On Saturday, November 19, British Columbians will be heading for the polls. Voting isn’t always an easy decision to make but I applaud everyone who does take the time to exercise the right that so many brave Canadians laid their lives down to defend and preserve.

I like to look at voting much the same way I look at filling a job position. After all, candidates are applying for a job. As a manager I’ve been on corporate hiring committees and conducted many job interviews for the companies I’ve worked for. I’ve spent many hours weeding through resumes, searching for just the right qualities and qualifications that fit the specific job I was looking to fill. When looking at a resume my process involves considering the applicant’s education, experience and the overall presentation of their document, but also matching the basic criteria of the job with the applicant. The question is; can this applicant do the job I need to have done? Talent and skill come through experience and everyone has different experiences, so it’s not about age. It’s about what skills you can bring to the table. Exuberance and enthusiasm are great and sometimes you want to balance the team you are building with different skill sets and levels of talent, but you also don’t want to risk straining your team with a steep learning curve.

A well-polished resume will certainly get you through the door, but it is the job interview that sways a decision, one way or the other. The job interview is really the deal breaker or dealmaker. Local government, regional district and school trustee candidates have been conducting an interview since their campaigns began and in some cases before the campaign. During an interview I am not only asking questions, I am judging how they answer my questions, if they look me in the eye and if they present themselves professionally. Successful candidates will be representing our interests in a variety of situations and this is their opportunity to demonstrate how they will conduct themselves. Failure to answer a question is usually a deal breaker for me, as would a flippant, disrespectful or thoughtless response. An election is a big job interview, nobody is a shoe-in and each candidate should be judged by their merits, not their demographic or social standing. The skills and talents of the candidate should match the position being filled. Above all, conduct should be professional.