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When you’re excited to start a new job but your boss is nothing like they presented themselves in the interview.
Last week I talked about how interviewers should want candidates to be themselves during interviews. We want radical candor in the workplace, but expect people to sugar coat things during their interviews.
Prioritizing the opposite of the behavior we desire.
But I glossed over something: Interviewers shouldn’t hide their personalities either.
A contact of mine started a new job recently. He was excited about the company, the initiatives, the people, the work.
And his manager? A hands-off, even-keel forward thinker.
Then the start date came.
PLOT TWIST: his boss turned out to be the exact opposite.
A daily micromanager with the gut instinct to fire anyone (or at least threaten to) at the first sign of a challenge.
We are who we are. Some people micromanage too much. Some fly off the handle. These are things you can work at, if you have the self awareness to know it’s an issue.
But if you’re presenting yourself as a different person in the interview phase: you clearly know it’s an issue. But instead of doing something about it, you’re misrepresenting yourself.
????No one wants to start a new job only to find how you’re not who they thought you were.
And it’s not going to last anyway.
Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.
Repeat after me: do not talk politics at work. Or on LinkedIn.
Or in job interviews. Or on first dates. Or at Thanksgiving dinner.
Unfortunately for those of us in the business world, 2025 ruined it. There’s just no way around the fact that tariffs are the issue driving the business climate right now. Every client, candidate, and partner is asking about it—or struggling because of it.
So maybe, just maybe, talking policy isn’t just okay—it’s necessary. Dare I say, productive.
So get ready for a little nuance from Jeff Smith and James Hornick in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 107, “Talk Policy, Not Politics”
Episode 107