Pounding the Pavement Series: Start as You Mean to Continue

How are you all doing this fine Monday? I will be sharing weekly notes as I continue my search for the perfect job-home. I call it Job-home since I will be spending a significant amount of my time and energy in this amazing workplace. To start, I found an article that perfectly articulated my thoughts:https://hbr.org/2015/07/pitfalls-to-avoid-when-you-inherit-a-team.

So instead of going over old well-covered ground, I will say this one thing: Start as you mean to continue.

This seems like a no-brainer, right? But what happens during the interview process? It's like a first date. Both sides are putting their best foot forward and hoping that the flaws that they find later will not be deal breakers. So my advice to myself and others in their job search is succinct: Bring your real self to the interview, because that's what you will be bringing to your workplace everyday after you land that job. It saves so much time and energy when you are just being yourself. AND it helps you make your decision easier. If your new boss and staff like the real you at the interview, imagine how much they will love you when they find that you are exactly who and what you say you are. Be authentic. Be responsive to issues and take into consideration how your team is run when you get there, but stay true to your mission. Don't say Yes to something you feel strongly should be a No. If you do, have a strong justification for changing your tune.

But for now I find myself turning back to Shakespeare again and again: "To thine own self be true And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man"

What about you? What motto or mantra have you found helpful while looking for or working in your Job-home?