Glass of Water? Sure.

By: Julie Smith

When you are offered a glass of water in an interview, take it. Why? Because that is the perfect opportunity to walk with your interviewer and make small talk about things unrelated to your resume or professional career.  When you are facing candidates with similar experiences or maybe even more experience than you, what is going to be that deciding factor that sets you apart?

It is important to be a real person beyond your resume. Having interests and knowledge about a variety of things will get you very far in your conversations with people both in interview settings and general networking.

In an interview I had recently, I was speaking with the Senior Vice President of the company, and we ended up on the subject of Purdue basketball. I was able to hold a meaningful conversation on that topic, which I think really impressed him. I was then able to tie that conversation back to something related to my career- a sports blog that I am in the process of launching. That was not something that was on my resume, but was a piece of me as a person and showed my interests and character.

So if the opportunity presents itself, accept that glass of water or that opportunity to veer off subject for a minute or too. Just be sure to keep it professional, as always!