Be Yourself vs Be On Your Guard

Dear lovely people,

 

“Through hard work, perseverance and a faith in God, you can live your dreams” Says Ben Carson and I strongly agree with him.

Franka had all the signals indicating the job was hers. She endured two hours of interview and was at the moment, standing in front of the receptionist's desk with a potential colleague, engaging in harmless chitchat. The topic turned to her current job, and she said she couldn’t wait to ditch her bedeviled supervisor and somehow deranged CEO. She was so buried in her chatter that she did not notice the receptionist whined in shock neither did she notice the well-tailored executive who came up beside her.

Bensa is the name of the Executive who stood beside her and had followed her conversation all along. He greeted and Franka could not control herself when she realized it was him. Bensa was Franka’s classmate, they shared a lot in common about their dreams in life. Both of them wanted to own insurance companies. They separated after the university and had never seen each other again before that morning. Bensa had gone on to create his successful life insurance company while Franka who along the line engaged in blind-rocking became a job hunter, moving from one job to the other. On her way home that afternoon, Franka was not only ruminating over the fact that Bensa was already living his dream but she could tell a lot had changed about him. She was not convinced by his assurances, something deep told her he sent her off politely. 

In actual fact, Franka shot herself in the leg. The seemingly harmless exchange she had with the receptionist, categorized her as belonging to the ever growing family of disgruntled complainers who most often are part of the problem within organizations than a solution. No employer wants to higher such. It was evident that when things start feeling good she easily lets her guard down. You can't afford to let your guard down at any instant. Interviews are fraught with opportunities to ruin your chances of landing an offer. Unless you're vigilant, you may sabotage yourself beyond repairs. 

Whether as a job seeker or employer, NEVER ever buy into the myth that you should just be yourself during an interview or business negotiation. A job interview especially is a highly ritualized form of interaction and if you think you're not under the strictest scrutiny, you're going to slip up.

Perhaps more than any other mistake, Franka got too comfortable and failed to remember that it was an interview, a delicate situation requiring a careful mixing between the job seeker and interviewer. If you appear too relaxed, you may unintentionally create the impression you don't really care whether you get the job.

One other solid lesson that comes out of Franka’s experience is that: It’s not enough to dream, it’s more important to transform your dreams to a physical reality despite all odds where you can live them and that if you don’t work to realize your dream, others will higher you to realize theirs.