Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
After interviews with potential candidates for several roles, I learned that it is critical to ask them to not only be honest when talking to me, but it is crucial to be transparent. According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, “transparency is characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices”. Recruiting is a business practice and also a transaction. If you want it to go smoothly and well, you need to do things right. As a recruiter, I can never emphasize enough how important it is that a potential candidate shares anything in their lives that could potentially impact the job, such as a side hobby/job. If you are transparent, I will always try to help you and advocate for you.
I recently encountered a situation in which a candidate never said to me, but disclosed to the hiring manager, that a couple of months out of the year he has other jobs/side job hobby commitments, in which he would not be able to work at all. The hiring manager of course was startled to ask for my opinion, and I said I think this is a red flag.
At this point the transaction has failed. Once there is no transparency, I have lost my trust in you (the candidate), and as your recruiter, I will not vouch for you anymore. I do not know what else you could be hiding, if anything else is there, but I can’t trust you anymore. If you are not selected to move on in the process after this, the time and effort put in from every part was just a waste. Was it worth it?
No one said that moving/applying to another job was going to be easy, but it will be easier if I am on your side.
Please, let's be transparent.
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