Happy 2009! Can I still say that? Wow, sorry I have been in the basement a little too long. I have appreciated the encouragement via emails to get you a blog entry and I think I will proceed with that.
The job environment, the whole thing is kind of swirling with negativity and bad news. I would be lying if I told you that doesn't get to me some – however, I have the key, the solution, and the panacea for the downturn. Are you ready for the solution? I mean, really.
The answer in your life, in your career search, in your quest, is PEOPLE. You need to be talking, sharing, networking, and taking stock of the relationships in your life. You need PEOPLE and they need you. I mean, people who need people – aren't they supposed to be the luckiest people in the world? Sorry. Anyway, this fear that has many of you completely gripping needs to be vanquished with some networking and reassurance. Where do you get some of that? PEOPLE. You need some people in your life that will listen to you. Who are they? Can you list them?
Some of you need to get some new customers. The relationships that have dried up – let's make more. This is not a time sit on your ass. So if you are in sales or looking for a career move, perhaps it is not only PEOPLE but PROSPECTING. I know I need to be careful not to sound parental but let me digress and I think it is time for a new paragraph.
Many of us make the mistake that PEOPLE care. Some PEOPLE do. Some PEOPLE don't. Again, who are they? Before we launch into some fear gripping, economy sucking, my career is tanking, what about my credit rating conversation – let's ask ourselves – does this person really care? Shouldn't you know that. Shouldn't the level of concern you want the intended listener to possess be in direct relationship with the transparency of the bitching? Many of you are looking for compassion and empathy in your sales call or on the job search. And yes, I have made this mistake before. Does your customer really care about YOUR lack of production? Probably not.
Does the HR generalist care that you are desperate for a gig? No – she has a job. FYI – you can bitch to HR about your premiums going up once you are employed but don't bitch that you have to complete an application, even though you are an exempt six figure dude or she won't give you the chance to bitch about your premiums going up. She just won't.
I am not even sure where this blog started or what it became but I came here, I said it, you read it. Dare, I say – I think you may also want to PRAY in this time. Not that – please – geez – how about this nugget of wisdom? Christ said in the book of John – "…in this world you will have trouble" – wow – no kidding, eh? My point is – perhaps as you navigate the tough times - start with some PRAYER or whatever you call it, maybe for the strength to do some PROSPECTING for better relationships, the right PEOPLE, whatever PEOPLE you need. The right PEOPLE are the key for you and me in this marketplace and any marketplace. So go find them.
I like it, Andy. You call for discernment. Some people care and some people don’t. The question is, who cares and who doesn’t? Even with enough discernment to know who cares and who doesn’t, the issue of how to engage these two groups of people remains. One key to engagement: respect.
Although it seems that we’d all love for the business-y people in our lives to be the kind that care, that’s not the way things are. Truthfully, the majority of people that you or I come into contact with in the course of a business day DON’T care. They simply don’t. This isn’t wrong. It’s not selfish. The fact is that they don’t have the time; they don’t have the energy. They have kids that have basketball and a house with a mortgage. They have a car with a payment. They have a job that they have to do. They have friends and family. They have lives, too.
The people that have even an ounce of care–those are the ones that can hurt: although they care right now, talk too much, call too much, email too much, or are markedly unprofessional…and suddenly they DON’T.
See, the people who don’t care, couldn’t care less. People who don’t care are at zero on the “concern-scale” and can’t go negative. They just won’t return calls. If an inappropriate voicemail is left for people who don’t care, they can still swing into the other side of the scale: the “irritation-scale.” More likely, they just won’t return a call.
On the other hand, the people who do care can and probably will care less if they’re bothered, abused, or otherwise harassed and exploited. When a person is treated unprofessionally, the “unprofessional person” becomes a liability. Even friends have to consider their own livelihood. Why would I refer an acquaintance if he or she badmouths an old employer to me? If that acquaintance does that in the interview, not only is my acquaintance a liability, but suddenly I might be too. (As an aside, the people who don’t follow the pattern of caring less are known as “saints.” They actually care more. If you know one, spend as much time as you can with him or her.)
Finally, Andy, you’re point about Christ…I dig it. “In this world you will have trouble…” For sure. The question is, How will I respond? How will you respond? And will we be respectful of people, whether they care or not? Will they be listening to our response at the end of the day, whether on voicemail or at dinner? I hope so.