As part of some of the work we do at WomeninDefence.Careers, we come across people who are struggling with a sense of who they are professionally. They may be working in an organisation that has a certain external persona, and they feel the need to mirror that persona for themselves professionally and potentially personally.
Big mistake klaxon!
Whilst you may have a different persona, to an extent, for work, it detracts from who you are as a person. We all have these different personas that are a part of who we portray ourselves to be. We have slightly different personas depending on where we are. It could be a formal event, maybe a trade or industry event, maybe even it’s just if you are out with friends. These slightly different personas all make up how you are perceived by those around you. They are, in effect, a bridge to who your true self is.
However, these bridges shouldn’t be who you are, but rather a small part of who the real you is. In other words, it’s a link to your own version of authenticity – the authentic you.
This is so incredibly important in not only your personal life but your professional life too, especially when you are interviewing.
We completely understand the reticence you may have though. After all, you are trying to make the best of impressions so that you can be seen to be a great fit for a company that you might be trying to work with. However, maybe you should try looking at it through a slightly different lens.
Would you really want to be working in a place that didn’t appreciate who you are as a person?
Sure, a company can appreciate your skills; they’re going to bring in revenue, better service for customers, and probably more efficiency within that company. But for a company or a team to appreciate what a person brings to a team in terms of themselves? Well that’s much better right?
Forcibly, if you feel more comfortable somewhere you’re going to: feel more able to do your work, to push forward ideas for consideration, to truly embrace your role within the team that you’re in. It might well be a bit of a risk for you to not show your true self from the beginning of the interview process to really be thought of as a right fit for a team. What if it turns out that you were hired due to cultural fit but in reality, you have nothing in common with the team and, actually, they aren’t the people you want to spend time with, even professionally?
Being able to draw upon your own diverse backgrounds and how they have shaped your personality, whilst also showing how they benefit you and will benefit the company, is a huge bonus to share with interview boards.
If you’ve started your journey with a company under the guise of someone that you really aren’t, it’s going to be a hell of a lot more difficult to let the real you come out to benefit your team and the company you work for. More importantly, you won’t be beneficial to the most important person in the room – yourself.
Skills can be demonstrated through experience, and even to an extent learnt and improved upon when you are in the role. Personality and authenticity however – well that’s a feeling that you can only get from meeting someone and opening up the right page. And if that page isn’t read early on, those readers might just miss out on the most important part of the story.
