You don’t have to be perfect to get a job
You just have to be loyal
by Ivana Džamić
Recently I`ve read a great text about employment and the way people go through the selection process. As the title says, and the conclusion of the text as well, sometimes it pays off to hire somebody because of their personality rather than skills they possess.
I`ve been both in a position to look for a job and to assess somebody`s skills and suitability for certain job. I have to admit that neither position was easy as it may seem. It is necessary to be impartial and patient, as I have already mentioned in one of my previous texts. Hypothetically speaking, if you are a CEO in a company or a leader, it is obvious that you want what`s best for your company, or if you are somebody who simply wants to be successful, you also have a need to be surrounded by the right people.
What I truly believe in is that each of us, before earning the status of an employee, should earn the status of a truly good person.
However, if you are surrounded by the right people, does it also mean that the right people are only those who bring profit to the organization, startup, firm, agency or the human values can be above material values? This question inspired me to deal with this issue and to try to puzzle out the human nature in a business setting. I don’t want to go too much into the topic of business since I’m not a professional, but I believe that the foundation of a successful business is a good strategic decision- making and, in a way, a tendency to take risks.
However, when we employ people, it is important that people we potentially let into our business world represent the image of our organization values. Since there`s always that BUT, we have it again in this apparently logical assumption. Will we keep the truly good natured people if they are average in their work performance, or we want the employees who are focused on their own interests but who bring profit?
I believe that when you have an average employee who has a good performance, you can always improve and work on his personal growth and development. When you have an employee who is a bad person but has an excellent performance, you can just hope that they will be satisfied with what you can offer them enough to keep them loyal.
In organization there is always a question of how to keep the employees motivated, and it`s a complex issue which I would rather leave for some other time, but it is important to mention that there are two groups of employees: those who are motivated by material values, i.e. people who are driven by economic stability and people who are motivated by personal development and improvement within the company.
And, I have to say, both groups of employees perform well, but you can`t expect those who are motivated by material values to put their heart in your team. It can happen, but it is important to have that in mind and place such employees at the positions that will help your company`s financial development, because if you give them too much freedom in other sectors, such people often won’t be able to give their best, or they will manage to perform well in some other position that is slightly better paid.
This brings me to the beginning of this topic; if you have an average employee, who feels as a team member and who can define themselves through the success of the team, you have the material you can seriously work with and make progress. It`s not a myth. We all want economic stability, but what differentiates people is the boundary they are ready to cross in order to accomplish something individually, while causing somebody else to be at loss.
And that`s the bit which makes a huge difference in the business world. The world of business is cruel and it is difficult for people who possess truly human values to survive. However, it is important to recognize such rarities and actively invest in them. Sometimes it is difficult to keep the good people at work because material things overshadow what`s important the most-to be a good person.
Organization can be observed as a family. It has a system of values, has its members and it is important that they represent the organization. But, the same as in the family, sometimes one member is different from every other members and such member needs more attention. The same is with employees; there are no universal characteristics of employees that could define them as excellent. All those shades give you the opportunity to work with them in order to provide later the entire specter of colors which make the organization authentic.
The cruel truth is that nobody will look at your organization or project in the same way you do. After all, you have created it, maintained it and took it to the level where it currently is. Others can help you maintain that level. What I truly believe in is that each of us, before earning the status of an employee, should earn the status of a truly good person.
With people like that you get a chance to cooperate and actively work with them on their development, and thus development of your own organization. Don’t forget that success of your company depends on cohesion of its members and team loyalty, and far less on people who are focused on achieving their own profit and material values.
