I recently had said that I have a 90%+ success rate whenever I get a job interview. My friend second guessed me by saying that he assumes that the percentage is based on my confidence. I got slightlyirritated. It’s not because I’m some hugely narcissistic dictator who demands completely loyalty of those around me, that they take my word blindly.
I realized that it’s because I take great care in every word that comes out of my mouth. I’m not like most people. For the most part, what I say is thought out carefully. Because of that effort on my part, it’s irritating when someone questions what I say as though I just spouted out some bullshit. I am the type of person who says what I mean and means what I say. Generally speaking, you can take me at face value: there’s no guess work. I also am not one to brag or make false claims. When I self-aggrandize, you can tell I do so out of jest.
I was irritated this other time when I asked my brother to mail me a package via UPS. He suggested that he could mail it out via the USPS, or maybe FedEx. Now, I know it’s a little unfair for me to get irritated, but I couldn’t help it when he made these other suggestions. When I make a request (and I seldom do), and when I make a specific request, I have a very good reason for being specific. In this case, I chose UPS as the carrier because FedEx Ground and the USPS are not reliable. Either they will fail to deliver it or they leave it out in the open for someone to steal. UPS has never failed me in the past and so far they have been the most reliable and most desired choice of shipping service.Basically, I have to realize that most people do not take such care in their expression in daily life. That’s why when some other Joe Schmoe claims that he has a 90%+ success rate for job interviews, it’s okay to question him. The thing is, I wish that those who should know me better would remember that when I speak, they should take it at face value. The vast majority of the time, when I make a statement or assertion, it is correct. If I have only close to a 90% success rate, I would say so. I would say, “Whenever I have a job interview, I get it close to 90% of the time.”The other thing that irritates me intensely is when people second guess you based on an assumption. In this case, my friend assumed that I couldn’t mathematically have a 90%+ success rate, “unless you had 9+ jobs…” Well guess what bucko? I did have more than 9 jobs.
Again, it’s unfair for me to get irritated because most people probably haven’t held more than 9 jobs, and again, most people tend to make up percentages and overexaggerate their success. But still, I can’t help it.