As part of my one-on-one “quiet conversation” series, I am going to focus on one theme a month (or at least I’ll try). This month’s theme is about how to put your best foot forward in applying for a new job. The new quarter of the year is a time when many people are applying for new positions. In talking with different types of candidates, it’s evident that interviews make people so anxious that their anxiety often gets in the way of showing their shine in an interview.
My natural response to interviews is to just treat them as the conversations that they are. The more relaxed you are, the better you can listen and answer questions and see if you like the potential employer. Not only is an interview an opportunity for the employer to get to know you, but it’s your time to get to know them and see if they are a good fit or not.
The best way to treat a job interview is to put it in perspective. Treat the job as if you have it, until you decide you don’t want it or the employer tells you otherwise. This way, you can move over the nervous thought of whether you have it or not and focus on whether you want it or not. I made this suggestion to someone recently and it was surprisingly freeing to them and made the prospect of a conversation of this magnitude much easier to swallow.
Another issue people run into with job interviews is getting hung up on the money or other requirements of the job once its landed. My feeling is that you should land the job before you go into your requirements for it—beyond the basic salary question the employer poses. Its better to get the horse, before you put the cart in front of it.
I also encourage people to think about the purpose of the position—is this something you would enjoy doing? Does the work environment sound appealing? Do you like the mission of the organization? What is your goal in accepting the position? It has to be more than transactional (meaning people focus on the pay before the actual position) if you are going to be happy in the position in the long term.
Even if a position doesn’t work out, treat the interview process as part of your relationship development. One of my favorite employers interviewed me for a first position and passed and then hired me for a better fitting position. More than 20 years later, I am still friends with the boss who hired me and still consult her on what I’m doing today. Literally, a door that closes might open up to something better. Don’t close your options by getting frustrated over an initial denial.
Every interview opportunity is a chance to learn about your strengths and challenges. When you learn to sell yourself and calibrate according to your interview audience, it’s a chance to develop your confidence, relationships and business and sales skills. Don’t get nervous, get busy. Even when you make mistakes in interviews, consider it “one bad pancake” and keep frying. You will land on your feet—one conversation at a time.
I attended the 2026 NAACP National Convention in Chicago as an observer on behalf of the Bulloch County NAACP. This year, I was struck by how closely history and the present live as neighbors. What was yesterday feels like today.
This Fourth of July, I woke up early in West Rogers Park and headed to Social Change's community garden in Englewood, like I do on most Saturdays in the summer. There were weeds to pull, trees to trim, and a few odds and ends that had accumulated over the past week.
I’m originally from Statesboro, GA and I knew Shannon as a child. We reconnected over FaceBook several years ago in what I like to consider as the internet’s version of the town newspaper.
I get up at 6 a.m. on Saturday to head to my favorite “Pilates on steroids class” in the West Loop. It’s raining. I wonder if the plants need water in the community garden in Englewood. The rain stops. The sun comes out. It’s starting to get hot.
In a world where so much feels like it’s unraveling—our communities, institutions, economy, science, medicine, education, even the very fabric of families—it is easy to lose sight of what matters most. The rising tide of hate and division makes advice even more essential: return to simplicity. Focus on what’s meaningful. Celebrate beauty through small things.
I have been busy with clients and volunteering and tend to write when something important comes my way that I feel I need to share—the monthly intention to write ain’t working. I am ready to share observations about the experience of voting and getting out the vote in the latest election.
Founders of nonprofits, or program builders, share a quality in common with successful artists—they first envision their mission and then build their idea into reality.
As part of my one-on-one “quiet conversation” series, I am going to focus on one theme a month (or at least I’ll try). This month’s theme is about how to put your best foot forward in applying for a new job.
I have been thinking about this blog as I finish my second year in consulting. On a good note, by deepening relationships with my clients and through volunteer work, I have witnessed the brilliant lightening of energy and support around important missions firsthand.
I am asked all the time, “What do you do?” I do lots of different things and it all focuses on driving mission and building relationships.
Life is art and everything around you is designed. Design influences how we see the world in ways we don’t think about seamlessly. But, the Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC) gives you that opportunity to see the art, form and function through a new lens. In many ways, DMoC helps us access public art and think about its societal function in our own lives.
As I began this new era of my career last January as a fundraising consultant, I didn’t know where it would lead, how much I would make or what would exactly feed my passion—but I was lucky enough to be able to keep my options open. I’m probably busier now than when I was working a regular office job, but I’m more satisfied by picking and choosing what projects I get to work on both personally and professionally.
I call art the “last congregation,” by which I mean that it’s a space where we are allowed to spiritually feel without boundaries. I look for artists that create that space and provide emotional engagement. Annie Hex is such an artist. She has intuitively found her voice and helps others find theirs through her words.
As a special note, I conducted this interview in early June 2022. I met Todd Belcore, Executive Director of Social Change, years ago in Chicago while working in legal aid. He has an uncanny ability to connect with people in any community across the country and has a passion for social justice. Social Change is a dynamic nonprofit that works across the country to bring people together, ensures equal rights and builds communities.
Interest-free lending, considered the highest form of Jewish charity, goes back to Biblical times. So it seems only fitting that Leah Greenblum, the Executive Director of the newly established Jewish Free Loan Chicago, sat down to discuss her mission over bagels, cream cheese and lox at my home. Leah and I originally bonded years ago over our love of nonprofits and social justice.
As a serious voice student in high school, one of the most useful skills I learned was to imagine the muscle connection between my voice and my vocal exercises. When I was able to do this, it meant that I could reach a note or practice my chords accordingly.
If not now, when is the premise and how is the question. This idea occurred to me while I was doing the dishes—a gateway to my creative ideas. With 11 years + one week at CARPLS and five years and seven months at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law out of a 25+ year career in fundraising, I am a member of the legal services tribe.
It’s a Sunday morning in the beginning of January and I’m working on year-end tax acknowledgments, which I have the wonderful issue of being overwhelmed with at the moment. Thank goodness. And, then I began thinking what it takes for a visionary to make good on the need they see to fill.
My website is a work in progress, just as my consulting business is. Thanks to my daughter who noticed that the template language was showing in the Blog section. As a result, I decided to write my first blog and solve that issue on the website. I welcome a dialogue and this is my personal opinion. You can reach me at tpietr@yahoo.com.