Oftentimes, we view job interviews as a competition. If you get the job, you won. If you don’t, you lost. When that is our mindset, we prepare for interviews by trying to come up with the “right” answers to common questions. When I minister to people who are job searching, I recommend a different approach. Rather than seeing the interview as a competition, view it more as “speed dating.” You and the employer are trying to decide based on a very short interaction if you want to spend more time getting to know each other. You may even end up committing to each other for the foreseeable future.
This makes job searching about finding a good fit, not winning no matter the cost. It frees you to focus on presenting who God made you to be, not just practicing answers you think an interviewer wants to hear. You research the company and write thoughtful questions that will help you discern if you can glorify God through working there. You think about how to concisely communicate your most meaningful “fruit” – those results that best show what kind of person you are – in response to their questions. This approach helps lower your anxiety about the process. It gives you peace – no matter the outcome – because instead of searching for a job you are seeking God’s will.
Think about it: doesn’t someone who is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, productive, impartial, and sincere sound like a great candidate for any position? According to James 3:17, these are exactly the terms that describe someone who is trying to live according to God’s wisdom. If that is truly who you are, if you clearly communicate that, and if the company still decides you are not the best fit, is that really a place you want to work? Is that an environment that would help you live abundantly and glorify God?
Instead of trying to get the job no matter the cost and then figuring out after the fact how it fits with our Christianity – how it affects our commitment to our families, our involvement in the church, and our daily discipleship – we should let our faith lead. While it is incredibly hard to think this way when you are hungry for a paycheck, it represents a major opportunity to truly “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”: when we do, Jesus Himself promises “all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Ready to work with God everyday? Check out our sermon series “Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Glorifying God from 9 to 5”!