Mervin was jazzed. He finally had a job interview. A real-life sit-down face-to-face interview. Now interviews like this didn’t come around too often for Mervin. He was a capable fellow with a college degree and superior tech skills, but he wasn’t always great at putting himself out there. He did some odd jobs here and there, salvaging dying laptops and helping the tech-challenged figure out their smartphones, but he spent most of his time in his room, immersed in the world of code.
But today was different. In a rare stroke of confidence, he’d sent a resume to Glooper, the biggest up and comer in the tech world – and lo and behold, he scored an interview. Mervin was nervous, but he felt sure of his qualifications and already had big ideas for Glooper. He was feeling extra chipper because he’d remembered to do his laundry, so he was outfitted with pressed pants and a fresh button-up. “Nice going Merv”, he thought, and gave himself a thumbs-up in the mirror.
Mervin arrived at Glooper ready to roll. He was early, he was eager, and he’d spent the past week digging deeper than ever into the world of Glooper. So when the department head, Mr. Manager, called him back to his office to start the interview, he was already feeling like an expert.
Mervin: Thanks so much for seeing me today, I’m really excited to be here. How’s your morning going so far?
Small talk had never been Mervin’s forte, but he was really trying to go the extra mile.
Mr. Manager: Oh just the usual goings-on! But there was a great article in the Times this morning about copyright infringement in China. Fascinating stuff. Could certainly have some effects on our app protections. What do you think of all that?
Mervin did not have thoughts on that at all. Our tech virtuoso barely knew what copyright infringement meant.
Mervin: …mmm…yeahhh…fascinating… (stumped face)
Ouch. Mervin had spent so much time in the world of Glooper, not to mention his own personal coding projects, that he’d neglected to pay attention to the rest of the world. He never realized that staying current with news and events was not only critical for engaging in topical conversations, but also for understanding how world events impact business.
Luckily for Mervin, this mistake wasn’t fatal. But it could have been. When they finally got to shop talk, Mervin dazzled Mr. Manager and later received a call back for another round. Right after the interview, he bought an armful of newspapers and subscribed to multiple online news outlets. He’s still a bit confused about the details of copyright infringement, but at least he’s got some extra time to figure it out.
