Tech, Toys and the Risks and Benefits of Introducing "New and Shiny" Into a Job Search Ecosystem

by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jun 7, 2011 | Interview Tips, Job Search

Showing yourself to be technologically savvy and forward-facing are incredibly important in today’s job market, so it’s no surprise that job-seekers find themselves exploring the best ways to highlight their tech skills and comfort with technology. But there are potential downsides to bringing along “new and shiny” as you enter into a search process. This week, as we continue our exploration into interview ecology, we’ll explore the risks and benefits of introducing different variables into the job-search ecosystem and hopefully, help you make some intelligent choices about how you integrate these different variables into your search strategy.

The Risks of Bringing “New and Shiny” into a Search Process

I recently traded tweets with a job-seeker who was worried about whether bringing his iPad to an interview might seem pretentious to the interviewers. We had a great and wide-ranging exchange about the pros and cons of doing so, and this conversation kind of converged with another recent one with a client and my interests in person-environment theory and the environment, and resulted in this series of posts.

The Delicate Ecosystem of the Everyday Interview

Let’s return to some basics of this proposed “interview ecology” framework:

• If the hiring process is considered as an ecosystem, what are the naturally occurring parts of that system? Some possibilities:
  • The existing organizational culture of an institution
  • The position as it is formally described
  • The formal roles of others in the system
  • The populations served by existing people, programs and services

• New variables, before entering into the ecosystem, are assumed to be neutral, and to pose no inherent impact on the environment.
• Once a new variable is introduced into an ecosystem, whether it is beneficial or invasive/destructive is determined by the nature of its interactions with the natural environment, and the impacts on other aspects of the ecosystem (people, places, resources)
• Variables that create harmony, or synergy and are seen as potentially compatible with sustainable growth and balance are deemed to be beneficial.
• Variables that create anxiety or dissonance are seen as incompatible and said to be invasive or destructive.

The Impact of New Variables

Since conversation is the primary form of interaction in an interview, the impacts of new variables on the quality and sustainability of the conversation, and in the formation of assumptions about person-environment fit that derive from that conversation, need to be our main concern and point of discussion in an interview ecology model.

Ultimately, decisions about whether to bring a iPad (or any new tech) into an interview should be weighed against the possibility that it might upset the ecosystem of the interview and distract from the conversation.

Risks to consider:

• Being seen as inattentive (if your attention to the tech causes the interviewers to think you are bored, then you could come across as elitist or pompous, and this will kill your interview)
• Being seen as a someone who might not relate with the students you’ll be serving (if you are a “have” and your students are more likely to be “have nots,” will you be seen as an outsider?)
• Being seen as more interested in technology than people (i.e., your interests aren’t a good match for their needs)

Perceived benefits:

• An ability to take notes without using paper. (Seems pretty basic when you put it that way, doesn’t it?)
  
• Being seen as innovative and comfortable with technology (The assumption being that you will bring innovation and a tech-friendly sensibility to the position and department.)
• Showing your interest in sustainability (Giving the impression that you will wisely steward resources and consider the impacts of your actions on the work environment.)
  
• Creating an impression that you are forward-looking and oriented toward progress and development. (Showing that you have a drive to achieve through innovation.)

Weighing the Benefits Against the Risks

Other Options

So to mitigate any of these risks and the potentially negative impressions that might come with them, what are some other options?

• Leave the iPad behind (no distractions)
• Bring the iPad but don’t use it (not as distracting, in relation to attention on your part, and still sends out techie signals, but could still be interpreted in ways that imply inability to relate or interest in other things.)
• Bring the iPad but only use it for the Q & A portion of the interview (your questions would be there) or any presentation you need to do, and/or for you to use during breaks.

So it really does come down to mitigation of risks and the benefits against the potential costs. In this case, would the benefits (taking notes and seeming tech-friendly and interested in sustainability–which might not be directly related to the job–and the risks all come down to “fit,” with the downside being that you don’t get the job because of a distraction unrelated to your qualifications and how you presented them.

Given this perspective, what do you think you would do?

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