Do You Have Any Reservations About Me?
From the Menu archives. Originally published August 2021.
😳 Do you have any reservations about me?
I'm thinking about the boldest job interview question I've ever heard. I used to think I'd ever be brave enough to ask it.
It was my husband's advice: the very last question you should ask is "Do you have any reservations about me?"
This magic question allows you to:
Clarify any miscommunication
Learn nice-to-have skills that weren’t in the job description
Get feedback on potential red flags about you (and the chance to discuss!)
The first time I asked this question was years ago, during a job interview for Google's ad spam team.
I ended up getting along well with one of my interviewers, a straight-shooting engineer. By the end of our meeting, I felt confident enough to ask The Question. He had a rebel vibe, so I figured he was my only chance at honest feedback.
His answer: "You have a fun resume. Culinary school, you work at a snack company. Why do you want to work here? I mean... it's ad spam." He grimaced.
I was not expecting that level of candor. In response, I probably mumbled about being passionate about good user experiences.
I didn't get the job. But I was fine about it. In being forced to come up with a response to a very fair and obvious question, I realized I didn't actually want the job. I just thought it would be cool to work at Google.
That question reveals truths. And the real magic is when it reveals truths you didn't realize you already knew.
(When I tweeted this tip a few months ago, the best reply came from someone who said I was "channeling some white guy confidence/energy.")
🔮 Do you know about influence marketing?
Yes, influence marketing. There's no typo.
The startup I work for, SparkToro, creates tools for audience research. Research that marketers need to reach their target audience. Which is essentially an audience's sources of influence.
We give you these sources of influence so that you can make better marketing decisions.
For instance, say you're going to sponsor a couple of podcasts.
💸 You could hire an agency to do this for you.
🤔 You can guess which podcasts your audience listens to.
🌟 Or you can run a SparkToro search to see what websites and social media accounts your audience follows, and what percentage of them listen to a given podcast.
Thing is, there isn't a known marketing term for that described scenario. It's a way of marketing that the best marketers are already doing. The difference is that those marketers are learning those insights in time-intensive, manual ways. We're giving those insights at scale.
We don't know what to call this other than influence marketing. Because it's marketing to people based on their sources of influence.
Do you have another term to help us articulate this? I'm curious what you think.
🍰 Petits Fours
Four bite-sized blurbs linking to interesting content.
🔹 In McSweeneys, a conversation between two people choosing a restaurant: "No, I’ll go to literally any restaurant in this town. Any neighborhood that’s more convenient for you?" "No, every location in existence is convenient for me."
🔸 Functional fixedness: when we stick to what we know: "Although functional fixedness offers great mental shortcuts, it can present barriers to working to your full creative potential."
🔹 A cartoon by Aletheia Delivre: Proofing projects: take care of resting, and you’ll always be ready to rise.
🔸 Influencer marketing in B2B: "Whereas influencers were once associated with consumer goods, we’re now seeing the definition of “influence” become more realistic."
🍛 Lomo Saltado
Not perfect but good enough.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
1-2 handfuls frozen french fries
Rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
8-10 oz sirloin steak, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, large dice
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup beef stock
Handful of cilantro
Prepare rice and preheat oven to bake the frozen fries according to package instructions.
Whisk together soy sauce, white vinegar, pepper, cumin, and oregano. Toss in sliced sirloin steak. Let sit 10-15 minutes.
Meantime, bake fries: Put your fries in the oven. They'll probably need 20 minutes to cook.
In a wok over medium high heat, cook onions in ghee or olive oil, for a few minutes. Add steak, setting aside the marinade. Add tomatoes and garlic, and cook until slightly wilted, 2 minutes. Add the reserved marinade and top off with beef stock. Bring to a low boil and let simmer. Add cooked fries and stir until coated. Spoon over rice. Throw some cilantro at it.
🌿 Have a great week!
As always, thank you for spending part of your day with me.