“If you were an animal, what kind would you be?”, said the interviewer. My 1st thought was, “What kind of question is THAT?” My 2nd thought was, “I’d be a T-Rex, and if you don’t hire me I’ll squash you like a bug!” Immediately I knew that was a STUPID thing to think. EVERYBODY knows dinosaurs weren’t animals!
It’s amazing how fast our PC-like brains think, process and come up with stuff. I was going to say “Lion” because they ARE the king of the jungle, but then I remembered that lions sleep 20 hours a day and are pride-ful. Next on my list was “Elephant” as they are the largest land mammal on the planet. A common elephant name is “Jumbo”, which means ‘boss’ or ‘chief’ in Swahili, so I thought that was apropos. But I passed on elephant, too, because they work for peanuts, are very social and known for touching and caressing….and I surely don’t need THAT on my resume! So I told the interviewer, “I’d be an owl.”, because they are very wise, they are good at seeing the big picture and they end up getting what they want. I thought it fortuitous that I was wearing my over-sized glasses.
I’m sure there is no right answer to that type of question. The interviewer probably wanted to see if I had the ability to think quickly on my feet, perhaps inject a little humor and may have been searching for a creativity gene. I think I passed the test. Honestly, though? The “Swedish” in me wanted to say, “A sloth”, and then immediately ask about breaks, lunches and vacations. Discretion prevailed, thankfully. Note: I ultimately was hired.
Post-interview, it got me thinking about similarly-asked questions. A friend told me they were asked what kind of tree would they be? Another was asked, if they were a musical artist, what would be the name of their debut album? Someone else was asked what they would do if they found a penguin in their freezer. I would have said, “Take it to the zoo, of course. And if the penguin enjoyed that…I would also take it to Disneyland.”
I wonder if anyone has been asked, “What kind of punctuation mark would you be?” I have never been asked that and haven’t heard of anyone else being thrown that particular question. I would feel pretty confident in the punctuation arena, having scored well on that subject on my SAT’s. I remember my 3rd grade teacher asking me in class, “Philip, how would you punctuate this sentence?: the wind came out of the east and was blowing over trees knocking down power lines and blew a $20 bill down the street” I promptly said, “Miss Hendricks, I would definitely make a dash after the twenty.” She was the only one laughing.
So…..if I was a period, it would mean I was a finisher. I could be counted on to be there at the end and I get to have the last word. Actually, I make a decisive point AFTER the last word. The end.
Now if I was a comma, I would be a teammate who gives you a break, an employee who helps make something cluttered seem clearer, bringing clarity to clutter and could be called upon to separate cliques and keep teams together.
Would those who consider themselves a question mark be mysterious? Or, do you think they may be folk who are slow learners or don’t know too much? Who has the answer to this one? Do you care? Am I over-thinking this? Let’s leave the ? for another time, okay?
Ah, and now for the exclamation point! I KNOW, I KNOW that I needn’t SHOUT! HEY! I’m the excitable type! I am expressive in meetings and one-on-ones, you know, to get my point across! I am ASTONISHED at how many people who deem themselves as exclamation marks! Periods may protest at the number of peeps who are considered exclamation points, but it’s CRAZY that periods would do so WITHOUT emphasis! Holy cow!!!
Personally, I would abstain from referring to myself as a colon. I am not even semi-interested in the colon and I think the reason why is fairly obvious. If it isn’t to you, well, then punctuation isn’t your “thing”. Neither are homonyms.
That brings me to the ellipsis…a punctuation mark that is not all that well known. I would have no problem being an ellipsis because…wait for it…wait for it…it’s a timing thing. It also is efficient as it saves space and time.
All things considered, I am a combination of punctuation marks. An amalgamation of all of ‘em, if you will. I have multiple traits and different abilities. I am definitive. I am ENERGETIC! I can make things clearer, may come off as mysterious and…I am efficient. Not sure if I would answer the punctuation question with “Call me Sybil”. Uh, probably not. That may raise additional questions rather than answer the one.
In any case, I am confident in what I do and what I bring to the table regardless what questions are tossed my way. No matter what an interviewer conjures up, and then thinks of my answers, whether I am considered to be a porcupine, mighty oak or a hyphen, there is no question I would be an asset to whatever company employs me…period!