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June 15, 2010 Volume 7-No 6 Issue

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A Different Perspective  

by Codis Hampton II

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These are days of high unemployment among all Americans.  Those who are employed are left wondering how long they will be allowed to remain on the job.  It’s a type of economic environment that causes certain anxieties within our country, cities, neighborhood, and indeed within us.

 The obvious question is what would we do?  That’s assuming you and yours are still employed or running a viable business.  We wonder how we will care for our families and ourselves.  We feel for our relatives and friends who have lost a job for one reason or another, but it’s not the same…as when it’s your household.  One may even be able to maneuver the choppy waters of having to cut a budget in half when your significant other loses their job.

Yet it really hits home and becomes very personal when you lose your job.  In fact it matters less if your mate loses their job than it does if you lose yours.  Who makes the most money between the two of you surely matters when it comes to your household budget. How will you meet the monthly obligations to your creditors, etc., etc?

That’s not quite what I mean. The question to ponder is what happens if I (that would be you) lose my job? What does that do to my self esteem? How do I go about trying to find another job? And the big one….How do I sell myself?  How will I be able to convince a potential employer that I (not the other…let’s say 25 to 30 other people applying for that same job) am the one they need.  I, not those other people will perform at an exceptional level that you, Mr. or Mrs. Employer will be forever grateful that you picked me as the one.  Indeed you will remember this day.  Because this special day will mark the day you picked me as the best person for this job.

Whoa!  Do you have that type of confidence? Can you exhibit it when you walk into an interview?

It is that type of assurance of your talent or experience that must be communicated to any representative of the company in which you want to work.  Don’t be fooled by the word communicate for communications can be non verbal as well as verbal.

The way you enter a room, take a seat and posture while sitting is a way to communicate. The phrases you use to explain a problem or answer a question along with the mannerism used to make your point are taken into consideration.  

 In other words, a job seeker must be at the top of their game when applying or during the interview process. And as we all know, perfection may not be enough these days.

So…back to the issue at hand. How good are you at being rejected?  Now that is personal.

I have friends who tell me they killed at the interview.  They left them laughing in areas where they should have been amused and more than impressed in the skill and experience areas.  Yet they did not get the job.

 So are you ready for rejection?

We hear stories of actors, entertainers, writers, and other successful people in all walks of life whose first advice is that you have got to prepare yourself to be rejected.  It’s easy to say you can handle it and another to experience it especially if you know that you are worthy of that particular position.

No pain, no gain comes to mind when trying to sum up why you need to keep on trying.  My personal mantra is ‘keep your eye on where you are going, not where you are’.   It’s my own defense mechanism that allows me to expect rejection from somebody on a daily basis about something or the other. 

 I would always anticipate that no one really cares if I am happy. They only want to know if I can make them happy. So I have spent a lifetime trying to convince someone that I am here for them. It does not mean you are kissing up (so to speak) to anyone.  Let me put it another way.

 Continued next column.....

I retired as a Procurement manager for the Department of Defense. I worked my way up from Supply Clerk to Director of Purchasing over an 18 year period. Along the way, my rise through the ranks was finally conceptualized in a training course that we attended in the purchasing department.

The Quality Efficiency trainer stated that customer service does not only speak to external customers but also internal customers. The theory was that those departments that forward a buyer a requisition to purchase a commodity of service on the open market were not their only customer. They just happened to be an external customer.

The trainer went on to say that each buyer had other internal customers they had to satisfy. These type customer wanted different things from the buyer. The supervisor wanted the requisition completed in a certain format. Data Processing wanted the data input a certain way. The seller of the product/service wanted certain requirement in order to get paid. Even the clerk at the file storage wanted to receive the file a certain way. You get the point.

We had to service all of our customers on a daily basis and that required the ability to adjust and still function at a high level. That left no time to sulk or feel sorry for yourself because another customer would be requiring something from you at any given time.  The message also asked that you leave your personal feelings outside bringing only your professional attitude to work. We were asked to do the job right the first time and avoid having a long line of internal customers asking you to correct an error of redo it all together.

So, you know that all of these customers are not going to be happy all of the time. You learned to fix it, speed it up, slow it down, change directions, add more steps to  the process, all while catering to those who depend upon you to furnish them with a quality product.

The same theory applies here as well.

Rejection for some people and some races are felt and interpreted differently. Primarily it has more to do with your experiences as a child than we may care to admit. No…don’t blame your parents.  Look in the mirror and see how you can change.

In the end, we have survived childhood and our teenage years.  We are capable of bouncing back from rejection and even humiliation. The question then is…are we able to put ourselves out there in harms’ way knowing that someone is not going to like us for whatever reason?  

Or are we satisfied by staying in our self imposed fort of comfort and never venturing out to experience life? There is no other way to put it. 

Economically, we can no longer afford to be shy or inhibited.  Black people can draw on the strength of their ancestors’. Where else is there a better example of survival? We can and should lean on our family and friends for the support we need to go out into the world.  They got your back…don’t they?

We all know who the ultimate responsibility falls on.  Yes…that would be you again. 

The more we put our self out there and suffer life’s battle scars of  resentment, jealousy, emotional hurt, or the ultimate humiliation of being laughed at the better off we are. In spite of our fears, we learn how to deal with it. We soon find that we are not so hesitant the next time. In fact we find ourselves eagerly jumping out there after a few battles.

And lo and behold or heaven forbid…we might, just might find ourselves becoming more and more confident.  Now you’ve become the person that says hire me…why? Because I am the one you need for this job. And besides that, I am modest too.  

By the way, if they don’t see how wonderful and talented you are…somebody else will. And oh…have you thought of self-employment?

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