of like a, on the same side of it,
but at a different perspective,would be like, has there ever
been a time when you've dealtwith a, like a hard customer or
someone that's broughtopposition to you?
If so, how were you able to,like, how was that experience
(22:03):
like for
Dad (22:03):
you?
How would you
Ashton (22:05):
answer that question, gene?
Just outta curiosity.
Gene (22:10):
Well,
Dad (22:11):
you
Gene (22:11):
see what, what I would talk about is the, the second
call that happened that nightthat you guys are thinking of
where we, we talked and he islike, they're very kind and
they're like, okay, so like yourealize that this didn't happen.
So I was able to go to someoneelse who knew the answer and be
able to talk to them like, Hey,what do we offer?
That can help them in thissituation.
(22:33):
And so then we were able towrite down the product, find it,
and give it to'em, all nice anddandy.
Unlike the the first situation,which didn't go quite as well,
let's just put it that way,because it wasn't anyone else
for me to talk to.
And they were getting mad at mefor that, and it was really
busy, and other part wasstressful, but I'd probably do
(22:54):
better now, maybe.
Dad (22:57):
I love that you, you realized you had two situations
you could have shared and youchose the one that showed that
you demonstrated fortitude andcourage and, and changed.
Right?
Even if, even if somebody said,Hey, Jean, I was listening to
the podcast.
I heard you said, my name'sJean.
Come at me.
You could say, yeah, that's agreat story, and that is pretty
funny.
(23:18):
However, I grew from thatexperience and this is what I
learned.
Right.
And then you go into that storyof how, oh, the next customer or
next customer after I evaluatedhow I handled the one before,
employers aren't upset that youscrewed up, you know, unless if
you did it on my watch, right?
Or, or was blatant.
(23:38):
I had one employer when I firststarted, I lost him 10 grand
right out of the shoot.
And I said, oh, mark, are yougonna fire him?
He goes, why'd I fire you?
I just spent 10 grand trainingyou.
You know, and I'm like, oh,that's awesome.
Well then I found him 20 grandand I said, look, I made you 20
grand.
Do I get a bonus?
He goes, I didn't take the 10grand away from you.
I'm not gonna give you my 20grand.
'cause you saved it.
(23:59):
You know, so it it, it wasreally helpful for me, but I
could share that story now in apositive light like Jean is
doing.
Hey, I realized that I needed toslow down and check my numbers
before I spoke and this is thebad and this is what good came
from it, and this is what Ilearned.
So it's not a bad thingnecessarily to share a bad
experience as long as it has agreat ending.
(24:22):
The next one is emotionalintelligence and, and really we
put a lot of emphasis on thisright now in the society.
Long gone are the days that Ican walk into work and be like,
there was some guys at Ford thathad a rule that told their
employees.
You can't talk to me for 30minutes'cause my coffee hasn't
(24:43):
kicked.
And he, he would always use someexplicitives.
He was a supervisor and he'dsay, don't talk to me for 30
minutes.
Leave me alone.
Not really emotionallyintelligent, right?
He's very much old school.
So the first thing is to beself-aware.
And the next one is to showempathy.
So self-awareness is understandyour strength, weaknesses, areas
(25:06):
of focus, things you're tryingto grow.
What are you trying to improveon?
Be prepared to share thoseexperiences like Gene just
shared other experiences.
I like the way you worded yours,Gideon.
Well, I know that I strugglesometimes making a decision.
This is how I handle it, right?
That shows an employer thatyou're really intuitive and that
you really think, and that you,you understand what it takes to
(25:29):
be successful.
So when they say, what's yourgreatest success?
What are you gonna tell'em?
Are you gonna tell'em a time dida backflip off of a ski jump?
Is that probably what they'relooking for?
Gideon (25:41):
I think that that could depend on what job you're
applying
Dad (25:44):
for.
Totally agree.
Because you've done yourresearch, right?
Yeah.
If your boss is a skier, itcould work too.
So there are times, and you'reshowing emotional intelligence,
and then there's other timesthat that might not show what
you need'em to, and, and that'ssituational the second time I
went for a to teach skiing, Ishowed up in a suit.
(26:05):
I think I shared that story withyou guys.
Not really the right outfit orcostume or presentation.
She wasn't offended.
She wasn't bogged.
She's just like, oh yeah, you'rea little overdressed.
But I appreciate the effort.
You know, so it wasn't, but Isometimes you gotta be familiar
with your surroundings.
I love going into a company andalready knowing what their
(26:25):
culture is and dressing one stepbetter just to show that I
respect, but I'm not gonna showup in a suit and tie.
Well in knowing
Ashton (26:34):
the culture too, in tandem with emotional
intelligence.
