“It’s better to be a first rate version of yourself than a second rate version of someone else.”
- Judy Garland
It seems silly to me in hindsight, but two months ago I was genuinely concerned that the companies I would be interviewing with would all be looking for "more celebrated" Type A personalities rather than Type B's like myself. That left me wondering, "should I try to act Type A in my interviews, and potentially during my internship?"
When I reached out to Dan Pink asking him this, he told me that I was better off sticking with my natural personality, for three reasons:
1) It's easier
2) I probably wouldn't be good at feigning Type A
3) Any company that hired me thinking I'm Type A would probably not be a place where I would be happy or do my best work.
With this advice, I approached my interviews with the intent to portray my natural personality. Not every company I talked to was looking for a Type B, but in the end I landed a spot at my top choice, P&G.
Thanks to Dan Pink for reminding me of something I've been taught since I was a kid: Be yourself.