Career Advice

TMI: How Personal is too Personal?

Posted by Shell
min read
Tmi

They say honesty is the best policy, and I am a firm believer in that.

Talk to anyone who knows me on a personal level, and theyโ€™ll tell you Iโ€™m a very open and honest person. However, there is a clear line between being honest and over-sharing. This is definitely tricky and can be difficult to discern at times, but one of the best ways of figuring out this dilemma is by asking yourself:

  • am I truly comfortable disclosing this to a potential employer/my future boss?

Or moreover,

  • is this morally appropriate to say in a professional setting?

Even with those questions, you may just be someone whoโ€™s quite comfortable at disclosing anything and everything about yourself which can be quite refreshing โ€“ but if youโ€™re wanting to get the job, you need to ensure that youโ€™re putting your best impression forward. That means having to really think about whether what youโ€™re saying is particularly relevant to the question that was asked.

Here are a few general tips to remember:

DONโ€™T:

  • go on long-winded, unnecessary tangents

  • give out specific names of (ex-)colleagues/clients/customers and talk about their personal lives

  • talk about an ex-colleagueโ€™s failings and what they did or didnโ€™t do

DO:

If you can sense yourself starting to ramble a little too much or you feel like youโ€™re droning on and on, youโ€™re probably at that point of over-sharing. As much as the potential employer/hiring manager/recruiter youโ€™re interviewing with may be nice, welcoming, and approachable, that doesnโ€™t mean they arenโ€™t oblivious to what you are revealing about yourself and your previous experience. After all, their job is to discern whether you would be the right fit for the role.