Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

I remember my job interview at 4PSA like it was yesterday. For a copywriter position, it was everything you’d expect: writing test, psychology test, past job experiences, and all around just good conversation. But there was one thing that I could definitely chalk up as a first.

I had gone through several meetings with HR before I finally sat down with the CEO. What I liked about this particular face-off was that it had meaning. I wasn’t being tricked into revealing myself (or at least I wasn’t picking it up). The man was genuinely interested in my beliefs, my passions, even my grievances. He was also very careful to tell me that my work – if I indeed got the job – would be challenging and, most importantly, how. That remark was the most assuring thing I’d heard during the entire three-day interview. And I realized soon enough that it was for all the good reasons.

What “buckle up” tells you is that the company you’re about to work for doesn’t play the lottery. It tells you that it sets its own goals with high hopes to achieve them, and that it wants cohesion and openness. A CEO coming forward with the not-so-pleasant aspects of working there is the single best indicator that HR wasn’t lying about the good stuff.

Lisa Brown Morton, CEO of Nonprofit HR, a human resources firm working with nonprofit organizations, agrees that being honest about the downsides of a job wins you a lot of trust as an employer.

“Show your culture proudly and truthfully. There are both positive and negative aspects of every position. While you should certainly emphasize the positive, being open about the challenges a candidate could face might actually help you recruit better, more committed team members who truly understand and embrace the job they’re signing up for,” she tells Inc.com.

According to Morton, new hires who quickly acknowledge the good and the bad are likelier to stick around. As far as I’m concerned, my experience confirms it.