It's All Right to Regift Presents, But Not Your Talents

We've all been through the drill after the holidays. All the presents are unwrapped, scrutinized, and then some are... returned. Or regifted. Certainly if a gift can find a better home, you should send it on to its rightful owner. The gift-giver took their best shot at predicting what you might like and missed. No harm, no foul. Although, if we don't like the gift, how likely is it that someone else will?

In the job search, you need to be careful about regifting yourself. This means to be selective about how you present yourself and to whom.

I recently had a friend ask me about an open position I was sourcing for a client company. She'd been told her department was being phased out, and she was actively searching for her next job. As much as I would have liked to submit her as a candidate, her background didn't provide quite the right fit. In our discussion she shared her experiences with me. There was definitely some overlap between her skill set and what the job required, but not an exact match, and she was definitely missing some key required skills. In essence, she was "regifting herself."