Career Personality: Loyal Dog

6We’ve already discussed the theory here, as well as the following career types:
– transatory+: Tireless Kangaroo
– transatory: Wandering Butterfly
– spiral: Constant Chameleon

In this post, we’ll discuss the Career Personality “expert”: a person that hardly ever changes their jobs and tends not to pursue a managerial position.

This type might seem to be one of the most “obvious” or “predictable” ones, but to my mind we should differentiate between
expert types that are indeed motivated by pursuing expertise, recognition for their work and job security
“loyal dogs” that seem like expert types but actually stayed longer than intended at a job e.g. out of comfort. We will discuss this phenomenon in detail in a later post.

We have asked Sylwia Błaszczyk, Branch Manager at Devonshire:
Based on your observations and experience, how much demand is there for experts on the market? People who rarely change jobs and are narrowly specialized? How valuable are they as candidates? How well do they sell themselves during job interviews… that they rarely attend?

At Devonshire, we mainly recruit senior specialists, as well as mid and top level managers. Our clients are interested in finding experienced candidates on the market, therefore I am confident when saying, that “loyal dogs” are in demand. Companies want to hire people for a longer period of time because of the ROI. They have to take into consideration such costs as recruitment costs (irrespectively if it’s internal or external) or induction period. I’d say that experienced candidates who have been with one or two companies are definitely preferred.

As candidates, I would describe “loyal dogs” as follows:
– 10+ years of experience
– have worked in 1-2 companies
– not active job hunters
– reluctant to speak with recruiters

– motivated by security and therefore don’t see any reason to look for something new

Corporations know how valuable “loyal dogs” are and offer development possibilities were possible. The drawback? Loyal dogs run the risk of overlooking the moment when they fall into routine and stagnation. They miss the opportunities the market would have to offer.

As I’ve mentioned, loyal dogs are reluctant to speak with recruiters like myself. It takes me some convincing to encourage them to consider at least talking to me. Once they are interested and they are recommended to a meeting with their potential employer, I observe two phenomena:
1) due to their lack of “interviewing experience”, they give very short answers and may seem abrupt
2) they come across as arrogant as they are overly confident about their expertise. As they haven’t compared themselves to anybody on the market for a long, long time, they are not aware of the current realities.

Knowing that, I always try to explain the dynamics of an interview and the market trends so that they are not surprised by any questions, as e.g. about their successes or future plans.

With three short-listed loyal dogs who are similar in profile and experience, our clients will almost always choose the one who demonstrated openness and a motivation to change and develop.

Summarizing, loyal dogs are valued candidates. If you are one, and you are in a recruitment process, show motivation by being enthusiastic and optimistic. Show that you are open to develop.

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Lina (Career Angel for Latin America), what’s your experience with loyal dogs? Is there an amount of years that a professional should not exceed at a company? Otherwise he or she has little chances of finding another job?

In my view, staying at one place for too long is not good for a resume. In most cases, employers translate job longevity into fear of change, lack of pro-activity, or lack of flexibility.

Even if there is a good job opportunity for them to consider within the job market, it is difficult to attract “loyal dogs” to participate in search processes. Precisely because they have invested many years working for a single enterprise performing few tasks, they do not know how to approach new job opportunities, and when they do, despite their potential they usually do poorly on interviews.

It is important for “loyal dogs” to expand beyond their comfort zone, which implies challenging themselves and trusting someone who can guide them throughout the whole search process, and help them get prepared.

In order to increase the chances of finding another job, I suggest starting with the elaboration of a CV that shows achievements despite of how long the person has been in the job. Results are a proof of what the person has done within an organization. Adding references to the online profiles supporting good performance, and doing interview simulations to practice possible questions, for instance, will help to highlight skills and expertise. Furthermore, these steps will lower anxiety and stress.

—- update:
Read also:
Royal Lion
Busy Beaver
Lazy Sloth
Summary