By Chris McPherson

Good music is something ubiquitous. Turn on your radio. Plug in your TV. Or just hop on YouTube for something to jam out to. But meaningful music can be hard to find.

Songs like Rihanna’s We Found Love make you wanna spin around in circles in euphoric motion for hours and never get dizzy or nauseous. Other tunes like Macklemore’s Thrift Shop may invoke an urgency to find the nearest vehicle you have the keys to and drive down a significant boulevard, while singing the lyrics like you’re wearing pre-owned clothes with questionable odors. While Pink’s Just Give Me a Reason may bring up some serious feelings that you can only express in an empty room full of pillows, ice cream and a television playing Reba reruns for hours (which in fact does happen everyday – she’s a survivor). But enough of country star Reba’s magnificent reign on daytime cable tv. Songs with meaning make you feel something.

Selena Gomez, sometimes referred to as Sellie G, Beibs’ Baby Mama, and Disney Princess # 3, released her new song, Come & Get It, a couple weeks ago. It’s safe to call the single a “hit,” since it landed on the Billboard Hot 100’s top ten last week at number six, her highest peaking single to date. I will say this infectious tune, pickled in seduction, but somehow marinated in sex appeal, has been a guilty pleasure of mine. But where is the meaning? How does this apply to my life? I mean, I don’t have someone I can encourage to “come and get it.” I mean, I could probably write a song called “I’ve been ready, does anyone want it?”

So I sat down and tried to understand the deeper meaning behind this song. Was there a hidden allegorical thread behind these lyrics. Maybe there was a speck of symbolism within the three minutes and fifty-two seconds of pop gold. Then I thought, “Eureka, I’ve got it.” No I didn’t. But I did find that the song could serve as an anthem for the thousands of college students who are now out searching for jobs.

If you are one of these people, tell those search committees, recruiters and HR professionals, “so baby whenever you’re ready [insert five seconds of ‘ayy’].” At the end of my next job interview, right after I say goodbye, but before I leave the room, I’m gonna say, “When you ready come and get it.” Then say “na na na na” as I walk away.

When Senorita Gomez says, “When you ready come and get it,” “it” is clearly a metaphor for the hard work and dedication you plan to bring to the potential employer and/or company. Duh!

So thanks Selena, you’ve got the world dancing, and the job seekers thinking. Who doesn’t want a new employee who knows how to sing seductive lyrics to them. When you hit your interviewer with the “come hither” eyes, make sure they know you mean business. On a resume that skill can easily be filed as “persuasive mindset” or “strong communications skills.”

Thus, next time you hear Selena’s new jam, think, “will this song get me hired.” And then immediately answer yourself (it’s okay this one time because I told you so) “Yes. Yes, it will.”

“I’m not too shy to get your coffee, I got no regrets” – Come & Get It (Workforce Remix)