Before You Hire Someone, See How They Treat Strangers
Knowledge is power, but character shows how we use it. Anyone can pretend to be an expert, but the real test of a professional is how they treat those who know less, have questions, or see things differently. In my exchange with this person it quickly turned into personal insults about education, career, finances and the future, rather than a respectful dialogue. That isn’t professionalism, that’s ego taking over. I’m sharing this because people should know how someone behaves before deciding whether they can be trusted with their business. Here are the screenshots of the full conversation. Have a look and form your own view. If this is how they treat a stranger in a first chat, it’s worth considering whether that level of professionalism is what you’d expect from someone you’re paying for advice.
His name is Shashank Gupta and he represents his firm Reality Advisory.