By: Lew Klein, Director of Marketing for Tecta America
January 2012

Several years ago I interviewed for a position with a company that made water filtration devices, pumps and valves. I remember the drive from Chicago to Delavan Wisconsin and meeting the VP of Marketing and the hiring manager at a local restaurant of their choice.

The interview could not have gone any better. We had lunch, I showed them my work, I answered every behavioral question with a detailed example of my past successes. I even had a good answer for the dreaded, “So tell me 3 things you like to do and 3 things you don’t like to do.” The conversation flowed easily and it looked like a good match between the company and my skill set. I drove home that afternoon thinking I had nailed the interview.

The next morning at 8 a.m. I got a call from the VP of Marketing. I thought the speedy response meant that I would be offered the job, or at least a follow-up interview. He then proceeded to tell me that they were not going to go forward with my application and that they were going to continue their search for the position.

Needless to say, I was caught off guard. This was not the response I had anticipated. I had been on many interviews before and I could usually tell when they went well and when they did not go well. This was one of the best interviews I had ever completed.

I gathered my thoughts, thanked him for the opportunity, and mustered up the courage to ask him a question I usually didn’t ask. The question was; what did I say or do that made you decide I wasn’t a match for the job? I told him that his answer may help me in future interview opportunities.

He appreciated my forthright approach and proceeded to tell me that I seemed like a great guy and that I would probably be very easy to work with. He mentioned that my past work was excellent and that I had a tremendous amount of industry experience. Both he and the hiring manager had no doubt I could do the job and do it well.

There was just one thing missing he said. I didn’t have a passion for sump pumps. A passion for sump pumps? Was he joking? Who the heck has a passion for sump pumps? I thought about this phone call for a long time. I recounted it to friends and family and we all laughed about it. A passion for sump pumps? Really?

As trivial as it may seem, this bothered me for a long time. But after much soul-searching, I realized he was right. I could probably sell ice-cubes to Eskimo’s, but if I didn’t have a passion for it, I was just going through the motions and doing a job for the jobs sake. I started to think a lot about what was my passion.

Since his passing, Steve Jobs has become a very popular person to quote. Truth be told, he was a very, very bright guy. On the specific subject of passion Jobs said:

“You need a lot of passion for what you’re doing because it’s so hard. Without passion, any rational person would give up.

So if you’re not having fun doing it, if you don’t absolutely love it, you’re going to give up. And that’s what happens to most people, actually.

If you look at the ones that ended up being successful in the eyes of society, often times it’s the ones who love what they do, so they could persevere when it got really tough. And the ones that didn’t love it, quit. Because they’re sane, right? Who would put up with this stuff if you don’t love it?

So it’s a lot of hard work and it’s a lot of worrying constantly. If you don’t love it, you’re going to fail”.

After my failed interview with the sump pump people, I changed my attitude and my job search strategy. I only looked for companies where I thought I had a passion for what they did or produced. I researched these companies thoroughly; I even made it a point in every subsequent interview to mention my passion for their service or product. My call-backs for second interviews increased dramatically, culminating in my accepting a position with Tecta America (after 9 interviews).

Steve Jobs was right. Work is not easy. And if it was fun they would spell it differently. But if you really love what you are doing and exhibit a passion for it, you can be successful doing just about anything. Even sump pumps.

About Tecta America

Tecta America is the largest commercial roofing contractor in the U.S., providing roofing solutions nationwide. Tecta offers the responsiveness of a local roofing contractor backed by the resources and stability of a national firm. With unsurpassed technical expertise and certification to work on any roofing system, Tecta America has the manpower and logistical infrastructure to handle any project complexity. Services include roof installation, roof replacement, new construction, disaster response, repair, restoration, maintenance, green roofing, solar photovoltaics, daylighting and full-service national roof asset management. For more information, visit us at www.tectaamerica.com.