During waking hours you probably spend as much time at work as you do with your spouse so is it any wonder that there is a dating and falling in love aspect to searching for a new job? Mind you it is not appropriate to hold your potential new boss’ hand or expect a goodbye kiss on the first interview but outside of that there are a number of parallels that may help you make the right decision if you are contemplating a divorce from your current job and acquiring a new “mate”.
We, as professional recruiters, are adept at matching a candidate’s job skill set with a company’s specifications. We can also do a good job of evaluating a position to see if it would be a good career choice for an applicant. That’s where our expertise ends and the “dating process” begins.
Like a first date you want to begin the interviews by putting your best foot forward. Your dress and demeanor should be at the top of their game. Chemistry is from this point on everything in the process. You will be called upon to discuss your experience and will learn about the opportunity but, in fact, the elephant in the room is a discovery about whether you would work well into the synergies of the group and company culture. They are trying to decide whether to invite you into their business family and you have to decide if it is a family you wish to marry into.
We can certainly carry the analogy to the extreme but the final critical parallel is that if you receive an offer or proposal, if you will, you will need to decide whether or not to accept. I suggest that you think back on what it was like to fall in love and have on those glorious rosy glasses. Your significant other could do no wrong, was absolutely perfect, floated on air and lived in your dreams. You need a similar feeling about the company you have interviewed with and job that has been offered to you. You need to feel that it is the perfect job that you would “die for”.
Because……..guess what. You will find things out about the person you fell in love with after marriage. Things like they prefer not to shave on weekends, or that they leave clothes on the floor, are not keen on doing the dishes, leave the paper in shambles after reading it, etc.. But love overcomes all and you will live happily ever after. So with the job you will discover things like personalities and habits of co-workers, company policies and rituals that you don’t care for and a boss who may have some idiosyncrasies that you did not notice during the “dating”. But your love of the position and company will sustain you, allow you to overlook the mundane and you will have a long successful career.
If you go into a relationship or a job and have doubts, if you make concessions and settle for something that may not feel right to you, if the chemistry is just not there, then the discoveries will exacerbate your concerns and you will be destined to have an unhappy relationship or job. Understand the process in this manner and you will be certain to find happiness in your home and profession.
