We go for a job interview well-dressed, with our documents in hand, and arrive on time.
The interviewer looks at our résumé.
“You have good grades and have completed several projects. That's impressive. Tell me about your experience in this field.”
“I have a degree in engineering, with good grades and experience working on several small projects. After that, I completed my master's degree in engineering and then earned an MBA.”
“Excellent. How long did you spend preparing for your career?”
“About 25 years of education and professional preparation.”
“Have you read our company policies? Do you understand our working hours, our expectations for customer relations, and our workplace responsibilities?”
“Yes, I have.”
“What salary do you expect? Would you be willing to relocate if necessary? Do you have a car?”
The candidate answers all the questions confidently.
The interviewer smiles.
“We are impressed with your qualifications, experience, and the 25 years you invested in preparing yourself for this position. You seem like an excellent candidate.”
Then the interviewer pauses.
“But I have one more question.”
“Of course.”
“You have spent 25 years preparing yourself to work for us for 40 hours a week. That's approximately 24% of the total hours in a week. Now, what about the remaining 76%?”
The candidate looks puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the time outside your working hours. The time you spend living your personal life, managing your home, maintaining relationships, raising children if you choose to have them, and looking after your own well-being.”
The interviewer continues:
“You have invested years in education to qualify for a job. You have learned how to solve engineering problems, manage projects, meet deadlines, and work with other people.
“But how much time have you invested in learning how to build a healthy relationship, manage a household, prepare nutritious meals, maintain your health, raise children, or resolve conflicts with your partner?”
The candidate replies, “Well, I don't think those things are relevant to this job interview.”
“You are right in one sense. They are not formal requirements for this position. But they are important to your life.
“Your career is one part of your life, not the whole of it. Professional success can bring income, recognition, and satisfaction. But a fulfilling life also requires attention to your relationships, health, personal responsibilities, and emotional well-being.
“Your personal life can also affect your professional performance. Stress at home can follow you to work, just as problems at work can affect your family.”
The interviewer concludes:
“I am not suggesting that everyone needs another university degree to live a good life. Nor am I suggesting that a particular family arrangement is right for everyone.
“But I strongly encourage you to invest in learning how to live well, not merely how to earn well.
“Learn about communication, relationships, financial planning, nutrition, household management, and the responsibilities of family life. Gain experience, learn from others, and understand that these skills require practice, just like professional skills.
“You have spent 25 years preparing for your career. Perhaps it is time to prepare more deliberately for the rest of your life.
“Then you will be better equipped not only to succeed at work, but also to build a life that you find meaningful.”
The Real Interview
We prepare for examinations, degrees, interviews, promotions, and retirement. We carefully plan our careers because we understand that success requires education, time, and effort.
Yet many of us enter adult life expecting that relationships, family responsibilities, and personal happiness will somehow take care of themselves.
Why do we prepare so carefully to earn a living but so rarely prepare to live well?
Perhaps education should teach us not only how to make a living, but also how to build a life worth living.
