My hobby is fitness and I have been lucky enough to also work in the industry outside my day job, as a recruiter with people2people, based in Melbourne.
As a Group Fitness Instructor and instructing a group of people, one of the key elements, as it is with recruitment, is authenticity and making a connection. People can easily pick up when you aren’t being yourself, it’s a protective mechanism, which other species use to sense danger. That’s why when we meet someone and we can ‘feel’ something is not quite what we expect, we instantly retreat.
This is something that easily translates to our everyday jobs, especially if you are constantly engaging with hiring managers, job seekers and colleagues, as I do. When interacting with customers, job seekers and colleagues, of course, it goes without saying that it’s essential to present yourself professionally, I also truly believe you need to be authentic. This will better connections, resulting in better business relationships.
When I joined the recruitment industry, I could sense when I did not have a connection with a job seeker but I was hesitant actively address the situation, because I couldn’t identify the reason why. I’m sure that the job seeker also sensed it too, I wasn’t being authentic, I realised I was nervous and I should have addressed this.
SO, the moral of this blog is to STOP TRYING! Stop trying to be funny, stop trying to know everything, stop trying to force a connection. These behavioural traits are meant to come naturally and they will, if you just remain authentic and let your personality shine through.
