In the words of our CEO, Ken Hicks, “ I think it is so important in this industry to have confidence mixed in the same glass with humility.”
Let me give you the backstory on this comment and why I think it’s so important to share it all with you regardless of what industry you’re in or what side of the table you sit on (candidate, interviewer, CEO or recruiting coordinator like myself).
Ken had just gotten off the phone with a candidate who was interviewing for a spot on our own team. On paper, the candidate was qualified to do the job but in conversation he came off dismissive and full of himself. These are not the attributes we are looking for in a team member and, I might be bold enough to add, aren’t the kinds of qualities hiring managers are looking for either.
As a candidate, it is important to come into an interview with a sense of confidence that you can do the job and do it well, but it’s also just as important to admit that there are areas you can grow in. We do not in fact know it all.
This was confirmed recently while talking with a hiring manager who mentioned how he liked to ask more junior candidates harder questions he knew they (most likely) wouldn’t know the answer to. Why would he do this? Because he wanted them to have the ability to admit they didn’t know. Hiring managers aren’t
looking for you to know everything, but they will certainly want the kind of employee who will ask questions and be willing (dare I say excited) to learn something new.
Humility shouldn’t be determined by your position-- at every level and pay grade humility is a valuable quality. It makes for a more pleasant working environment and allows for better service to be given. Humility allows you to see everyone as worthy of your attention because everyone has something they can contribute. It also adds a level of courtesy because it puts someone else before yourself.
Confidence and humility is the special sauce Broadwing brings to our clients AND candidates.
What’s your special sauce? We’d love to know!