polish vs. personality

open role: head of demand generation

• series a, $21m in funding and $5m in revenue

• demo software built for pmm and product teams

• reporting to the ceo, partnering with the head of pmm

• $250-300k + equity with a real shot at head of marketing

interested? apply here

polish vs. personality

over the last decade+ of my career i’ve gone through an endless process of learning how to be myself at work, while also being polished and professional.

at the start of my career i had no polish. i dressed like a teenager, argued like a child and let my emotions be known at any moment. i did great and was regularly a top performer (averaged 160% to quota in my first sales job), but all of my internal relationships were on edge and i ended up getting fired for posting a craigslist ad selling llamas and miniature horses under a coworkers name/number i thought sucked (worth it - got me into recruiting…)

then my next job i swung to the opposite end. slacks and button ups. haircut every monday. shaved every morning and left my personality at the door. something had to change if i wanted to be successful long term and i knew that i was the problem.

since then, i’ve been on a journey toward balancing my personality with my best presented self. while i feel like i’ve personally found it (always working on more polish), i’ve noticed a massive trend of folks in the workplace, especially on linkedin, trying so hard to stand out as themselves and ditch the polish, that it almost seems as if they’ve forgotten what polish is in the first place.

it seems that business culture (and culture as a whole) has decided that polish is a mask. that presenting yourself intentionally well, is a facade.

nonsense. polish isn’t being fake. it’s taking what’s already in place and emphasizing the best traits to be presented.

personality isn’t the opposite of polish, it’s what goes inside the vessel of your life. cheesy, i know, but you get the point.

when we’re working, the point is to utilize our strengths to add value to someone/something in exchange for resource. but somewhere during this saas/ai renaissance (renesaas? renAIsance?), we’ve decided that our whole unfiltered self is what our work life gets.

the reality? your own friends don’t even enjoy your unbridled pErSoNaLiTy. they too wish that sometimes, just for a moment, you’d just shut up.

so… what does this have to do with hiring and interviewing and recruiting?

hiring managers:

there seems to be 2 camps of hiring managers.

one camp is overly personal. i promise your kid/dog/plant isn’t that cute.

the other camp is overly serious. you treat your work like the world depends on it.

overly personal? start thinking of your best traits as a leader and ask yourself, “is this obvious in my interview cycle?” and no, “servant leader" or “human-centered sales leadership” don’t count.

what strengths do you have that actually matter to the candidates role?
how are you going to positively impact their career trajectory?
what do you have that they need to truly win?

empathy, compassion, grace, might be your super powers, but if thats all you have you might as well be running an after school program for children.

are you a ops wizard? brand pro? baller out-bounder?

what can you actually offer to them that they actually need day to day at work?

that needs to be your focus. when they hang up with you, they should exactly what you have to offer them besides a big smile and an awkward hug.

too serious? for everyone in your life’s sake… just tone it down.

i can almost guarantee that everything at work isn’t as serious and intense as you make it out to be. it’s just a job and it’s just business. it’s not life or death. it’s not that serious. so if you’re gonna do something and get paid to do it, might as well do it with people you like and give them a reason to like you back.

ask yourself” why do people like working with me?” and then focus on it.

when a candidate leaves your interview they should be excited to work with you,

candidates:

for the most part, candidates struggle with being too unpolished in interviews.

too laid back? if you’re like me, you need to button up a bit.

• know what the company does (lol) and be able to explain coherently

• do your research on who you’re talking to and their background

• come prepped with questions to ask the interviewer

• sit up straight & don’t vape (happens often)

tldr: show up and try. make it obvious you prepared for the business side of things. if you’re wondering if something is appropriate, just don’t.

not personable? if you’re getting passed on for a culture fit and you came prepared/felt like the call went well, chances are there’s a soft skill disconnect. were you humble or arrogant? kind or cold? did you make the hiring manager feel small when they asked ‘obvious’ questions or did you lean in? while an interview is a 2 way street, they have 5 lanes and you have a sidewalk.

do they want to make small talk? give it to em’

do they want to know about your personal world? light up about it

do some basic psychology and mirror a little.

an ounce of effort goes a long way here

TLDR: synopsis

regardless of what side of the interview table you’re on, the other side deserves your polish and your personality. seeing one as a strength and the other as a weakness will always hold you back from doing great work with great people. you can have both but you have to be willing to bring both.

music for your friday

imo billie eilish is wildly rated and her brother is an insane writer/composer. they wrote and recorded this song in jr. high and high school lol. if you don’t get how impressive that is, i can’t help you