The Dangerous Undertow
One of job hunting’s well-kept secrets is the “undertow.” While it may go by other names, the undertow is potentially one of the most dangerous dynamics you may face during the sometimes long, arduous process of finding your dream teletherapy job. What is the undertow? Keep reading.
The Undertow can be triggered when the employer or headhunter calls you with the good news, “We want you!” The excitement this triggers has the capacity to suck in many an anxious job-seeker and whirl them around causing them to lose their bearings. Why? Because it is so intoxicating to be liked and appreciated.
If you are employed, you may feel that your company takes you for granted, but this new employer is paying attention and complimenting you! As we all know, praise goes to the head very quickly. This is the undertow. Your human need for acknowledgment and approval is being massaged, and you can be sure that no one ever likes you as much as the manager about to make you an offer.
That is why the undertow is so dangerous. It can undermine every last fiber of common sense within you. It’s why so many people take teletherapy jobs that don’t match their talent or credentials. It’s so easy to miss the red flags staring you in the face once you are swirling inside the undertow. Your clarity and reason become replaced with the fleeting pleasures of the ego.
Perhaps you need to become a bit more aware of those red flags so that you don’t get sucked in. Below are two of the more common ones Do either of these experiences ring a bell?
1 – Does the company clearly understand why they are hiring you for the teletherapy job?
Did you ever leave the first interview excited, thinking, “This is so cool, the CEO is a visionary”? Then, after the second interview, you thought, “This is confusing, the Clinical Director sees this position entirely differently than the CEO. They don’t even have this clear between themselves. What do they expect me to do?”
Realize that when there is no internal consensus regarding the teletherapy position for which you are being considered, (not to mention where the company is heading), your best move may be to bail out before you get entangled in a mess of which it’s hard to extricate yourself.
2 – How heavy are they emphasizing the vetting?
Selecting a new employee consists of two equally important parts. While vetting a new prospect is critical and ostensibly the primary component of the interview, the candidate needs to be sold on the job opportunity as well. If it isn’t worth the time and energy to sell the prospect of the company, why is he/she worthy of consideration in the first place?
If the interview is so imbalanced towards vetting you to the exclusion of selling you on the company, then it is unlikely that even if you land the job that you will enjoy it. You want to work for a boss that clearly understands that without talented, thinking employees the company has nothing.
How to Escape the Undertow
Once you are in hot pursuit of that teletherapy job, it is highly unlikely that your radar won’t become impaired. It would be wise to enlist a coach, or if not, a friend who is willing to be brutally honest with you. Share the interview conversation along with all of its details. Only in this way can that other set of ears recognize if there is truly something amiss.
Whereas you may think you want to work for the company that has you convinced that you are appreciated, you need to fact check the experience. If you don’t, it’s only a matter of time before you come to the painful conclusion that while your ego may need that massage, your long-term happiness in the teletherapy job is contingent upon something far more substantial!
