…at taking constructive criticism…
It’s funny, for the last two weeks I have been assisting with interviewing youth for jobs – and one of the questions we asked was: “describe a time when you were given constructive criticism, and how you responded”. As I sat on the other side of the table, I didn’t bother to think about how I would answer this question… but, today, I figured it out.
I recently interviewed for the position I have been working in for the last 8 months (on assignment). I felt confident – as I was praised for the work I had done thus far, I knew I had made a positive impact, and I walked out of the interview feeling relatively confident.
To my surprise, my interview was described as “vanilla, low energy, not your A game…”
<insert blank look here>
As I let the feedback settle, all I focused on was the word “vanilla”. Urban Dictionary describes “vanilla” as unexciting, conventional, normal, boring. Ouch – that hurt. I felt myself getting internally defensive, thinking my work had proven my worth, what did I miss, what didn’t I say, I answered all the questions, what else were they expecting?
My response was “perhaps I’m not the best candidate for this position“, and perhaps I’m not, but by golly, I wish I taken this feedback with a little more grace. Yes, tears are welling in my eyes, I’ve already perused other jobs, and I am accepting that this may not be where God wants me – but I wish I would have sat up tall, smiled boldly, thanked the person for the criticism and expressed my goals of improvement.
Now, on top of feeling vanilla, I feel disappointed in myself for how I reacted.
So what’s the point of this rant? To not let words cut so deep, to take them for what they were – honest feedback – and to be grown up enough to accept them and move on.
Thanks for hearing me out. If anyone has any tips on interviewing, staying strong & positive, accepting criticism – etc., I would love to hear them.
God is good friends. God is good.
Any kind of criticism is hard to hear, even constructive. “Being grown up enough to accept words and move on”…I love that. So true.
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