When I was working in a movietheater, it was like after
school and I was like, well, Iwent home and I showered and I
was running late and I walked inprobably.
Two to five minutes late.
It wasn't like super late, itwas still late.
And my manager, we like, had afun relationship and so when I
(26:55):
walked in he is like, what theheck?
And pretended to be super upsetabout it, but the general
manager was sitting in theoffice and I heard this and he
came out and pulled me into hisoffice and he was like, why were
you late?
And I told him, I was like, ohyeah, I just, I set an alarm
'cause I was taking a shower andI missed it.
And so I was late.
And he goes, well, what can youdo better next time?
(27:18):
And I said, come up with abetter story.
Now, it would've landed with mymanager, but he was like, so
you're lying to me?
And I said, no, no, no, no, no,no.
I was just trying to be funny,but I'm sorry.
No.
Next time I'll be, I'll do this.
I don't remember what I said.
But yeah.
So knowing, knowing youraudience
Dad (27:38):
is important.
Thank you so much, Ashley.
I love the great story.
The other one is show empathy,On that emotional intelligence
side, try and come understandwhat the employer's looking for.
They could be having a stressfulday, right?
They could be having a lot goingon.
And then what would theircolleagues and what other
clients or supervisors be,right?
(27:59):
A good question would be, well,who's your customer?
You know, who would I, who am Igonna be serving?
How am I gonna be helping?
So you're showing empathy.
You're trying to get into theirshoes and, and understand what's
going on in their culture.
I really believe one of thereasons why I landed this client
is I'm like, I've sat in yourchair and when you're done on
(28:21):
Friday afternoon, you're tired.
You can't do anymore.
You just want to go home andrelax.
Yeah.
You know that that's right whereI'm at.
That's what I'm feeling at theend of a work.
You don't need a consultanttelling you what to do, you're
tired, you're done.
So in the job interview skill, Iknew the position, I knew what I
(28:42):
was going for, and I showed someempathy, I talked through what
she's probably feeling orfeeling.
Is that harder to do on a, on anhourly transactional job?
Maybe, but maybe not.
What are some of the things youcan now empathize having worked
at Walmart?
What are some of the things youcould empathize that a manager's
going through on a given day?
(29:03):
Employees
Gene (29:04):
not showing up, calling in sick the last minute and just
rude customers having to manageeverybody's schedules and get it
just nice and neat so that itworks for everybody, even though
it's never gonna just work for
Dad (29:17):
everybody.
And right there, gene, you hitit on the head.
You're like, Hey, I'm, I'm, I,I, I'm on time.
I show up.
I'm gonna do the work that youasked me to do.
Right.
That could be one of yourstrengths.
You know, I, Hey, I appreciatethat.
People call off, I try and showup for all my shifts.
(29:38):
You know, something like that.
You're playing towards that.
Sometimes I get the worst shift,and I don't, I'm not really
excited about it.
But you're not gonna hear mecomplain, you know, whatever it
is.
Even if you're gonna complain,you just wanna put forward a
good attitude.
And that's the next step.
And last one I have is positiveattitude.
Enthusiasm goes a long way.
I've sat and I've interviewedperson.
(29:58):
I look across the desk andthink, are you here because you
want to be here?
Or is your.
Significant other is your paroleofficer who's making you come
and sit here across the tablefor me.
'cause right now you don't wannabe here.
And I don't want you herebecause I'm tired of this
interview already.
How does enthusiasm show up whenyou're in that environment?
Gideon (30:24):
I know this isn't quite the question that you're going
after.
But a point that I would like toadd is the difference between
confidence and arrogance.
Because like
Dad (30:36):
confidence and I love it.
That is my next point, Gideon.
So you must be reading from myplaybook.
So yeah, talk about confidence.
I love it.
Just
Gideon (30:44):
I feel like confidence can tie with enthusiasm.
Absolutely.
Because a lot of confidence islike feeling good about yourself
and when you're feeling good.
A lot of it.
Translate into enthusiasm.
So if you're feeling good,you're like, you know, like you
said, excited to be there.
You're confident and you justlook a lot better to the
(31:06):
interviewer, like you had
Dad (31:08):
said, dad, you know, as Reddits were, we get some of our
topics, we, I have goodconversation with listeners, so
I appreciate it, and one of thequestions that was asked is, do
I shake the hand of the personbefore or after the interview?
What's your answer to that?
Why not both?
(31:29):
You hit it.
You said exactly what I did.
I said extend your hand on boththe the on the start and the
end.
Because it shows confidence,?
Look them in the eye and then toyour point, getting arrogance
is, I don't need this job, thisjob's below me.
What?
You want me to be an OGP?
I am.
I'm an OG brother.
(31:50):
I don't need OGP, you know?
That's right, that's right.
Rolling down the street in myAnyways, living in the
eight-O-one.
