WILL BEING MORE ASSERTIVE HELP YOUR TAX CAREER, ASKS RICHARD CURTIS
What’s that old Rolling Stones’ record that was going through my mind the other day? Oh, yes! That’s right: You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
Well, if you work in tax you may already know that. Can’t get your clients to send in information on time (‘I’m trying to run a business you know’); can’t persuade your colleagues in accounts to let you have the detailed information you need to prepare a tax computation (‘we have to get these accounts done within budget’); can’t get that pay rise you were hoping for (‘we’d love to but there’s a recession on and times are difficult’).
And we haven’t even started on your personal problems. Perhaps we’d better not. Just remember: you can’t always get what you want.
Or can you?
Turns out that you may be able to after all; all it takes is ‘a little reprogramming’. According to Gael Lindenfield in Assert Yourself, unassertive values and thoughts must be replaced with a ‘more positive philosophy’. But as Gael warns, while becoming more assertive will help you to communicate more openly and honestly, it does not guarantee that you will always get what you want.
Know your rights
This is confirmed by Mark Lee, chairman of TaxAdviceNetwork.co.uk. ‘While we are used to seeing aggressive characters getting their way on the screen and maybe even in the office, it’s not a good way to act during an interview.
Furthermore, it’s unlikely to be a successful tactic when negotiating a pay rise or dealing with clients – even the most difficult ones. I have long remembered the rationale for being assertive. It means you recognise that although the other party may have rights, so do you.
When you act aggressively you deny the other person their rights; when you act submissively or non-assertively, you deny your own rights. If this sounds like you, assertiveness training might be of benefit. It’s hard to respect non-assertive interviewees or professional advisers.
‘Of course, this is easier said than done. Many of us have worked for an aggressive boss who we think revels in his ability to bully us. This may force us into a non-assertive stance. It will rarely enable us to get the best outcome.’
The fine line
As a recruitment consultant, Alison Tait, director of Georgiana Head Recruitment also thinks that there is a fine line between being assertive and aggressive and candidates often don’t realise when they cross it.
‘Candidates go into an interview with the intention of selling themselves and getting their point across, but occasionally this can come across as aggressive. If they’re not careful they can be perceived as being difficult to work with and not a team player. Bizarrely it is sometimes the less confident candidates who receive this feedback, possibly because they are concentrating so hard on not coming across as quiet and unassertive that they have the opposite effect.
‘We rarely encounter a physical bully in our profession, but more commonly someone who humiliates colleagues in front of their peer group or superiors. We often see junior candidates who have experienced this sort of treatment at the hands of senior managers and partners and as a result are looking for a new job.’
William Hepworth, senior consultant, taxation division at Morgan McKinley agrees that it is good for candidates to be assertive, but not aggressive, in the recruitment process. ‘Being assertive is a sign of confidence and can help the candidate to create a market for themselves by preparing well for interview, asking lots of questions and making the consultant/interviewer aware of their requirements, reservations, time frames and so on. It is important for candidates not to let this develop into an aggressive approach, which can end up being counter-productive.
‘As budget approval has been difficult over the past couple of years, the pressure has been on hiring managers to make a successful hire. They have been asking for more CVs and interviewing more candidates, in a bid to find the perfect fit for their vacancies. With the perception that there is a large pool of candidates to choose from, the onus is on the candidate more than ever to persuade the manager that they are right for the job.'
Dynamic and driven
Although Mike Longman, principal of Mike Longman Recruitment, isn’t totally convinced by everything that is written about the importance of ‘cultural fit’, he does think that interview candidates should assess how dynamic and driven an organisation is and, among other things, how assertive they want their employees to be.
‘When I was in practice and interviewing candidates for senior positions within my firm I would occasionally ask the classic interview question “where do you see yourself in five years?”. More than once an aggressive reply of “sitting in your seat and running the practice!” from a candidate who had otherwise failed to impress saw them quickly talk themselves off the shortlist.’
Conclusion
So you may now be thinking that with a little mental reprogramming you could be projecting a more assertive version of yourself and that this could be done by some training or self-help exercises. This can certainly help your career, but perhaps we should conclude with Mike Longman’s word of warning:
‘While it is tempting for candidates at interview to want to portray an image that they feel the interviewer wants to see, if that means they have to act as a much more (or less) assertive character than they really are I query whether this is a good idea. In the long term, joining a very dynamic organisation if you are very laid back (or vice versa) is unlikely to lead to career satisfaction. My advice is, always be yourself.’
