Monday, November 2, 2009

Mind our mouths and beware our talk

Tonight I got to interview strangers and work out if I want to live with them.

Finding a new flatmate is a shit of a job sometimes. You've all got 15 minutes to make an impression - it's like speed dating but at the end of it you actually stand to lose a fair bit if you make the wrong choice.

Luckily between my flatmate and myself, we have it down to a fine art: 20 minute slots, each person gets shown the room and then upstairs for the usual barrage of questions.
  • What do you do?
  • How old are you?
  • What do you do in your spare time?
  • Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
  • What kind of music do you like?
Then they get the spiel on how much the room costs and how the flat works, then a 'well, if you're interested, let us know' and out the door for the next one.

The point where you know you've got a goodie or a baddie is usually during the questions. What we're really evaluating is not the answers themselves (although they do matter), rather the way you all get on and interact - is the conversation natural or forced? Are they giving you weird and not-quite-wonderful answers?

Of course we all end up with the nutbars from time to time - you get desperate or someone who seems normal at the interview turns out to be slightly psychotic - but for the most part that is the risk you run with flatting. It sucks, but there you have it.

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