On the subject of my post Dos and Don’ts of Talking to a Person who is Looking for a Job. Anyone caught delivering motivational speeches or a strategic advice of any sort should be rounded up to protect the public. With all the motivational speakers off the streets there is a hope for the economic recovery.
Let me explain. The rules of the game changed so dramatically that whatever script the motivationlists have been reading from, ain’t no longer working. The best motivational speakers are trying to convince themselves, hoping that repeating whatever carp there are saying, will improve their chances of actually believing in the bs. Most of them never held a regular job. And even if it worked for them personally in the past, as I wrote, there is a new game in town. More importantly there are certain truths that don’t report to change, despite the depression and the recession. As always and forever only three things are still working – cash, contacts or real leads. If a motivational speaker doesn’t include any on the three in the no power / no point presentation, they might as well shove it. Take the bastards off the streets now, protect the society! With ten million of them off the streets and off the tweets there might be just enough jobs for the rest of us.
Illustration via gaping void
- Further Reading:
- 55% of jobs lost by the currently unemployed are gone forever
- The Moral Grade of the Recession
- The National Job Listings Show Improvement
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree that many motivational speakers are out of touch with what's going on in the current job market. I work in a career center, and we see firsthand the realities of this recession. You're missing a crucial point, though – which is simply that the most concrete job leads in the world won't help you if your attitude (or your resume, which is where advice CAN be helpful) sucks. I work directly with employers, and they all say the same thing. Whether you're talking with someone who could give you a real job lead, schmoozing with someone who could refer you to someone who could give you a job lead, or interviewing for an actual job, your attitude comes through, and if you seem surly, depressed (understandably so, but that's irrelevant to employers) or generally negative, you're much less likely to get that referral – and much less likely to get a job. There's a lot of competition out there, and the people who are getting jobs in this market are the ones who have a positive attitude in addition to the specific skills required. And many discouraged and frightened job seekers are helped by words of encouragement that motivate them to keep going, so that they can eventually (no, it won't happen as soon as they'd like) get a job.
Laurie, yours is a very good advice, a common sense motivational guidance I appreciate and admire. When I wrote the post I was reacting to the “Twitter Gurus” that use snarkie quotes and have the mannerisms of a preacher. The positive attitude is so important, alas it not always can be manufactured. But I also think there a nuance in the interaction between job seekers and a potential employer. No only a job seeker send no verbal signals and often he or she is only reacting to the negative signals they pick up from the employer. It is often too easy for the employer to blame it on the attitude when in fact they themselves created the uncomfortable interaction, or were dismissive about the potential job seeker in the first millisecond of the date.