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MUST HAVE CAREER SKILL: Fake It Until You Make It...

On the interviewing track in a big way at Kinetix, and one thing keeps emerging...

We don't interview enough for adaptability on the fly.  Winging it with intelligence and confidence. Saturday_night_live_cast_season_one_image__1_

Faking it until you make it....

Now I know what you're saying.  Kris, faking it is bad.  People need to know what they're doing.  They need to be trained. We owe that to our people.  We can't ask them to fake competency that they don't have.

Here's the problem with that stance. Your talent - my talent - is faced with at least 5 conversations a day if not more) they don't have experience in.  Training for all the things that require adaptability on the fly is not possible.  

That's why the best hires are the ones that aren't afraid to jump on a call or in a meeting where they have limited subject matter expertise and wing it. 

Winging it - and faking it until you make it - is street code for facilitation.  

People who can facilitate and participate in conversations where they have limited subject matter expertise - and become more knowledgeable by the minute while that conversation is going on - are the ones worth their weight in gold.

Hire someone with the ability to fake it until they make it.  It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to think about some improv activities as part of what you do to develop people with that in mind.

Comments

Sue Meisinger

Ha! Just spoke to two business school classes, and explained the importance of learning the art of the bluff. Look calm and confident, and then go figure it out,

Directingedge

I agree, confidence can overrule everything. Having lack of skills is not an issue. The way you present your skills, bring the real difference.

Madeline Danielle

Bluffing is an art that can only be mastered by responsible people, in my opinion. It's one thing to show skills you probably don't have, but it's another one to do it and know it's going to work. Not everyone is ready to accept what you say at face value, so the most important thing to keep in mind here is having backup. It's one thing to lie and another one to bluff, don't you agree?

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