Who do you think you are?

Ok, don't read that title as a threat that is normally said by the villain in a movie, but with a calm tone!

Whilst reading Jay Shetty's 'Think Like a Monk', I came across a quote by Charles Horton Cooley “I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.”

*mic drop*

I found that quite powerful, would you agree?

Today, in a world where nurturing mechanisms supersede our nature, whether that's our family, friends, the media or incidents around us, it's a constant battle trying to remember our true nature. We not only tend to give in to the perceived perception, but follow mottos like 'fake it till you make it', quite literally.

What I found quite intriguing while letting this quote sync in was how I have seen the application of our perception in action in my day-to-day life. Having worked as a recruiter and now in HR, the questions we ask candidates are somewhat the same. One of the questions I've never asked myself but have been asked in interviews is -

"how would your family and friends describe you?"

Now, I know what you're thinking, and I've already got you thinking about this differently, but hear me out. The intention of the question is to understand the perception of your personality to others, so the employer can really understand how you would fit into their organisation and culture. But what the question forces us to think is what do I think others think of me!

As an individual sitting in that interview applying for a job that I want to do, why do I need to give evidence of my personality through somebody else's experience. I am not proposing to change the system in its entirity but simply giving you something to think about.

Do you really know who you are? How would you answer the question at an interview - who are you?