Tracie Hitz

In addition to Seth Godin and Jeffrey Gitomer, there are a few other authors who got me thinking about starting a blog, including Chelsea Handler after I read “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea”.  I like the combo of her honest writing and her random experiences, and apparently now I like her acting too.  Yesterday I saw her in the movie “This Means War” where she plays the married best friend giving out dating advice to Reese Witherspoon, which as I’m sure you can guess goes terribly wrong.  

As in real life, only the person living in that moment really knows what’s best for them, but there were two scenes where Chelsea’s character provided insight rather than advice, which is the philosophy behind my blog.  The first was for Reese’s character to use her job skills as a product tester to choose between the two guys. If you can include a process you feel comfortable with, why not use it for your personal and professional life?  For example, I love research. Charts. Graphs. Pros and Cons Lists. I put it all together until it helps me figure out which guy or job is for me.  Of coure there are other emotional things to consider with both, but this is a great place to start.

Reese’s character was looking for someone who fit her personality so these guys tried to adjust to the things she enjoyed, including art and dogs.  In a job interview, you need to figure out if the organization will fit your personality.  For instance, if your marketing style is aggressively fun, like “Charlie Sheen-co de Mayo Night” or “Demolition Night” then it doesn’t matter how attractive Chris Pine is, I mean, how attractive the job is.  If the organization isn’t going to allow you to grow together, then it’s probably not going to be a good fit long term.

In most situations, it’s a committee of people who are making the hiring decision so you need to be true to who you are when talking with each person.  In the movie, both guys take Reese’s character to meet their families (e.g. son and grandparents).  Whenever we hired someone on my staff at Northwestern, the opinions of my assistant directors carried as much weight as my own. If they didn’t feel comfortable with the hire, we wouldn’t be an effective team so if someone had a polished interview with me, but showed a different side with them, it affected our decision.

The other insight Chelsea’s character gave was, “Don’t pick the better man. Pick the man who is going to make you a better woman.”  It’s not just about finding an organization where you fit in now, but where you can see yourself growing for several years.  You need to be open to different ideas and philosophies so you don’t close your mind to opportunities that might be perfect for you.  I had never been to a WWE event before, but Matt gave us tickets a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun that we’re already planning to go back the next time it comes to Oklahoma City.  We also walked away with a few ideas that could translate well to college and pro sports so you never know what you will take away from a situation if you give it a chance.

I imagine Chelsea has so many random, true stories to share because she isn’t afraid to try something new.  She didn’t get these opportunities because she is a celebrity. She became a celebrity because she not only had these experiences, but she worked hard to be able to share them with people.

Of course, whether it’s for a job or for a date, it doesn’t hurt to try to get someone’s attention by showing them something cool that you bring to the table …