It’s important that you express confidence when you go to a job interview. You should be able to clearly articulate that you’re the right person for the job. But should you go so far as to fake that you have more knowledge or experience than you actually have?

I used to think that doing this was okay. I figured that I could quickly learn on the job whatever it was that I needed to know to get things done. There were definitely some benefits to this. I got several jobs that I was not qualified to do. I was able to make up for my lack of experience by being a hard worker with an aptitude for quick learning.

Then at one point I tried to fake too much. I was hired on with a document imaging service. The company believed that I had experience with document management software solutions. It sounded like something I could learn as I went along. The problem was that they needed someone who could jump right into the job and take over. My inexperience showed quickly. It’s the only job that I’ve ever been fired from. And ever since I’ve been hesitant to pretend that I have experience that I don’t really have.

I’ve been in kind of a funk lately.  I just haven’t felt like myself.  I think it all started with going out for my friend’s bachelorette party — ever since I’ve felt a little different, like I can’t quite focus on normal things like work anymore.

I think basically what happened was that going out to the clubs and everything for the party was overstimulating to me, particularly compared to the fairly quiet life I’m accustomed to.  In some ways it made me dissatisfied with my life because I had so much fun, and for days afterward I couldn’t concentrate on work because it wasn’t nearly “exciting” enough.

Since I write for a living, I do have a certain degree of control over the work I do, so I decided that I needed some new topics to write about — something to liven up my workload a little.  One of the things I started writing about was boating vacations, such as my horseback riding instructor takes — boat supplies and accessories to have on hand, what the layperson needs to know about boat engine parts, etc.

The variety and excitement of a new topic did help a bit, but I think what helped the most was having some deadlines a few days later.  That forced me to concentrate on work because I knew I had to get it done — I  didn’t have a choice anymore.

I will be very glad when all this wedding stuff is over, and I can go back to my quiet life again!  As Bilbo says in Lord of the Rings, “It’s a dangerous business, going out of your door.  You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”