The topic for today's episode was inspired by my daughter who recently stumbled her way through a phone call with our veterinarian's office when we needed our dog's vaccination record emailed in time for her visit to the dog groomer. While her side of the call was a bit awkward, she got the result she needed.
That phone call reminded me that whenever we step out of our comfort zone, it can feel awkward and messy at first. But, the more we practice showing up in new ways, the easier it becomes. And I'm sure the next time my daughter needs to call the vet, or anyone else, to ask for what she needs, it will be easier. I'd like to revise the old saying "practice makes perfect" to "practice makes easier." Instead of striving for perfection, let's strive to show up, even if imperfectly.
A common situation that causes nervousness and anxiety, resulting in some awkward conversation is interviewing for a job. If it's been a few years, those first couple of interviews can be a little rough! Like everything else, practice makes easier and mock interviews are a great way to gear up for the real thing. If you're interested in getting interview practice with an HR insider, hit me up! It's one of my favorite services I provide my clients.
The topic for today's episode was inspired by my daughter who recently stumbled her way through a phone call with our veterinarian's office when we needed our dog's vaccination record emailed in time for her visit to the dog groomer. While her side of the call was a bit awkward, she got the result she needed.
That phone call reminded me that whenever we step out of our comfort zone, it can feel awkward and messy at first. But, the more we practice showing up in new ways, the easier it becomes. And I'm sure the next time my daughter needs to call the vet, or anyone else, to ask for what she needs, it will be easier. I'd like to revise the old saying "practice makes perfect" to "practice makes easier." Instead of striving for perfection, let's strive to show up, even if imperfectly.
A common situation that causes nervousness and anxiety, resulting in some awkward conversation is interviewing for a job. If it's been a few years, those first couple of interviews can be a little rough! Like everything else, practice makes easier and mock interviews are a great way to gear up for the real thing. If you're interested in getting interview practice with an HR insider, hit me up! It's one of my favorite services I provide my clients.
Hi and welcome to Her Next Chapter's podcast. I'm your host, Christina Kohl. I'm a mom of three and soon to be an empty nester. I'm also a certified HR pro who restarted my career after being a stay-at-home mom for over a decade. I created this podcast to connect with moms who have an empty nest on the horizon and are wanting to redefine their identity outside of motherhood, which might include a job search. On this show, we'll have raw conversations about our ever-changing roles as moms. We'll hear from women who restarted their careers and share tips for a job search after a career break. So if that's you, you're in the right place. Friend, let's get started. Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of Her Next Chapters.
Christina Kohl:
I have a story I want to share, something that happened just the other day and I think it's something you'll be able to relate to. It's really about taking imperfect action and knowing that things can be kind of messy, but that's how we grow and learn and get better. So the thing that prompted me to think about this was the other day my daughter and I were driving and taking our dog Nellie. She's about three years old, little Minotaur, australian Shepherd. We're taking her to the groomer. On the way to the groomer. I had asked Abby. I'm like, hey, did you call the vet to get the current vaccine records? They're going to need that. She's like, oh no, I forgot. And we're like 10 minutes away and they won't take her without current records. So I'm like we'll call them up now. They'll probably just email it to you.
Christina Kohl:
So she placed the phone call and as soon as the other person in the line answered, she call. And as soon as the other person in the line answered, she handed the phone to me and I shook my head. I'm like, nope, you handle this call. So she did, and it was kind of awkward, a little uncomfortable. Like you know, hi, and I need to get these records. This is our name and I'm sitting there mouthing spell it. Spell it, because Kohl, k-o-h-l. Most people don't think of that spelling right away. They usually look up C-O-L-E. So of course the person at the line couldn't find us. And then she asked for Abby's phone number and I'm like give her yours. So she did, and what the vet tech was trying to do was look up our account by the phone number. Well, she couldn't find us there because it's under my phone number. So then they kind of figured that out. I was like, well, try this spelling. And she's like, okay. And then she found us, and no problem.
Christina Kohl:
And Abby's like I don't mean to make this an emergency, but we kind of need it, like in the next few minutes, because we're almost there at the groomer and they really need it or we won't be able to get groomed. But but no, no pressure or anything, and just, you know, we'd really appreciate it. But I understand if you can't, but you know, and it was just, it was really like awkward and uncomfortable and and but the lady on the other end was like you know, no problem, you know, let me confirm the email address. Okay, we'll send that to you right now. You'll have it in like a minute.
Christina Kohl:
And Abby was just, you know, really grateful and said goodbye and and the reason I tell that story kind of in some of those details is when she got done, I said great job. And she looked at me and she goes that was horrible. It was so awkward I didn't know what to say. It was horrible. I'm like, but did you get what you needed? And she's like well, yes, I got the vaccination record. I'm like, okay, then that was great. Yeah, but it was so awkward and uncomfortable. I said, yeah, but you did it, it'll be easier the next time. And she kind of thought for a minute and she's like, yeah, you're right, and they don't even know who I was and they probably thought I was you. So, haha, you know, like you're the one who was awkward and didn't know what to say. And I just told her. I said you know, the more that you do that, the more that you make these types of calls and put yourself out there, the easier it gets.
