April 21, 2011 
As I am getting things set for my May 1st launch (first interview with Lon Safko) I begin to realize something: interviews just don’t always go as planned. This got me thinking, “Why should I even limit the conversation to 10 repeatable questions when I could be seizing the moment to ask anything I want?” So I am not going to follow my original 10-question interview plan. This means that each blog will be different. The questions will vary from the conversations I am having with my interviewees. They will all relate to the same topic, but will still be unique to the interviewees. This is going to be a learning process, not only for myself, but for everyone else out there reading. We will all learn together. I will be sharing this information for you all to take-in and run with for yourselves to help you fulfill your own personal goals. In fact, a couple of my buddies in class have already started this process. They are blogging and creating online resumes. Great! So happy for them.
That being said, let’s get one thing straight: You are all capable of more than you think. Do not let anyone ever tell you different. If you have a vision of who you want to be, take that vision and start right now. Do not limit yourself to “good enough.” You are better than that. Be who you are and never stop believing in yourself.
-Cat
You are absolutely right to allow interviews to take on their own character. You and each interviewee are a unique combination and the conversation should naturally reflect this. Think of your 10 questions as an outline you can refer back to if you have a brain freeze or things have gotten off topic.
Murphy’s Law says “Anything can go wrong will go wrong.” I’ve had my share of screwed up interviews but I always try to improve the next time around. The thing about being interviewed in the IT world these days is that most of the interviewers want your answers to be verbatim from textbooks. And any slight mis-wording can cost you the job.
Cat, your article was very well written. I could use some of your writing style. Lol.
Isn’t that the beauty of trying new things? You may expect an outcome, when really anything can happen. It’s pretty fun!
Thank you for the compliment. From your reply, however you write very well and very REAL.
Hello Cat -
Gosh, thank you for this: “You are all capable of more than you think. Do not let anyone ever tell you different. If you have a vision of who you want to be, take that vision and start right now. Do not limit yourself to “good enough.” You are better than that.” I like it so much.
Have a nice Monday.
http://charlienitric.wordpress.com/
Thank you, Charlie! Glad you enjoyed it.
Very… Nice! Well written!
And… Thank you for the mention!
I’ll be back to see what you have to say next!
-Lon Safko, author of The Social Media Bible
You got it, Lon!