If you are reading these lines it is must likely because at some point in your life you have been involved in a selection process. From school, where teams were made to play in the yard, to when we were divided into groups to do class work. Ringing any bells?
How did we feel if we were among the first chosen people? And what was going through our heads when we were not among the first? But most importantly … What criteria were used to choose? Well, in one way or another, there was a large percentage of competency based choosing in that decision-making.
Experiences that have somewhat shaped part of our developement
We grow up and we continue to go through selection processes. Not only to work for someone else but also when you decide to do it for yourself, which then becomes an evergoing process for each client you introduce yourself to.
However, we are not usually taught to manage this process, to hold ourselves in value and to think that we too can choose at some point … or a large percentage of the time.
Speaking from our “curriculum” is great but it is still an emotionless role. And many times, although we consciously know that we are the person with the right profile to do what the company demands, we do not always have the chance to prove it.
Those of us who have gone through this process of search and constant movement, know that there are many moments on that path that implies feeling alone in a world that may or may not realize we exist.
What if we are not the chosen ones? What if they discard us without having had the opportunity to get to know us better?
This is a common situation given the number of people who apply to existing offers. And there comes a feeling of failure, of loss of confidence and of reaching our weakest side. The reality of many is that we cannot always allow ourselves to stop for a few days to regain strength and many times we have to reconcile that internal speaker that constantly reminds us of our weaknesses with an exhausted search of alternatives. So you end up losing touch with your inner power and telling yourself that you lack resiliance.
But … what if the opportunity comes to show what you know and who you are?
Rest assured that you will also become an adaptable and flexible person because the process can take a long time and what you hope will be days, can turn into weeks or even months. Possibly the recruiter will have many urgent and important issues, but you need information for your peace of mind and at the same time you do not want to be overwhelmed. You will learn to manage your emotions in a forced way and you will be on a roller coaster where you will be able to hold on tight when the right time to getting off arrives.
The moment comes when get a YES and that’s when you put on that mask of “oh yes! I can handle everything ”even if inside you want to cry like a baby. You will start by cultivating patience, for a moment you will have forgotten if they had commented on the start date, schedules, skills of your position, payment, emotional salary … but it does not matter because at that moment you will learn again to look at uncertainty in the eyes. Be patient, because sometimes nothing happens and it can take weeks for onboarding.
When the day comes to join your dream space, chances are that you are tired, that you haven’t slept much. And that tingling in the stomach will be almost more powerful than if you had your first date with the person you like.
Among thousands of things, as it happens in a romantic first date, we can assess the two broadest possibilities that can happen:
- The ideal date … you feel assured, the details have been taken care of, they pamper you and tuck you in. And the best thing is the generation of new possibilities and opportunities and the projection of wonderful dreams.
- The date does not go according to your expectations and you feel moments of loneliness. You try to get help, but the whole team is busy running around putting out a thousand fires. Do not worry because then you will develop your spirit of learning, improvement and responsible autonomy like never before. It is possible that your heart will break in a few weeks and you decide to run out of there, although it may also happen that you decide to give it a new chance because your values and your goals are aligned with the project, with the team and because deep down you know that you have entered there with a purpose.
