Choosing a job is akin with choosing a house.
Are you one of those people that have a wish list the length of your arm for your next career move? Do you know categorically that you need every single thing on that list? or are you the sort who goes on gut instinct? Do you turn up for the interview (well researched) but going on how it feels!
I ebb between the two. I remember when I first started looking for our family home I had this “must have” list. It involved large garden, fruit trees, lawn, back lighting, light airy rooms, minimum 3 bedrooms. I wanted something we could make our own, not a new build sort of home but a house with history, a building with presence(not too much though that’s spooky). A previous owner who had looked after the house and loved the shell…on and on the list went.
We viewed so many properties fitting the majority of the bill above. We had an offer accepted, a survey paid for… but then we saw the house of our dreams – huge windows, far more expensive than we wanted to mortgage ourselves up to, garden to die for and the presence of a gentle giant. I knew without reserve that I wanted it! The house had captivated me. I envisaged all who had been before me and my future with my brood and more. I could see the house being integral to how our family operated.
We see candidates and clients who have lists like toilet roll reels. Good on them as the more you know what good looks and feels like, the better the chances of finding something that comes as close as possible to your ideal.
In this current economic climate we know that the employment rates are higher than they have been in decades. It is tempting to tolerate mediocrity when looking for a job as opposed to a house. I see candidates that I know feel they may have to tolerate the “50%” job. The one that is the only available one at this time! The limited option! Don’t do it! Evaluate your worth, evaluate your list and see if compromising it makes you firstly more employable, but secondly gets you closer to achieving the full shebang on your magically long wish list. Sometimes the risk and reward can be offset but on other occasions the rewards are little and the risk is humungous.
We are hiring at ENI at the moment and it got me thinking about my mishaps over the years when hiring talent. We have assembled a great team, with a diverse mix of skill and a broad spectrum of personalities however over the last 6 years or so I have interviewed some good and great people. I have also interviewed some candidates that have strengths but are just too average for my business. This isn’t to say they are average across the board, but for my cultural and business needs and to make ENI an even bigger force to be reckoned with you have to constantly raise the bar.
Put simply if you are a candidate is the job getting you in your tummy, making you have the butterflies? Can you see yourself growing in it, making your mark on it, getting your worth from it and feeling that your investment is being returned?
If your an employer does this prospective employee just fit, do they feel right for the culture of your business. Do they have some better and different qualities to the team you currently have. Do you feel that they bring more to the table than all of the others you have seen! Can you see them adding value from day one? Are there aspects that make you think…if I trained them in this (or in house speak if I painted that wall) they would be phenomenal! Hire them Hire them and hire them quickly.
Due diligence is a must but that tummy tickle is a bit of a giveaway.
