Friday, March 02, 2007
Second Place.. Not Second Best...
I just finished the final episode of Nashville Star, a kinder, gentler version of American Idol focused on country music. This year, after allowing thousands of folks to audition, and after weeks of looking at the final 10 performers, we were left to observe two finalists, who amazingly enough, were brother and sister.
I'm a real critic but I couldn't pick a winner. America picked Angela Hacker, an Alabama working-class, single mother with a tattoo on the back of her neck who, by her own admission, had led a rough life. Her brother, Zach, with a rich voice chillingly like Joe Cocker's, didn't have a compelling story. He also didn't walk away with a record contract.
America loved these two. Each song they performed brought tears to the eyes of their blue-collar Alabama parents and this hard-core coach almost lost it when Zach announced that if he won his Mom would have to work no more. But by then the votes had been counted.
My point? As a job search coach charged with the job of developing winners, I am intrigued by competitions, especially since I know that winning normally has little to do with being the best. Fortunately there is no television viewing audience to impress when you compete for a job offer but there's a lesson in almost all competitive events. First, the best candidate doesn't always win, simply the candidate that performs best that day. Second, all things being equal, much of the time, the heart weighs more heavily in a decision than the brain. We cheer for those who endear us in reality talent shows and we hire those we like.
Unfortunately in hiring, there is no offer for the job seeker who comes in second place. But traditionally, the second best, with a strong dose of perseverance, ultimately prevails.
I'm a real critic but I couldn't pick a winner. America picked Angela Hacker, an Alabama working-class, single mother with a tattoo on the back of her neck who, by her own admission, had led a rough life. Her brother, Zach, with a rich voice chillingly like Joe Cocker's, didn't have a compelling story. He also didn't walk away with a record contract.
America loved these two. Each song they performed brought tears to the eyes of their blue-collar Alabama parents and this hard-core coach almost lost it when Zach announced that if he won his Mom would have to work no more. But by then the votes had been counted.
My point? As a job search coach charged with the job of developing winners, I am intrigued by competitions, especially since I know that winning normally has little to do with being the best. Fortunately there is no television viewing audience to impress when you compete for a job offer but there's a lesson in almost all competitive events. First, the best candidate doesn't always win, simply the candidate that performs best that day. Second, all things being equal, much of the time, the heart weighs more heavily in a decision than the brain. We cheer for those who endear us in reality talent shows and we hire those we like.
Unfortunately in hiring, there is no offer for the job seeker who comes in second place. But traditionally, the second best, with a strong dose of perseverance, ultimately prevails.
