Career Cube Blog

Seems like a simple concept doesn’t it? Many of you are thinking—I’ll just take the job and mold myself into whatever they want—I don’t care!

That’s a dangerous trap.

I know someone who recently had to have several “course correction” talks with a new hire. The hiring manager knew from the interview that this candidate was capable of doing the job, but would have a lot to learn about advertising lingo and understanding some of the more advanced functions of Excel. During the job interview, all of these topics were brought up and discussed. The candidate was hungry for the position because he had been out of a job for several months—and living in NYC. Not the place to take a career siesta.

The problem was that the company had been honest in their expectations with the candidate, but the candidate wasn’t honest with themselves and their expectations of a job that would be a good fit for them.

The candidate did have a good number of the skills to make him successful in the position. From a behavioral standpoint—his past job experiences indicated that he was willing and able to dig in and learn new things on his own and enjoyed a challenge.

The problem was that the pace of the advertising industry was much faster than other places he had worked. If you’ve ever traveled to the South or West Coast, you know that the pace of life is completely different than the Northeast. He wasn’t from NYC, and had a hard time keeping up with the speed of the requests that came across his desk. Now this candidate may not have had the job experience that told him that he wasn’t cut out for a fast-paced environment, but for his sake, I certainly hope he investigates his future positions.

How would he bring that up in an interview you might ask? He could say something like–”Can you describe what a typical day would be like in this job?” or “If you had to give a one-word description of this job, what would it be?” “How many accounts does this position handle?” Anything that would give him an idea of the pace and scope of his job responsibilities. Also, look at the pace of the hiring manager. If he or she seems to have time to spend with you, and your conversations are casual and laid back, then that’s also a good indicator of their management style. If the hiring manager seems high-strung, then chances are they’ll be on your back to keep up. If you’re OK with that, then stay in the running for the job. If that makes you uncomfortable, then you’ve gotta bail.

Think about what you want in a job. What you really want and will be miserable without. What you are prepared to walk away from the table without if the company doesn’t have that quality.

For me, it’s working for a micro-manager. I can’t do it. It’s a very bad scene. If I was in an interview, even for a job that looked fabulous, and it came out that my future boss is a micro-manager, I would walk away from the position and not look back because I know I would be miserable working there. If the micro-manager boss wasn’t there, I would take the position, but since he or she is—I’ve gotta pass. It’s as simple as that.

So be honest with yourself, and if in an interview you end up uncovering something that you don’t want in your next job, and you know it’ll drive you insane, then walk away. You’re better off leaving now to continue the hunt, and avoid having a 4 month stint at a company that turned out to be a complete disaster.

by Melanie Szlucha

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