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The One Thing We Will Always Do Better Than AI
Where to get the kind of skills that gets you hired
Recently, I sat on a job interview panel. I had the chance to participate in a decision-making process over who gets hired. There were two contestants; both seemed skilled in different ways and either of them would have been an asset to the role.
It was a very tough decision, made easier only through one thing: they each had a different interpersonal vibe about them. With the first candidate, I thought: ok, she’s really good, I guess I will have to work with her then. I had a mini-dread about her being hard work, somehow. The second one: yep, I’d anticipate smooth, ego-free meetings where we get lots done. I got the feeling she was a collaborator.
Guess who got the job.
After I finished art school, I worked in shops and kitchens for a while to pay the rent. I’m happy not to do physically exhausting work for a low wage anymore. But I think I needed those jobs at the time, for more than the rent, for something in the ballpark of personal growth.
We pick up many skills at work that are not directly required for the job we perform. Working closely on shared tasks, as you do in kitchens, teaches you things that go beyond cooking: soft skills. I can tell when people have worked as…
