In the business world, and in public and private situations, the question often arises: what are your expectations? Whether it be during something as demanding as a job interview. Or mapping out professional goals. Even the unspoken simplicity of buying a new pair of shoes.
Interviewing for a new job entails a whole list of job-related points that need to be covered in one form or another, as the Q & A progresses. The prospective employer’s expectations are that you, as the prospective employee, will meet these professional conditions, in order to be considered as a viable candidate for the position.
The one tool that many job seekers fail to recognize and use is: what do you, as the interviewee, expect from your potential, future employer? If you don’t ask that question, your potential dims before you are even hired.
Employers perceive a person who asks multiple questions during the interview as someone who can think on their feet. Not just the stuff about pay, or benefits, but about things like the company’s primary objectives, and about the type of employee they see as desirable.
Employers want to know that you have the potential and motivation to fill positions above the one you are applying for. Even several levels above.
As your career expands over experience and time, your goals naturally change. You may start out taking a job that pays the bills, and not much else. If you are like me—and most beginners in the workaday world are—your concern is more about survival than it is about prestige.
More experience, though, means more responsibility, which, in turn—your expectation—should mean more financial rewards, both in terms of money and benefits. Concurrently, adjusting your goals—your expectations—forces you to take stock of what you presently have to offer your employer.
Are you growing? Or are you “sitting back on your laurels,” as the saying goes. Coasting. Biding your time; waiting. Expecting something new and better to come along.
If you let them, expectations will become stumbling blocks in your career!
Buying a new pair of shoes, however, is not as simple as it sounds. Size; color; design; “style-o-meter” ranking. Comfort should be the motivating factor, but sometimes we “unconsciously” choose style over comfort. Our unspoken expectation, in this case, is that we will be seen as socially-conscious, or trend-aware, and be accepted.
Acceptance being the key word. And that is where you can go wrong, with any of the preceding, expected behaviors.
If you are constantly seeking acceptance, you have no time left to be exactly who you are. A creative and talented individual, independent and free thinking.
And your expectations should align with that same self-image. Expect to be fulfilled—and be fulfilled. Regardless.
© Copyright 2024 Frank Walters Clark
