Go beyond the job description. Once the recruitment and selection phase has ended and the employment relationship is solidified, only then do most people discover the true demands of a new job through a process of trial and error. Coming to terms with these brutal facts can derail a new employee’s success if the reality severely contradicts their expectations.
While it may be true that this double reality of work is unavoidable at some level, a realistic job preview can reduce the surprise factor and help avoid the painful blind-side effect of a severe mismatch. Start by going beyond the job description and analyze a position with core questions to reveal deeper details, such as these:
1. How does this position contribute to the organization’s overall success?
2. What unique contributions will the successful candidate make to the team?
3. What subtle challenges confront a person in this role?
4. What unique capabilities does the candidate need to succeed?
The goal of questions like these is to spark a different kind of conversation, one that exposes the known complexities of the position and limits the remaining pockets of ambiguity to those unavoidable circumstances that can only be tested on the job.
