A little self reflection might do you some good
Recruiting is an aspect of HR that you either enjoy or hate. I love it. It is so much fun for me. It can be frustrating, but most of the time I find it interesting and a learning experience. I also hope that I am better at being the one interviewed now that I am the one conducting interviews.
The one thing I notice from some candidates is that they don’t seem to have any awareness of how they present themselves. They come in and commit some elementary mistakes that I’m surprised anyone would still make. They act bitter or bash former employers, they seem unmotivated, they talk too much and about inappropriate topics, etc. It makes me wonder if they monitor their own behavior at all. What reasoning do they use to make sense of all the rejections? And then it occurred to me that they probably are not trying to understand it at all. I’m convinced these candidates never stop and examine what they might be doing that could be causing them to interview so poorly.
Self reflection is necessary to be able to improve yourself, but you have to be self aware enough to admit that you might be doing something wrong. If you blame everything on other factors outside of yourself, you’ll never learn. When I was interviewing for my first HR job out of college, I was told by a recruiter that she didn’t think I would be tough enough to fire anyone. I still find that hilarious. I am not one to shy away from confrontation. But her comment made me question how was I presenting myself in interviews. What was I doing to make people think I couldn’t handle the unpleasant aspects of HR? What did I need to change in my demeanor to demonstrate my professionalism? Once I figured that out, my interviews went much better. However, if I hadn’t taken the time to reflect on myself, who knows if I would even be in HR right now.
So, to all my candidates out there, take a little time and turn a critical eye on your own behavior. It might do you some good.
