|
 A word to the wise, never ever ever be honest with your boss about your shortcomings. Or something that might be perceived as a shortcoming. I know this is hard to believe, but I can be a bit of a shy introvert. I was a painfully shy kid, but my father beat that out of me (figuratively) real fast. "Life is all about showing up," "Everyone thinks you're a snob," "You can't just sit on your ass and read all day," etc. So while most people don't believe that my default personality is Introvert, I assure you that that is indeed the case.
Which brings me to my topic.
My colleague Dave and I were having an "honest" conversation with my boss about our job responsbilties (we're content managers at a website.) We'd just touched on the concept that our strengths and weaknesses "balance each other out." My boss wanted examples. I can't remember what Dave said, he probably skirted the question since he has a stronger survival instinct than I do, but I said, "I don't like making the cold calls to managers and publicists because I'm a bit of an introvert." I did manage to fit in my strengths: "Understanding the client's needs," "Writing all text, bios, news synopses," "Finding the right picture to go with a story, " (you know, "girl" strengths - are these skills ever treated with respect? No) and we had what I thought was an open and honest dialogue about Dave's and my job responsibilities, and what we might look for in a future candidate for this position. The meeting started to wrap up, we did a recap of the discussion, and my boss said, "Ok then. No introverts." Ok then. Maybe he didn't realize how hurtful that was, and how much he had just insulted me. I mean, was he or was he not saying that he didn't want to hire anyone remotely like me? Perhaps I'm taking this too personally, but how can one not? I'd just revealed a weakness and he stomped all over it. So remember, no matter how much you might like your boss, how friendly you are with him/her, don't ever reveal anything that could be construed as a weakness. They will latch onto that and use it against you whenever possible.
|
 - large.jpg)
