During my many years as an executive recruiter, I have seen what fear can do to people.
It can (figuratively) paralyze them. It can cause them to believe things that are not true. It can cause them to act in irrational ways.
And I’ve seen it hold them back from going after the things that they deserve.
This was recently proven once again, and I’d like to relay what happened as part of a case study in this newsletter.
I called a candidate about an opportunity with one of my clients, an opportunity that was better than the position she currently held. What made it better? It offered more compensation and greater responsibility. Not only that, but it was also located geographically where the candidate said she would rather work.
The person in this new role would report to the head of the business unit. At her current position, there were three people between my candidate and the business unit head. Following a face-to-face interview, my client was interested and wanted move the candidate forward in the process.
However, the candidate declined. Why is that? She was intimidated by the role. She was afraid that she would not meet my client’s expectations.
The hiring manager, on the other hand, could not disagree more. The manager was really interested in this candidate and was disappointed that she did not want to move forward in the process. She was already on the short list of candidates and had an excellent chance of receiving an offer of employment.
However, the candidate allowed fear to dictate her actions, or in this case, her inactions.
The reality of the situation is that the candidate is underpaid and is paid less than her peers. She’s allowing herself to get stuck in her current position, which offers limited opportunity for growth. She had an option—a better option—and she rejected it before she even had a chance to see where it could go. After all, no decision needed to be made until there was an offer in hand, but this candidate chose to make a decision before even seeing what the company could offer her.
You have to step out of your “comfort zone” in order to grow, and that includes professionally. Sometimes that entails changing companies and moving to an employer where the opportunity for growth is better than where you are now.
The fact of the matter is that good things rarely happen when you base your decisions on fear. It’s only when you overcome fear and instead choose to do something that makes you uncomfortable that you truly experience satisfying rewards.
Every day, people choose to live in fear instead of going after the things that they truly deserve. I’ve seen it happen many times during my career, and this latest instance is just another illustration of how people sell themselves short.
Have YOU sold yourself short? Do you have limited growth opportunities where you currently are and you feel as though you deserve much more?
Don’t let fear hold you back. There could be an opportunity for you at another organization—one that’s more fulfilling and that will allow you to grow your career in new and exciting ways.
Don’t sell yourself short and don’t allow fear to dictate your decisions. Step out of your “comfort zone” and take the first step toward the satisfying rewards that you deserve.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of organizations. If this is something you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.