Standing Out In Interviews with George Costanza

By: Kristyn Mott, Peer Advisor

I was watching Seinfeld the other day and it was the episode where George Costanza has his interview for the New York Yankees. I found it quite funny because he does everything that you are basically told not to do in an interview. He uses a very laid-back and unprofessional conversational style, he is wearing non-professional clothes, he explains why he quit his previous job in a negative light, he didn’t shake the boss’s hand, he critiqued everything the organization stood for, and is the complete opposite of every applicant that applied for the job. Ironically enough, he ends up getting hired. Although George Costanza had a horrible interview, you can actually learn from him. Now, I am not saying to act how he did in interviews, in fact I encourage you to do the complete opposite. What I am saying is that you need to stand out from the other applicants. Obviously your competition will be emphasizing the same qualities as you might be, so you need to think critically about how stand out from the other applicants. Make yourself memorable in your interview, just not the way that George did. Also, the only reason why George got hired after a horrible interview was based on the fact that Seinfeld is a hilarious TV show – and unfortunately not real life.