Prepping for a job interview? Here’s an HR lesson from The Naked Man
The Naked Man was the title of Episode 9 in Season 4 of How I Met Your Mother. It was one of my favourite episodes, and not only because it was hilarious, but because of what lessons could be drawn from it.
Mitch, the central character in this episode – who didn’t have much going for him in terms of looks, intelligence, money and humour – shocked his blind date by disrobing while she was outside the room so that she would find him naked on her return. The end result was she slept with him. (Disclaimer: I am not trying to promote one-night stands.) ‘The Naked Man’, as he came to be nicknamed, guaranteed that when out on a blind date, this technique would work 2 out of 3 times, because of the girl’s shock at his courage and lack of embarrassment.
Having attended four job interviews in my life, all of them successful, I would like to share what the Naked Man taught me from a job prospects angle:
- Surprise your interviewer. Everybody knows that employers want to know what you can do for them. But how about telling them more than they expect? Give them unconventional explanations as to why you think something should be done the way you say it should be done. You already read the job description when applying for the job. You know what they expect. You probably even modified your CV just so you could be considered for an interview. Now tell your interviewer something out of the ordinary.
- Have a track record. Let your interviewer know that you have embarked on certain projects before, whether successful or not. And if they were unsuccessful, explain the lesson you learned and how you have applied the lesson. Talk about how you defied the odds by implementing a project under a stringent budget, or how it took you a month to improve archaic business processes that long-serving colleagues were too afraid to interfere with. Basically, like the Naked Man, show that you’re about defying the odds.
- Start building your track record. You won’t have any meaningful experience to talk about at your next interview if you aren’t building a track record. Do something useful where you are right now. Rather than complaining with, to or about your colleagues 50% of the day, do something that will improve things where you are. Make an impact before you leave – you’ll need to reference it in the next interview, the same way the Naked Man referenced successful encounters with women, 2 out of 3 times.
- Be courageous. The Naked Man wasn’t afraid to give it a shot. He was with a hot girl. He needed something to be remembered by. Just like building your track record, make sure you’re doing something that the organisation will remember you by. Heck, at the interview, be so courageous as to control the interview. Don’t talk too much, and don’t be cocky, but know your stuff, having built a track record. If they don’t hire you, at least let them always remember that they interviewed a candidate with enough guts to defy the ordinary. They just may recall you at some point. Who knows?
By the sum of his parts, The Naked Man is just an ordinary man in a fantasy football league, but he’s daring enough to shock a blind date into sleeping with him. Now go shock your interviewer into hiring you. And make sure you suit up, but not in your birthday suit… I think most prospective employers would frown on that.
