Focus on What You Can Control, and Be Confident.

Here’s a topic that applies to all of us: employees, managers, recruiters, and CEOs.

Ere.net recently published an article about hiring confidently.  It struck a chord because, as discussed in the previous post, not all employers are hiring confidently, and not all people are acting confidently in our uncertain economic times.

In fact, uncertainty and challenge can bring out the worst in people, cause them to abandon their principles, and do things they wouldn’t have otherwise done, such as in the case of the hiring manager in Ere.net’s article, who told each of her interviewees if it were up to her, she wouldn’t hire anyone.

Think of how her statement affected those job seekers.  Maybe they too became a little less confident in the market, the company, or themselves.

As the article mentions, the hiring manager’s doubt probably spoke to a company hiring process and policy she didn’t trust.

But whether or not she trusted the policy, deep down she knows she was wrong to spread the doubt to her interviewees.  In a perfect world, her company’s choices shouldn’t change her principles.  She should remain professional under any and all circumstances.  She likely can’t control her company’s hiring process, but she can control her reaction to it.

On another level, what made her mistrust her company’s hiring process?  Did the company have a plan in place that didn’t reflect the needs of the current economic environment?  Or was the hiring process also not based on principles, but a reaction to fear brought on by the recession?  We can only speculate.  But the hiring manager’s feelings suggest something was amiss.

The lesson here is to accept uncertainty, focus on what you can control, and use the knowledge you do possess to make principle-based decisions.  If you’re a company, hire fairly and wisely.  If you’re a hiring manager, represent your company (and yourself) well by sticking to the facts and withholding negative opinions.  And if you’re an interviewee, put your best face forward and know, with confidence, that when you put forth the effort and stick to your principles, you will succeed.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree that sticking to principles brings about inner confidence? What are some important attributes of a confident employer or employee, in your opinion?