Who are You?
by Miki Saxon“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” –Dr. Seuss
Many years ago when I was a recruiter a third-level manager I was good friends with was laid off. One day, over lunch, Roy said that another recruiter had called him about a position, but said that he would have a better chance if he shaved his beard and he wanted to know what I thought.
Roy’s wife didn’t like the idea; he’d had a beard since college days. When I asked him if he thought he would regrow it after getting hired he said definitely.
In that case, there was no question that Roy should keep the beard for the interview. If the company didn’t hire him because of the beard they would feel conned when it came out that he only shaved for the interview.
There are many ways to break trust, but one of the fastest is to be someone other than your real self at the interview and the real Roy had a beard. (He didn’t shave and still got the job.)
This is just as true for a hiring manger. If something is done a certain way and you present a different scenario in order to land the candidate don’t be surprised when your new hire walks after getting a taste of the actual reality.
Whether manager, company or candidate, trust starts before the first conversation.
It starts with a street rep. Not what they say about themselves, but with what others say about them.
Remember “what goes around comes around?” These days it not only comes around with a vengeance, but thanks to social media it never goes away.
Being yourself makes you authentic; being authentic makes you trustworthy; being trustworthy makes your street rep great.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a6u571n/2870888435/