Ashton (32:00):
That's right.
The eight.
Oh or three-eight-five.
Depending on what generationyou're from
Dad (32:05):
or when your parents got your cell phone for you, that's
yeah, so, so show forward thatconfidence.
You're excited about the job,you're enthusiastic about what
you're doing, and let's behonest.
You should be excited about lifeanyways.
If you finally got the jobinterview, you're excited to be
there.
If this is just a practice job,you're just excited to talk to
(32:26):
somebody, it does you no good toshow up and be angry and bitter.
If that's the day that you'rehaving call off, Hey look, it's
not the right time for me.
I don't want to be here.
Whatever.
I'd much rather you have youcancel coming into a job
interview than coming in angry,bitter.
(32:47):
So there we did not cover inthis episode because I don't
think it's relevant.
You can easily Google what arethe top five interview
questions.
So go Google'em, go look at'em.
Go figure out what people aregonna ask you.
We've talked about'em beforetoo, so it's true.
Yeah.
But now I want you to thinkabout the top five things that
(33:09):
you can do to prepare.
Which is what we've talkedabout, which is being work on
your communication skills,prepare and research the
company, be adaptable, showemotional intelligence, and have
a positive attitude.
Yeah.
Thanks dad for
Gideon (33:27):
Thanks dad, for rounding it all up and of course, like
always we'd love to hear howyour experiences go.
Like that said, we have.
I read it and I think we have aReddit page.
Yep, we do.
We have a subreddit, so, youknow, add your stories there.
We'd love to hear them.
And if you don't have Reddit, wealso have everything else.
Yeah.
(33:47):
All the social medias DM us oremail us even.
Dad (33:50):
Hey, you know, getting along those lines of DM, I had
somebody DM me directly and ask,Hey, can I share your episode
listener?
Remember ACT episode three.
It was on, sex torsion, sorry.
For some reason I struggle withthat word reached out to me and
said, Hey, can I share this withmy dad?
Because he's also in that agegroup and there's a victim
(34:11):
group.
And I did some more research andfound out that two-thirds of a,
two thirds of the victim rightnow in, in 2023 were actually 50
and older.
And why wouldn't they be?
They have the most money totarget, so.
Didn't think about it, but shedid'cause she was thinking of
her dad.
So thank you for doing that.
I'm not gonna disclose your name'cause I don't want to embarrass
(34:33):
you, but happy to drop names inhere.
This isn't one that I shouldthough, but, so yeah.
Please message us.
We appreciate it.
Thank you for listening to thisweek's episode of Adulting
Decrypted.
We really enjoyed having thisweek's conversation, and we hope
you did as well.
If you ever want to comment on atopic, you can send us a message
to our websiteAdultingdecrypted.com, our email
(34:55):
adultingdecrypted.gmail.com, orthrough our Instagram, Facebook,
and LinkedIn accounts atAdultingdecrypted.
If you have any topics for theshow that you would like us to.
Talk about, or if you are aparent and want us to talk about
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If you'd like to be a guest orhave an idea for someone you
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think we should have on ourshow, feel free to send us an
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We have merch.
If you wanna show off yourAdulting Decrypted Pride, check
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With shop.spreadshirt.comforward slash adulting dash
(35:35):
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Lastly, if you enjoyed the show,please consider supporting us on
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You will not only be helping uscontinue in the effort to make
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(35:56):
individuals all trying theirbest to adults.
We appreciate you listening.
Enjoying and leaving yourpositive reviews.
Now, the special song from Geneand Gideon.
Gideon (36:15):
Yep, I can hear him.
Can you hear me?
Mic?
I can't really tell.
Ashton (36:23):
Sound fine to me.
Gene, does it sound fine to you?
Recording started at 1
Dad (36:27):
0
Ashton (36:28):
1.
Nope, that's not what I wanna dohere.
I got a free
Dad (36:34):
trial of, so we're chilling.
Ashton (36:37):
What does that mean?
Like there's no time limit?
Because I used a differentaccount account, but I have to
start this.
Messing with camera audio.
Okay, I got it.
Yeah.
3,
Dad (36:54):
2, 1.
Gideon (36:55):
Oh, I was just changing it.
Ashton (36:57):
Screen recording.
Started at Measure sixty-six.
Gene, have you started recordingyourself?
I did, yes.
Okay.
Dean started recording before
Gene (37:11):
50.
Do you want me to stop and startagain?
Ashton (37:15):
No, no, no.
You're good.
You're good.
Okay.
Longer the better.
It was actually relativelysimple lining up the audio files
with the
Dad (37:22):
video.
I was surprised.
Gene (37:24):
That's good.
That's good.
Ashton (37:27):
I believe I have done everything I need to do,
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.