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It should be up to you to ask, not up to them to disclose every duty up front.
I don't entirely agree with this. If you advertise something, anything, I believe the onus is on you to be transparent in what you're "selling". If you intentionally withold information or mislead, then you are culpable. Meanwhile, it is also one's due diligence to inquire and gather information about what is being sold. However, you don't always know what to ask, or what information you're even looking for. You don't know what you don't know.
Bottom line: both are responsible.
Last edited by -Chatterboxx-; 09-21-2018 at 10:59 AM..
What would be your alternative advice then? Not only to this, but to any adversity one may face in their personal or professional life.
"Give up!"
"Run and hide."
"You're the victim here."
You're literally criticizing people who are encouraging OP to step out of their comfort zone and be a better version of themselves. Why? What is the alternative? OP doesn't step outside his/her comfort zone, gives up on this potentially great job opportunity, all while still cultivating his/her fear of public speaking? Does OP really win in that situation?
OP has a choice in this matter. They can take this opportunity, or they can pass on it. That said, I don't know why you'd attack those who are encouraging OP to improve, ultimately telling him/her that "we have faith in that you can do this, you just need to have faith in yourself". But maybe you can help us to understand better why this is the wrong approach.
I would advise OP not to do anything that makes them physically/mentally ill, so much so that he/she needs to take anti-anxiety medication. Period. That not healthy for anyone and not worth a small bump in pay or a better job title.
I would advise OP not to do anything that makes them physically/mentally ill, so much so that he/she needs to take anti-anxiety medication. Period. That not healthy for anyone and not worth a small bump in pay or a better job title.
I have a fear of flying. Terrified, in fact. At my worst, I was taking anti-anxiety meds and heavily boozing up before a flight. However, I started a new job not long ago that required some domestic travel. Believe it or not, the regular flights have actually allowed me to become more comfortable with flying. I don't need to take meds anymore, and I don't need to booze up before flights either. I'm still nervous, but I cope better. This has been a blessing in disguise. Not only has it made more more comfortable to visit my out-of-state family members, I am also much more prepared for my upcoming 8+ hour international flight for my honeymoon with my wife. I can't imagine what would have happened if I told her we needed to cancel because I was too terrified to accompany her, and that we could never travel together again for the remainder of our marriage.
I'm suggesting that maybe it's okay (and more healthy) to occasionally take on your fears head on, as opposed to constantly allowing yourself to run away from them.
Last edited by -Chatterboxx-; 09-21-2018 at 11:04 AM..
Sometimes HR doesn't always get the duties part correctly. Or even the job title.
You have to remember that HR almost always gets the job description from someone most familiar with the actual position. Many times I had to supply the details of a job and someone else in the company would do the actual posting. More times than not, HR knows very little about the job requirements of a position outside their sphere of influence.
I don't entirely agree with this. If you advertise something, anything, I believe the onus is on you to be transparent in what you're "selling". If you intentionally withold information or mislead, then you are culpable. Meanwhile, it is also one's due diligence to inquire and gather information about what is being sold. However, you don't always know what to ask, or what information you're even looking for. You don't know what you don't know.
Bottom line: both are responsible.
I think if someone is terrified of giving public presentations and it would be one of their deal breakers then the onus should be on them to ask.
I think if someone is terrified of giving public presentations and it would be one of their deal breakers then the onus should be on them to ask.
OP said this task wasn't listed in the job description. Again to my point that you don't know what you don't know. How do you ask questions about what you're not aware of? The job posting for my current job didn't mention anything at all about traveling for client meetings and company affairs out of state, and it has been about 10-15% of my job thus far. I'm in analytics, not sales or account management; so it didn't even occur to me that I would be involved with travelling on-site. I didn't even think to ask about it, because it wasn't at the forefront of my mind when I was investigating this particular job. I had questions that were of much higher priority to me at the time.
It would have been a simple and reasonable inclusion in the job description to point out "...and present analytical findings to team in weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual meetings."
That said, I think it is also reasonable for the OP to expect to ask about all "public speaking" responsibilities going forward, given this example here where it wasn't explicitly mentioned in the job posting. OP now understands that this is of much higher significance to them, so it's probably important to include it in their list of interview questions going forward.
Again, this isn't an attempt to let OP off, or taking sides. I'm just pointing out that both parties involved could have done a better job.
No, if a skill is critical to the job, it should be listed in the job description. Period.
And for a third time, not everything a person will do is ever listed in a job description. Get used to it.
Complaining that "the job description should have been written different" isn't helpful. Job descriptions will always be at a more broad level, they will always miss details that you personally want in them. Welcome to the real world. Complaining about it doesn't change anything, and isn't beneficial.
This is why interviews exist. For each side to talk to each other and find out if the job is right for them.
And for a third time, not everything a person will do is ever listed in a job description. Get used to it.
Complaining that "the job description should have been written different" isn't helpful. Job descriptions will always be at a more broad level, they will always miss details that you personally want in them. Welcome to the real world. Complaining about it doesn't change anything, and isn't beneficial.
This is why interviews exist. For each side to talk to each other and find out if the job is right for them.
I think the bolded is the most important take away from this entire thread. The point is that it did eventually come up in the interview process, which is a good thing. It wasn't as if OP took the job to only find out a few months in that he/she would be putting together monthly presentations to large groups.
I have a fear of flying. Terrified, in fact. At my worst, I was taking anti-anxiety meds and heavily boozing up before a flight. However, I started a new job not long ago that required some domestic travel. Believe it or not, the regular flights have actually allowed me to become more comfortable with flying. I don't need to take meds anymore, and I don't need to booze up before flights either. I'm still nervous, but I cope better. This has been a blessing in disguise. Not only has it made more more comfortable to visit my out-of-state family members, I am also much more prepared for my upcoming 8+ hour international flight for my honeymoon with my wife. I can't imagine what would have happened if I told her we needed to cancel because I was too terrified to accompany her, and that we could never travel together again for the remainder of our marriage.
I'm suggesting that maybe it's okay (and more healthy) to occasionally take on your fears head on, as opposed to constantly allowing yourself to run away from them.
Kind of a false equivalency as getting up in front of 300 people making a presentation isn't quite on par with sitting in a plane reading a magazine by yourself, but I hear what you're saying. Fear is fear. This would be OP's job, which for many people is the center of their universe. If I had a job where once per month I would have to do something I absolutely dreaded, I simply wouldn't take the job. It's that simple. And if it was something that made me so upset I needed medication to calm down, then I REALLY wouldn't take the job!
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