The short answer is because that is what I named it. The longer answer is that dating and the job search have more to do with one another than any of us would like. I LOVE analogies and I use them all the time. Dating and the job search, in particular interviewing, is about the best analogy I have have ever thought of, and I have thought of a lot of analogies.
Don’t believe me? Ok, try this one out. A first interview is like a first date; as a company we feel that is the best we will ever get. BTW, you should to. If a company treats you like crap as a candidate, how do you think they will treat you as an employee? Reminds me of a joke:
A man dies and St. Peter greets him at the gates of Heaven. St. Peter tells the new arrival that his record is good, but that he still has free will and can choose between Heaven and Hell. But before he does, he’ll have the opportunity to explore both options. Then St. Peter gives the new arrival a tour of Heaven.
Heaven is a nice place. Everything is perfectly clean. A lot of angels are walking around singing hymns and such. But overall, Heaven is a pretty boring place. After touring Heaven the new arrival gets a chance to explore the alternative.
Hell is a very different place. It’s a party! There’s a lot of music. There are a lot of people dancing. He sees his friends playing golf, drinking the best brands and smoking the best cigars. Everyone’s having a great time.
After his tour of Hell, the new arrival goes back to visit St. Pete. And he says, “I apologize, but I’ve decided to spend the rest of eternity in Hell. It’s nothing personal. It’s just more my style.” And off the new arrival goes to Hell.
When the new arrival gets back to Hell, it’s nothing like it was during his tour. People are literally on fire; their flesh is burning. There’s screaming and suffering. It is Hell, after all. The new arrival says to Satan, “There must be some mistake. This isn’t what Hell was like when I visited yesterday.” Satan laughs and says, “Yes, but yesterday you were prospect, today you’re an employee!”
That is, unless they are trying the “you don’t mean crap to me” dating play. I will cover that in a later post.
Back to your first interview/date. If you show up late, I wonder if you will ever make it to work on time, or at all. Mean to my receptionist, that means you are not a nice person. Some companies actually like hiring nice people, not tools. Shocking, I know. If this was a date how would you feel if they were late picking you up and they were a jerk to the waitstaff? See what I mean?
The Man
“If someone is nice to you but rude to the waiter, they are not a nice person.”
Dave Barry