Am I the best job candidate of all?
➔ The phrase goes back to the ancient Greeks, “Know thyself.” Plato and Socrates made reference to it as it was an accepted tome in their day. Much later, in 1750, Benjamin Franklin, in his Poor Richard's Almanack, observed the great difficulty of knowing one's self, with: "There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond, and to know one's self." The “Matrix” movies of more modern times also have leaned upon the concept.
How important is it in your job search?
The simple answer is very important. A recruiter friend regularly asks his clients “what do you want to do as opposed to what you can do.” The two don’t always coincide.
In today’s modern job-search world, knowing yourself – and knowing yourself well – may be more important, more critical and more vital than ever before. It’s a crazy, upside down job market these days with employers unable to find talent while people continue to search.
This is especially true for mature job seekers. The good news is that recruiters are fighting for your talent. And today, they have the ability to do a significantly deeper dive on you (and other candidates) than ever before. Think of the tools that they have today: Indeed, LinkedIn, Facebook, jobs boards, et.al. They may know more about you than you do.
Knowing yourself is just as important on the job as it is when you’re seeking one. There are those who claim that success is more correlated to confidence than competence.
In the end, you can’t fool anyone anymore. You have to know yourself. This may take some deep soul searching, but do it you must.
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