Talking about health & nutrition … and job interviews!
Something countless mothers have told their children across generations is “Eat your vegetables!” to encourage their family to lead a healthy lifestyle.
According to the Dairy Council of California’s “Healthy Eating Made Easier” program, vegetables provide essential nutrients so your body can stay healthy; depending on the individual, a daily intake from one to four cups is recommended. Additionally, the Council adds, “a diet rich in vegetables may reduce risk for stroke, cancer, heart diseases and type-2 diabetes.”
Healthy Work Performance
Ideally every individual would consume a balanced and nutritious diet. In our context for example, there are a number of reasons why it makes sense for medical and allied health professionals to “eat their vegetables”. Eating well helps them be healthy enough to consistently perform their essential, energy-consuming occupation, it sets a positive example for patients, not to mention it’s good for their own quality of life.
A Successful Job Interview
“If you were a vegetable what kind of vegetable would you be?”
“If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?”
“If you were a comic book character, who would you be?”
“If you were the subject of a newspaper story, what would the headline say?”
“Which part of a bicycle are you most like?”
You may be asked one of these imaginative questions or the like during a job interview. The idea is to explain the WHY behind your answer. The interviewer is attempting to assess your personality, creativity, specific skill-set, as well as how well you know yourself.
Whether you are interviewing for an ultrasound technician position or a different job altogether, it’s good to build some self-awareness and practice answering questions related to your personal and professional attributes.
Just for fun and to help get your creative juices flowing here are a few produce-related characteristics that might explain why you are more like one vegetable or animal or song …than another:
CARROTS
- Carrots are good for the eyes which can be compared to the vision you have for ___… (an example provided by a University of Minnesota career blog.)
- Carrots have a firm texture, just like you have a strong work ethic or have strength of character because…
- If you are constantly surprising people with new talents or strengths, you might compare yourself to a carrot: while growing, only the soft, fern-like leaves of a carrot are revealed with the firm vegetable hidden below the surface.
PUMPKINS
- Pumpkins are deep-rooted and you can compare this in the context of your deep personality (make sure to explain why you are “deep”).
- Pumpkins are a great source of Vitamin A. One of the benefits of this vitamin is that it “helps us see normally in the dark,” says the University of Florida IFAS Extension. This could be an analogy for you being able to observe and discover hidden qualities or identify obscure concepts.
BEANS
- Beans as well as peas can be counted towards both the Vegetable Group and the Protein Foods Group, says USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov. This could be comparable to your versatile personality.
- There is a vast variety of beans, such as kidney, lima, garbanzo, pinto, cannellini and more. You can compare to this how you pride yourself on constantly developing new and unique ideas, or how you avoid approaching your job in a stale manner.
What kind of vegetable are you and WHY?
