Where Enthusiasm Fits In In the Workplace & Job Hunt, with Hanna from As We Are

Today I’d like to welcome the glorious Hanna from As We Are to the blog! Hanna is a careers and leadership coach, and she set up As We Are when she grew frustrated with all the diversity development programmes that were advocating for people to become good leaders by changing themselves. She believes that we’re brilliant as we are - geddit?! - and set up As We Are to make the world a better place via diverse leaders and happy workplaces. We’ve done a blog swap today to discuss how enthusiasm and work intersect (you can read my answers for Hanna here), so if you’re currently looking for employment and want to know where enthusiasm fits in - this is for you!

First things first: enthusiasm seems to have become a huge buzzword in terms of job applications & CV writing. It seems to be in every job application, but demonised on every CV. What are your thoughts on using it as a word?

I’m a huge fan of applying for jobs that you are genuinely enthusiastic about and I’m also a huge fan of being yourself. That’s why I believe that if you’re enthusiastic about something, you should say and be unapologetic about it! However, if enthusiasm isn’t a word that you’d use in everyday life, what’s it doing on your CV? If you pretend to be someone you’re not on your CV, you’ll end up in a job where you can’t be yourself.

How can you show your enthusiasm on a CV?

It’s time for us to put the generic ‘personal statement’ in the bin, I advocate using this space to demonstrate your personality and passion instead. Grab a pen and paper, write “I’m enthusiastic about this job because…’ and see what comes out. Maybe you love the industry because of the difference it makes to people’s lives, perhaps it’s a chance to flex your creative juices or you know you’d be great at it because you have loads of experience. This activity should give you the basis of a genuine statement of your enthusiasm.

You can also pepper enthusiasm throughout, for example in your career history you could add things like ‘I loved this job because XYZ’ (where XYZ has some relation to the new role you’re applying for!).

How can you show your enthusiasm more generally in the hiring process?

I’m going to repeat myself because I think it’s important, my advice would always be to apply for jobs that you’re genuinely enthusiastic about*. When you’re genuinely enthusiastic, it’s going to show.

During the interview, don’t just tell them what you did, tell them why you did it, this will allow your passion to shine through. And when it comes to your turn, ask questions that you genuinely want to know the answer to - follow your curiosity!

*I’m aware that sometimes we just need any job and I don’t want to minimise that experience, once you’re in, please do keep looking for something that you’d be happy doing so that your beautiful soul doesn’t get crushed.

What are you enthusiastic about?

SO MANY THINGS! I’m really into happiness at work (or ‘arbejdsglæde’ as it’s called in Danish!), I truly believe that we should all be able to spend our time doing things that we’re good at and that we care about. And I also think it’s time that we were all paid properly and that pay gaps were resigned to the confines of history. I’m fully aware that massive change is needed to make these things a reality for everyone - I’m enthusiastic about being part of that too.

On a lighter, but equally important note, I’m enthusiastic about jigsaws, reading, eating, the Spice Girls and views (I started an Instagram account just to have somewhere to put all the photos I take on my daily walks around North Wales! @nwales_walks if you like that sort of thing).

Why did you set up AS WE ARE?

Because I was sick of seeing development programmes that were trying to change individuals and make them more like the people we already have in leadership. I want to see workplaces and politics full of diverse people that truly represent our society. I want everyone to be able to be themselves and succeed without having to pretend to be something they’re not. Because I think we’re all brilliant… as we are.

Check out As We Are here and follow her on instagram here!