Why You Don't Need to Be Perfect to be the Perfect Employee Anymore?

A lot of us come from a generation where we were educated to be the best in everything we did: best student, best sports player, best employee, and so on. Our parents and educational institutions were focused on instilling that if we had the best grades we would be more likely to progress faster and better in our careers. Unfortunately, for many, growing up wasn’t that straightforward, right? Little did we know that the world would shift so fast and that this mentality would completely affect people’s well-being and their perception of what a career means.?

Being a professional in the digital world means that you no longer play by the same rules you were taught your whole childhood. You can no longer focus on being the best version of yourself, but being the faster one. How many of you had to adjust, in a blink of an eye, to your own specialty? What you studied back in University is no longer what you apply today to your jobs. Not even close.

It is a constant hustle between being always updated and outstanding. And… sometimes, one and the other don’t go well together. Unfortunately, many employers still expect their employees to know everything about everything and that plays a very damaging role in our lives.

There is a new motto that we need to start learning and practicing more often: you don’t need to be perfect to be the perfect employee your company needs.?

Because?you are not your job.

If many years ago people would label others based on their position and success, today priorities are different. Not because people don’t value their careers anymore, but because people are becoming more aware of what’s truly important: family, emotional and physical health, and self-discovery. Despite the higher stability and job security rate in the digital sphere, people’s understanding of their priorities shifted slightly.?

And because?perfection is a Myth.

It is pretty obvious that everyone wants to get their chance to shine. Most of us want to be great team players, super productive employees, and get the invisible badge for the “employee of the month”. What most people don’t realize is that striving for a non-existent perfection is highly damaging to their mental health, to their productivity levels, and thus to the final delivered result. Lots of people are often compelled to say “yes” to everything because they think that a “no” will make them less worthy of the place they have, and they stop focusing on what is truly important: the value they bring to the company.?

Nowadays people have to be just enough so that the company that took them in can mold them to their own needs, culture, and values. As professionals these days, we all have to be absolutely ready to learn new things and keep our doors open to new challenges. Sometimes, those challenges and new learning are going to be completely out of our league, and some people will most likely fail, at one point or the other. And that is okay too. If, many years ago, failing was seen as a disaster and a step back in someone’s career, today failing means progress and many companies are starting to embrace that.

You see, there are little shifts in mentality that have a huge impact on people’s performance and on their professional and personal growth. Accepting that failure is natural to happen and realizing that you can only thrive from it is what makes you desirable to be hired. And just as failing is no longer a synonym for getting immediately fired, self-learning should be at the center of our existence as professionals in the digital scope.

Why is self-development important?

For one, being the best student in University is great, but it will not dictate your future anymore. You will spend most of your time on this Earth studying. The faster the digital revolution and transformation happen, the faster you will need to adapt your knowledge. A way to guarantee that everyone follows this train of thought is investing one’s time in self-learning: on the job or at home.?People can’t see self-learning as an obligation towards the company they are working for, but as an obligation to themselves. It is in your best interest to make sure you are always qualified to be recruited.

Every day that passes by, new jobs are created. Jobs most have never heard of. We know it is scary falling behind, but it is also amazing getting this many new opportunities to shine. The best thing is that nowadays everyone gets a chance to catch that opportunity. Whether you went to University or not, you are just as ready as everyone else to grab all opportunities because of tons of material and courses available on the Internet. By no means, we are saying that the Internet is the new school. What we are trying to say is that even if you didn’t get the chance to study in a University, chose the wrong path or just weren’t in the right mindset when being there – your chance to get a great career didn’t end there. As long as you are alive, you are just as good! Not perfect, yet just as capable.

Although hard skills are still highly important and should be highlighted on your resume at all times, the truth is that these days recruiters are becoming more focused on the person (soft skills) and not just on the cover of your diploma. For instance, showing that you are a great listener and a great communicator, agile, fearless, and ready to become better is halfway to succeeding on your job. Despite your professional focus, you should never forget to develop your soft skills. This depends only on you. Only your will to improve your weak spots will make a difference.?

At Load, this is precisely what we cherish and try to make it a big part of our culture: we hire people and make them professionals. You can learn more?HERE.

You see… This very sudden Digital Transformation in so many companies did make some things more impersonal and mechanized. Although some processes are based merely on data, what many companies fail to communicate is that the more digital their processes become, the more human and down-to-earth people they need. It is a balance that must be kept so that digitalization keeps on serving its true purpose:?humanity.

You can find the original article HERE.