My Response to One of the Best Employment Survey Questions Ever!

So I had applied for a position as a Support Team Lead with a company called uShip a few days ago.

I received an email from them asking me to reply to a questionnaire  which included some typical thought-provoking questions you see in interviews and such. Well I plowed through the first 10 questions with relative ease, though my responses were in my typical verbose nature, by no means lacking in detail.

But the final question, number 11, really got me into some deep thinking. Here’s the question:

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

I could have easily rattled off one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time like Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” or “To Live Is To Die” by Metallica, or anything from Helmet’s “Aftertaste” album, or Adrian Legg’s “Irish Girl”, but none of those songs, although amazing in their own right, could not really be representative of my life.

So I had to dig deep through my playlists of favorite tunes on Rhapsody to find something suitable – and it took me nearly an hour to find something. I eventually settled on a song and here is my response:

Wow! This one had me thinking the most. All the other survey questions came pretty naturally to me.

First, I’m not a very lyrical person. I tend to listen to music for the instrumental complexities and rhythm. It’s why heavy metal, progressive metal, classical, and jazz appeal to me the most.

I don’t listen to much pop music as well. I mostly find that lyrics to songs tend to have a personal meaning to the composer and people can take bits and pieces that apply to their own lives. So their are a few songs that I identify with when it comes to certain aspects of my life.

But I’ve yet to find a song that perfectly encapsulates me as a whole.

As I combed through my playlists of various songs in my library, I settled on one song that I think comes close:
“Universal Mind” by Liquid Tension Experiment.

It’s a progressive guitar/rock instrumental song whose title is associated with the underlying theme of consciousness.
– The piece has several key and tempo changes, which to me reflects somewhat on my own journey through life (thus far).
– The sheer instrumental complexity of the song to me represents several facets of me as well, such as my consciousness, relationships, family life, etc.
– The piano interlude at 3:45 beautifully represents the birth of my son.
– The return to the main guitar riff at 7:00 represents the rebirth of my career and the new journey that will unfold before me.
– Finally, the circus theme at the song’s conclusion at 7:40 reminds me how I want people to celebrate my life when my time expires. I want to leave people with great memories and my only wish is that I have made an indelible mark on the lives of those who I’ve been fortunate to meet.

Great question!

If you care to take a listen to the song I’ve referenced, you’ll find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZC0ZJ1AW8

Sure, the response was long winded, but I didn’t feel right just tossing a song out there without some justification or explanation. I’m not sure how it will go over but it was an honest response.

What has been your favorite job search related question (from an interview or otherwise)?