I’ve been obsessing this week about the concept of ‘fit’.
You know those super-comfortable old shoes that you can wear all day and not notice at all because they fit to perfection…
Apply this same idea to what we do each day.
So much in life can seem ill-fitted. The tasks we have to do at work that are way outside our best strengths and our particular interests. The sense of strain because the organisational purpose and values don’t match up to our own. Whatever the particulars, when it’s not right, everybody knows it.
Conversely, when we find ‘fit’, it is heavenly!
The context for my particular obsession has been using job-fit assessments and helping companies to develop job benchmarks – defining the abilities, interests and personality that would be spot-on for each role they are hiring (or promoting someone into). In essence, we have been painting (broadly) the picture of the person for whom each role might be a perfect fit.
Often we think of that as for the hiring company’s benefit – which of course it is – but I’ve been considering it from the applicant’s perspective. Far from being seen as a hindrance or obstacle to the applicant, anything which gives some objective feedback about suitability for the role they may be heading toward must surely be embraced.
Why on earth would I want to apply for and get a job, whether as a promotion or with a new employer, that I was going to soon discover was like a pair of shoes bought slightly too small. I thought they’d expand into comfort over a few weeks but they never did!
I love the concept of fit. I love the feeling of working in a role that’s perfect for me and I love seeing that happy ‘fits like a glove’ outcome when someone starts a new role and both hirer and hiree agree it’s a perfect match!
Nick Howes 