On Sunday I was at Lucy in Disguise in Austin, Texas with my family.  We were doing a walk for a benefit cause early in the morning and finished before lunch so we decided to do a little exploring.  We decided to walk around South Congress Avenue.  If you aren’t from Austin or have never been, you need to know that South Congress has it all.  It reminds me a little of Haight Street in San Francisco.  Piercings, Tatoos, Cross Dressers- you name it.  It makes me giggle and also makes me appreciate how eclectic Austin really is compared to other cities.

Lucy in Disguise is a costume store.  It is open year round and if you ever need an outfit for a party, you can find it and rent or buy it there.  When we walked in everyone was already in costume.  Now people in this store do not mess around!  All of the associates were in full makeup and some of them look like they just came off the set of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  My kids were a little freaked out, but my wife and I assured them it was just makeup.

Now the funny thing about Sunday was that it was early.  Sunday is usually the day everything slows down a little bit.  They didn’t here!  I stopped and thought about it and I asked one of the ladies dressed up- what time did you get up to put on that makeup?  Did you get up at 8 AM?  It seems like you put a lot of effort into looking the way you did.  The associate said “Actually, yes.  Funny that you said that.  It was 8 AM when I started getting ready for the day!”

Now as a writer and a recruiter, of course I started thinking a little further about what I just saw and how I could relate it to recruiting.  I started thinking about how more often than not, we all put on some kind of mask when we go to work.  We pretend to be someone we are not.  We obey rules, and although frustrated we go though life compromising who we really are as individuals.

I know what you are saying.  That is deep.  Well, it is true.  It amazes me how we all have a tendency to say “Yes sir”or “Yes Ma’am”  to all of the bullshit that we deal with daily.  We put on our masks and act like everything is okay.  You know it is crazy. Why oh why do we do that?  Are we trying to please people?  Are we trying to mitigate risk?  We are cheating ourselves.

I see so many people EVANGELIZING someone else’s product or service when companies don’t give a crap about them in the first place.  As someone who has been laid off and watched close friends get laid off it is a mute point.  They are going to do what they are going to do, because it isn’t YOUR product!  You are helping someone else get rich and the minute they don’t need you, they will make you feel like it is your fault things didn’t go well.

Let me tell you, they are brain washing you!  It isn’t your fault.

Take off your mask.  Be yourself.  There is no need to pretend to be someone else and try to please everyone, because you CAN NOT!  If  the company doesn’t agree with what you have to say then make a move.  Life is too short to be miserable.

The great thing about 2015, is it is an employees market.  Someone will value what you have to say.  Someone will value your opinion.

I am not saying jump before 90 days, but if things aren’t changing, do yourself a favor.  Don’t cheat yourself.

@willrecruits

 

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