The Uncertainty of Hiring

Gilding the Lily. It's a term my grandmother used all the time. Its true meaning is 'to unnecessarily add decoration or embellishment to something already beautiful or perfect'.

But she didn't use it like that. My grandmother used it to describe something that was a more honest (and far more widely used) form of a lie. A fib if you like.

With June 30th tomorrow and SME finance front of mind, I thought I'd share my top 3 on both sides of the 'fibs' uttered during the hiring process. For full disclosure, I only know about hiring for the finance sector, but I imagine these (or a version of these) are universal and have been uttered in one form or another in the last 12 months.

See if they resonate...

• 've listed 'CPA member' on my resume (but won't tell you I haven't paid my fees for the past 10 years unless you ask me a direct question regarding whether it's up to date)

  
  

• I'll give you the impression that we are super flexible employers (but won't tell you that we've had this full-time in-office role open for months and now we're desperate, so I'll let you know anything)

  
  

• I'll mention I've got 'deep experience in XXX sector' in the interview (but won't tell you it was for a temp position that only lasted 3 weeks, 5 years ago. Please don't ask me too many questions about this as I deftly try to steer the interview onto another role that I haven't embellished.

• I'll allude to the fact that we'll review your rate during Probation (but then continually kick the can down the road for six months without giving you clear comms as to what needs to be done to secure it in the hope that you'll stop asking for it)

• I won't disclose that I'm going on a four-week holiday, that's booked and paid for, three months from now (but will assume that telling you in my first week means that I have fulfilled my employee obligations and that now it's your problem)

• I'll tell you that your 'exceptional cashflow skills and your ability to remain calm in a storm' are critical for the role (but I won't tell you why and how it relates to this role in particular until you get here and you're full of the cake we've bought you to celebrate your first morning tea)

There's nothing wrong with any of these statements. Just what people deduce from them when stated in an interview. Is everyone being lied to? No, I think it's human nature to be selective with facts when there's something they need.

Being transparent, brave, and ethical enough to be honest during the hiring dance to ensure that you both know what you are agreeing to is vital in any role. But in a finance role, it's critical.

I know some people do this in dating, too, but let's keep to this topic.

It's about transparency.

And courage.

And values.

All the things you want from the get-go, particularly when you're managing other people's money.

And this gets every relationship off to the best start.