Tour De Farce

Pretend you are a fresh (or pimply) faced high school student visting a college campus. You are encouraged to join a tour, as it is the recommended way to get a "feel" for the place.

It turns out you have the best tour guide. You follow in awe as they impress you with their deep knowledge and passion. You can envision yourself becoming someone like them one day if you are lucky enough.

Or maybe it goes the other way. You find them awkward while they mumble corny jokes galore.

Is your overwhelming reaction to them indicative of a potential fit?

The university could have rigorously auditioned students to lead tour groups and hand selected the most impressive. Or the university could have such a large and diverse student body they struggle to encapsulate their culture no matter how they interview.

The group that runs tours could have set up an in depth review of their script to ensure the talking points of the tour evolve as the culture changes. Or they could send out the same old dusty script that was approved by the Board years ago.

The guide could be well rested and supported with a tight knit community they formed. Or they could be sleep deprived and stressed from countless nights of studying solo for an upcoming exam.

You could be primed to enjoy your tour as your parents told you this is where you belong. Or you could be dreading the pressure to drift into yet another place you have to perform.

As important as the tour may seem, there are so many controls already built in. So why do we anchor ourselves in the tour/interview/info session as a proxy for how much we could enjoy a new school, new employer, or new career path?