Flush — A Design Blog by Ivan W. Lam at ivanwlam.com

Does anyone else feel that looking for a job is a lot like being in a presidential campaign (not that I’ve been in a presidential campaign)? I mean, technically, they both have the same goal: to get the job. But they’re really different in terms of the number of employers you’re dealing with (the entire nation, or at least the voters).

However, one thing that I’ve noticed in looking for a regular job is that you have to sort of provide a platform from which you derive your answers at the job interview: what you believe in, what you think one should do in certain situations, etc.

While I’m talking about job interviews, I also want to make the connection that campaign speeches are like job interviews, except that you have a lot more interviews in a presidential campaign. And you need to know what words to use, and more importantly, what words to never mention.

Finally, but not final, calling people for references is like asking for endorsements. While you don’t need too much convincing when asking for references, it’s basically the same idea. You want, or actually you need people backing you up and saying that you can do the job.

Needless to say, being in the career that I plan to live my life on, I’m currently in a state of constantly thinking about job search. And with this year being an election year, I couldn’t help but take a few strategies from the candidates and personalize them for my job search. So we’ll see how that goes.

Flush.