We have all been there. We have all made mistakes in our lives, whether professionally, or personally. These mistakes are on a scale from minor, to major, to the proverbial clusterf@4k.
However, someone, somewhere gave us a chance to rectify or turn things around. Or, sometimes, the punishment for these mistakes, is ultimately that things are “over”, or “done or dusted”, or P45 territory, do not pass GO and collect 200 pounds.
Mistakes are part of life, they are part of what makes us human, makes us who we are as individuals, and makes every one of us unique in some way because of them. It can also make us more appealing, attractive, or wiser – if we learn from them.
As a baby, did you not make tumbles, but pick yourself up, again and again, to finally stand and learn to walk? Did you not stumble over words, as you learned to read and talk? As you learned to ride a bike, fall off, scuff your knees, crash test dummy repeatedly, did you not then right yourself, and then majestically start pulling wheelies, or “broadies”, (you can tell I had a BMX), and the local pavements became your cycling nirvana?
You gave yourself a chance. Whether you consciously did this, you actually were. You chose to.
The same then when it came to school time, you either gave yourself the chance to learn, again most of us probably revered doing so, but magically it sunk in somehow. Besides the bunking off our least favourite subjects, (or teachers), eating in class, (or worse), or chatting about all things, in class, except the actual relevant subject being delivered at the time, by the usually, a drafted in locum cover teacher.
You gave yourself a chance. Whether you consciously did this, you were. You chose to.
The same if you have an interest in sports, or leisure activities/hobbies, or in the gym. You give yourself a chance to develop yourself, whether competitively, healthier or more interesting, because of the leisure activities you pursue.
You gave yourself a chance. Whether you consciously did this, you were. You chose to.
When it comes to personal relationships, (don’t worry this is not going to turn into a Dear Deidre blog), you make yourself as appealing as possible and enter the dating scene. Whether this is online, or in person, you take a chance on finding that person, that “right” one person out there. Again, sometimes, (and very rarely), we get this chance right the first time. Especially with the world we live in now, and the pressures on people to have the perfect partner or be so. But, you keep going, you get disappointed, let down, proverbially “crash and burn”, yet you get back up, (after a few talking to by yourself/parents/friends etc), and “get back out there”.
You gave yourself a chance. Whether you consciously did this, you were. You chose to.
When it comes to work, to employment, again it is about chance. You, being given a chance by an employer, that you are taking a chance on to be the right conduit for your talents, skills, and let’s face it, the other “c” that counts, your career development.
Taking a chance with an employer, and vice-versa, is sometimes a bit like a personal relationship. Sometimes it works out to be a marriage made in heaven, other times, it can turn out to be hell on earth. That is down to taking the right chance for you. Conversely, it is also about all parties making the right choice.
Choice and chance are bedfellows.
What should you consider?
These are some of the valid choices you may wish to consider when considering a chance of employment.
- What is it about a job that you should take a chance on?
- What are your driving motivations?
- What do you wish to achieve, by taking one opportunity, over another?
1). What is it about a job that you should take a chance on?
As with all things in life, you need to feel comfortable with what you’re getting into, whether it’s a new pair of jeans, a dress, cycling Lycra, a new house, or driving your new car. It is the same intuitive intangible “feeling”, of it being the “right” job for you.
It could be that it offers you the right WLB, (Work-Life Balance), the right amount of hybrid working, or back to full office working you crave. It may have the right career progression prospects to evolve your career further. It may offer, the right learning and development support to help grow your skills further. It may also offer the right environment to work in, nice surroundings, a great vibe, good teammates/colleagues and a culture. Or plainly, it just offers the right salary and remuneration package – that’s why you may decide to take the chance on the opportunity.
2). What are your driving motivations?
Before you enter into any process in life, whether it’s a job, a friendship, a personal relationship, or even an agreement to do anything; that will cost you the investment of your time, (your most precious of commodities – as once spent, you cannot get it back), your energy, demands on your focus, and desire to see things through, (no matter how well it may turn out), you do need to consider the chances of – whats in it for me?
A job for any business or any personal relationship commitment is a two-way street.
There has to be “give and take” in equal amounts on both sides of the “equation”. A job is a contractual obligation between two parties, as is a relationship, or friendship. The employer’s expectations are required to be met by the employee to carry out the role’s duties and responsibilities, and in return, you should have the proverbial tools to carry out these in return for fair renumeration, to be protected in the workplace, and supported as required for your efforts. If there is too much of “take” and no “give”, by either the employer, or the employee for that matter, the chances are things will not end well over time, for one party, or the other.
Therefore, do ask yourself the question “What’s in it for me” – it is a very relevant question, and not a selfish, or a self-centred one. There has to a be balance, so that you ultimately increase your chances of being “happy” in your work, your professional/ personal life, and your future career/life.
3). What do you wish to achieve, by taking one opportunity, over another?
Sometimes we encounter in our roles as a bespoke recruiter, a candidate that is an “attractive” people solution to more than one employer suitor. This is because of their potential reputation in a particular market, their performance record in their current/past roles to date, or their skillsets are a near-perfect match for clients’ criteria for an opportunity. Or, they are a good cultural “fit”, (or ideally all the aforementioned as sometimes there is such a thing as the perfect candidate).
With this type of candidate, or any for that matter, you need to ask them, (and yourself if you are in this situation), what do you wish to achieve if you take this job opportunity chance, over others you may have on the go.
One thing my team and I often do with any candidate in the process, is to ask them at the start of the screening for suitability, this question:
Without overthinking it, allow the first things to come to mind to be your answers – what are the five most important things you might need from your next job opportunity? To attract you to it, to make you feel motivated to get up to go every day, and what will it have to give you?
Now most people power to three answers easily, sometimes four things, but usually stall at number five.
However, these five most important things usually, (whether Freudian or not), reveal the true reasons a candidate will choose an opportunity over another chance, (if they have been truthful), it reveals the base rock that motivates someone to take a job opportunity, so an employer, or client, needs then to match these, or offer them, to have the best chance of onboarding the candidate.
We test that this does not change – through the process of interviews, or revisit later, to ensure that motivations, or one most important thing, is not being outpaced, or supplanted by another most important thing, that may then become a roadblock to a candidate choosing one job opportunity chance, over another.
This best serves the candidate and also helps us best serve our clients, to ensure that a candidate remains interested in the opportunity throughout the process.
Taking one job chance opportunity over another also is sometimes not governed by logic, career development, or money for that matter, it can be driven purely by an emotional state.
“I have always wanted to work there.” “They are a cool company to work for.” “My parents worked there.” “I shop/eat there all the time.”” I have friends who work there. “I love their products/stuff.” They sponsor my Football Team I support.” It’s in a part of the country, I have always wanted to live in.”
So, rational, or logical decision-making on why a person will take a chance on one opportunity over another, is then down to personal choice, and feelings, regardless of the other job opportunities benefits on offer on the table at the same time – and also it may not seem to anyone involved at the time, the Hiring team, the recruiter, that it is the “right one” for that person– but that candidate makes a choice, and takes their chance….
Recruitment is not a linear process, Hiring Managers the world over, and Recruiters for that matter, wish it was. On paper, as an exercise, it looks very similar to moving A from point B, to point C, but the chances, in reality, is that it is far more complicated than that.
We are dealing with humankind, the most wonderfully diverse, advanced lifeform on little ‘old planet Earth. Everyone is uniquely different, everyone has taken different chances in their lifetimes and made different choices to end up in front of you as a potential hire for your business, or to represent you as a candidate for your clientele.
Remember, it is now your chance to find out about them, make the right choice, as it is for them…..
Blog written by Matthew Reeves