Christina Kohl:
And the reason I'm telling that story is that I had had a call that day that was putting me in my discomfort zone. I was out of my comfort zone and I just like was rehashing it in my mind when Abby was placing her call. And we all have to learn. We can't just expect to go into everything being perfect and knowing how to do it, and if we don't practice, then how do we expect to improve? So that was kind of what prompted me to think about sharing with you all my first interviews. So I was a stay-at-home mom.
Christina Kohl:
If you haven't been listening to the podcast already for a while, my story is that I was a stay-at-home mom for 13 years, which is a really long time, to not have any job interviews. And I got to tell you, my first couple of job interviews were kind of painful. Even though I kind of, you know, practice and do what I could, it's just it's just a little awkward when you haven't done it in a while. And but the thing is, if I didn't have those first few interviews where I, you know, wasn't perfect, where things were kind of a struggle, I wouldn't have been ready for the interview for the job that I landed a struggle. I wouldn't have been ready for the interview for the job that I landed, because I would have been. If that had been my first interview, I probably wouldn't have gotten it because I wouldn't have been confident.
Christina Kohl:
We've been stumbling over my words and, like this podcast, I can delete stuff that doesn't sound right. Right so, but in an interview it's live and there's no redos, and so the more you practice something that's uncomfortable and a little scary, the easier it gets. And I remember one of Abby's it was one of Abby's middle school teachers actually I remember her saying practice doesn't make perfect, because you always hear that practice makes perfect. Well, we're never going to be perfect, right I mean unless we're I don't know who, because we're all human, right, we're never going to be perfect, right I mean unless we're I don't know who, because we're all human, right, we're never going to be perfect. And I love how she reframed that and she said practice makes easy. And I'm going to add another layer to that and I'm going to say practice makes it easier because it's still challenging.
Christina Kohl:
You know, if you go into a job interview or a new social situation, let's say that you're going to a meetup group to you know if they're going to like well, I went to one this year. It was on making a vision board, and I went to this meetup group. I didn't know anybody and that's a little uncomfortable and awkward, right. But the more you do things like that to put yourself out there and be brave and know that it's going to be a little bit awkward, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. It's still a little uncomfortable, it's not going to be easy. I mean just easier.
Christina Kohl:
And so that was just really something that I thought was, I don't know, relevant, as I was giving Abby praise that you got what you needed right, so that made it a success. Was it a little clumsy? Maybe Was it a little awkward, yes, but you got what you needed because you asked for it, even though it was messy. So my question to you is what is it that you need in your life? That might be a little clumsy and a little awkward to do, but you're going to get the outcome that you want. If that's meeting new friends, if that's you know. So going to a meetup group where you don't know anybody, or a neighbor invites you to do something and it's like that's the only person you know, but okay, I'll go ahead and join in. The more that you do those things, the easier it's going to get.
Christina Kohl:
And same thing with job searching and job interviewing. I know for me, and I think for most people, the job interview is one of the most stressful situations. Right, Because you're being evaluated. Right and you have to like be your best, and the consequences, the outcomes, are pretty important. Are you going to get offered a job or not?
Christina Kohl:
And if you haven't been job searching for a long time whether you're currently working and it's been a while since you've made a change or you've been out of the job market altogether, you haven't been working it's a little challenging to talk about yourself and to not be stumbling over your words and remember the points that you want to share and not have your mind go blank right, which is what happened to Abby on the call. Actually, she was just over-talking Talks, talks, talks, talks too much, and that can happen too. You'll either not talk enough or you'll talk too much and you'll forget the main points that you need. So if you are entering the job market and you haven't had an interview for five or 10, 15 years, it is stressful, let me tell you, and you don't want your first interview to be for your dream job, because you're probably not going to perform that well. And the more you can practice out loud in front of an audience, the better you're going to be.
Christina Kohl:
And this is actually one of the things that I offer in my coaching program to my clients is a mock job interview where they take a sample job or maybe a real job if they have an interview coming up in a few days and we do a mock interview and go through everything just like they would with a real deal, they're prepared for it, we have the interview and then they actually get feedback.
Christina Kohl:
So that's a really fun activity that we do and really can be a game changer for people in a job search, and there's where practice makes it easier for the real thing. So, if that is something that you're perhaps interested in, if you are needing that type of service, just reach out to me on LinkedIn, or you can always reach me at Christina at her next chapterscom, and we can talk about the different services and packages that I offer, including the mock interview. All right, well, my friends, looking forward to talking to you again next week, have a great one, everyone. Bye. Thank you so much for listening today. I hope this episode hit home for you and, if you haven't already, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn and say hello so I can personally thank you for listening. Until next time, remember, your story is uniquely your own and your next chapters are ready to begin.