On the Other Side of the Table

This is a reflection from my first semester of college and the way I interacted with a team. It is very interesting to read back to how I have already changed and approach group projects differently because of this experience.

This past week I went through the process of interviewing people for admissions into the organization I am a part of. Three hundred interviews were given by 12 staff members. Going into the week I felt inadequate to be able to conduct an interview. As I went through the week I saw that this was partially true in a way that I hadn’t expected. It allowed me to have a more personal nature with interviewees. I saw that in the interviews that seemed to go better; I prefaced the interviewee that my partner and I were a mere year older and genuinely interested in know who they were. In these interviews applicants were more vulnerable and I got to see a deeper side than if we did not preface the interview. As I went through I was looking for qualities that I could somehow be able to serve them if they were a part of the organization. Also if they would be able to fit into a community that historically is focused on being a tight knit group of friends. I wanted to be able to give them something as much as they wanted to participate. On the last day of interviewing I became the interviewee for another organization. Switching sides of the table was a strange and sudden change in dynamic but I had gained a whole other perspective about what was running through the minds of my interviewers. There was a lot more understanding behind why they were asking the questions they were asking. They were aiming to know my intentions and why I wanted to be a part of the organization and ultimately if I would be able to serve and gain from being a member.

So, as I continue my time at a competitive university, I can have the insight that people on the other side of that table are going through the same things I just spent a week doing. I’ve gained insight on really how much elaboration is acceptable and needed. I can see that they are wanting to know people for who they are and searching for the potential in them that somehow they could be able to develop. Also, to understand that every person has a place where they are able to experience growth and every organization can serve people in different ways that encourage growth.

Knowing this, I want to be able to recognize this as I continue in my college career. To be able to instinctively know that some rejection is good because neither party would have benefited from my membership. I hope to see interviews as more than just a nerve racking formality to get something that I want. I see that they are valuable to being able to really gain knowledge and understanding as a member of something I want. That the time preparing for them gives me insight to the things I value. I see that the people on the other side of the table are just as eager to serve me as I am to serve them. I am excited to go forth with this mindset that makes the business world a little less daunting, and a lot more genuine.

#CommLabSummerReflections