Durkin’s Getting Hired at a Startup Series (7 of 10): Carry a Bag, Notebook, and Pen

February 4th, 2012

Tweet

#7. Carry a bag, notebook, and pen to meetings. 

 ”What in the world is in that BAG, what you got in that BAG?” – Ludacris

Rob Hale is on the board of the nonprofit that I operate alongside Founder Peter Trovato. He is also President of Granite Telecommunications. He’s a great man, with a monstrous business. And he’s got a ton of great advice. He gave this advice to Peter Trovato, and then Peter passed this on to me.

It’s pretty straightforward. But you’d be surprised how few people do this.

Carry a bag, notebook, and pen with you to your interview.

Like, what happens if you find something interesting your interviewer says and you want to write it down? What happens if you think of something that you think would be good to look up later on? What if I give you a name of a person I think you could benefit from meeting? What happens if I ask you to write down your cell phone so that I can call you back to offer you the job?

You get the idea.

But the bag. The bag my friends. Now that is the secret sauce.

Bring a nice bag. I don’t care if it’s leather, plastic, cloth, or wool. Carrying a bag will make you look like you are a busy, professional, person. It will make you look like you have some place to be. Like you have a life beyond that day’s interview. You can get a real nice Samsonite bag at K&G Superstore (owned by Men’s Warehouse) for under $40. Do it. And up your game overnight.