Our HR person asked me if it would be alright if they referred someone to me who was thinking of making a career change.
Of course it was okay.
So this lady and I had coffee on Friday afternoon and it was so good for a number of different reasons:
- I like being the person that people refer other people to :)
- The actual conversation, as far as her career, was good and I saw she had a number of aha moments. It's like coaching for me; it comes so naturally for me to join the dots.
- She seemed to instinctively know she could trust me implicitly and spilled quite a bit about her life, both career and personal.
- I had a brainwave about 3/4 through - she would be perfect for the role that I declined so I got back to my desk, emailed the guy and told him "I have someone who I think will be really good in that role", connected them and she has since sent him her CV. And here's the best...
- She thanked me at the end of our conversation and said it meant so much more to her than just a career talk because I'm so inspiring. Well, that just made my day and I practically skipped up the stairs.
Now let's talk about secrets...
If there's one quality I can absolutely claim, it's that I am Fort Knox with people's secrets. I won't even share with D unless the person said it was okay.
I've found that in the corporate world, you can trust virtually nobody. If I sound jaded, it's because I am :)
I personally have become very guarded about sharing anything significant with other people because although I mostly have good people instincts, I'm still wary because my (very) trusting nature has been burned in the past, big time.
But enough about me, can you keep a secret? And do you trust easily?
Ooh well done! That's a wonderful feeling to help someone out like that :) I get that a bit with my students, often they approach me wanting to talk about their project, but it turns into a discussion about their personal life and how to problem solve for them.
ReplyDeleteYes! I can and DO keep secrets very well. I think it's an endearing quality to have people know they can place their trust in you.
I am pretty good at keeping secrets. I have the "do onto others...." mentality in that regards. I agree with you that in the corporate world secrets are not kept. And I guard my secrets at work. I am not much of a "sharer" when it comes to my own life anyway, so it is easy. I have become a lot more open, but I would rarely (read never) share a detail about my life with someone that would make my uncomfrtable if other people knew. I think that sometimes people don't even mean to tell - and I would hate to start off conversation, or interrupt them, with "please don't tell anyone, but...". I sometimes think that people should have the decency (not the right word) not to feel the need to share things you told them with others, and be able to realise what parts of conversation are to be kept confidential. I do.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Once in a while I've had someone referred to me and I've been lucky enough to hook them up with the right people to talk to.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are very very inspiring!!!
I'm good with other's secrets, and even though I know I can talk a lot sometimes, I don't really tell any secrets of mine. I usually reserve my secrets for DH. He is my best friend and we talk about everything!