Mind your manners or we'll mind you!

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”

~Theodore Roosevelt


One of the oddest occurrence in recruiting happened to me this week.  So odd, in fact, that I wanted to share it.   It isn't unusual, whether you are actively seeking a new career opportunity or not, for a recruiter to reach out to you to ask if you may be looking for a change, or ask whether you know someone that would make a strong candidate. 




The following email as received in my personal email out of the blue from someone I had never heard of or interacted with before or connected with on Linked In.  I edited out particulars for privacy purposes):

 


On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 2:28 PM,

Hi Jeannette,
I am reaching out to you today for your help.

A client of mine is a large retail chain with over 250 superstores in Western Canada. Their headquarters are located in Saskatoon.
 
My client is offering xxxxxxxxxx max base(Based on seniority)+10% Bonus+15K moving bonus for a Solid Senior Business Analyst with Petrolium Systems OR Propane Systems Wholesale and maketing experience.

Here is a detailed Job Description:
 
This is a massive organization that employs over 3000 people with over 120 in IT that they hope to grow to 250 within a year.

If you are interested in moving to Saskatoon or know of anyone who would be interested in moving to Saskatoon please contact me directly with details below.
1) Attach Resume
2) Availability to interview and start
3) Your salary expectations
4) Confirm that location is ok

If this email has reached you while your area of expertise may be different then I would still like to hear from you; perhaps we will have the opportunity to do business in the future.

At the least I would like to have you on my network of Top Technology talent on LinkedIn; you may invite me at:

Thank you in advance for your support and looking forward to hearing from you.
 
Regards,
Sam
Business Development Manager, xxxxxxxx
Toronto, Ontario


The typos should have been my first clue.  Upon closer examination, it seemed apparent that it was generated via a well known job board, which I imagine meant that it was an email blast sent to many.  Typically, I am used to being contacted by recruiters from Linked In, rarely is an opening simply from an email and more often occurs after a telephone call.  Nonetheless, I have like to keep doors open with recruiters and treat them with respect as one would with a potential client or employer.  Therefore,  I did reply generically with my CV attached.  What floored me was this response today:
 


Hi Jeannette,
Please help me understand what you have done is relevant to what I am looking for.  Am I missing something from the resume I am looking at?
Many thanks, - Sam xxxx

 
A feather could have knocked me over.  My reaction initially was huh?  Secondly, how rude.  Thirdly,  fascinated that the latter email was a response to his own original email.  So much for being one of the "Top Technology Talent" on Linked.  Made me wonder why HE hadn't reached out there? 
 
A few other thoughts surface, but I'll keep those less kinder ones to myself.  Brushing up on "Business Etiquette" seemed obvious, another key that
stood out was that it was data driven.  Perhaps the Job Board offered various selection and then it spit out data of potential candidates which in turn generated the email.  It definitely points to the danger of relying on data and not intimately reviewing before starting any e-mail campaign.
 
 
I'm not a recruiter by profession yet I have done a fair amount of recruiting in my time.  What I do compare this to, sadly, is that generic sales letters are going out daily that quickly end up in the "trash".  What a waste of effort and reputation!

 Several pitfalls on this email stood out:

  • It is obviously generic
  • No tracking kept on who it was sent to
  • Poor memory that an email had been sent out
  • Names weren't pre-qualified by being looked up on Linked In
  • Lack of understanding on parameters selected to generate recipients.

It also speaks of laziness and I'd be embarrassed if I were Sam.  More so, if I were his employer.  He apparently was seeking top tier professionals, but wasn't acting in the same fashion.  Perhaps more likely generating activity than attracting the top tier talent to meet the goal of hiring a suitable candidate.

Do you think I looked him up on Linked in ... not yet.  I may be curious to look him up ... that's just me.  How likely do you think I will be willing to connect with him ... not likely.

It is a competitive world out there.  Be careful to mind your manners or people will pay attention and many DO mind if you forget your manners!


“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.”

~Arthur Ashe 

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Social Media or Knowledge Junkie?

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
~     Stephen Hawking

 

I have a confession to make:  I am BOTH a Social Media AND Knowledge Junkie!  Why do I say this?  Well, self reflection has forced me to discover that I have started to care what people think and have been taking things personally.
 
That, or I need to get a full time career going where my thirst for knowledge and ideas is fueled by having direction and an itinerary for my day.  BUT (strong but) the two go hand in hand.  Social Media is a platform that creates the sharing of information, literary, creative and inspirational messages.  The limitless access to talent from across the globe is like a flashing beacon sucking in to its sphere and the helpfulness side of my nature, drives the need to seek and share content to help others.
 
Ego and pride can interfere with all the best intentions.  I've always considered Social Media a mental attitude of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."  Ultimately, I scratch others by sharing and have fallen into the pit of expecting the same thing. 
 
Two great sayings come to mind:  "Practice the Golden Rule" (treat others as you wish to be treated yourself) and "Make new friends, but keep the old as one is silver and the other gold".  Add a Blog to the equation and you find yourself with a soap box to stand upon and preach from in the form of expressing your opinion.  If you already fall into the trap of being opinionated, you can be swept into the cloud of the dark side of Social Media.
 
Ironically, there is drama.  Often I've thought to myself that Social Media drives you back to high school where the opinions of others influence you and you need to stay disciplined to avoid falling into that trap.  I've done my best to stay clear of the drama with the best intentions, however, by expressing an opinion, you can easily become feeling victimized when not everyone agrees.  If you put yourself out there, you have to expect that not everyone is going to agree.  If you're really discriminating on who you associate with, your friends and followers fall within the boundaries of those you call "friends".  However, keeping loyalties to family and true life friends present conflict with the ones that are social media savvy and are more expressive. 
 
You truly are the company you keep.  Try to keep  yourself surrounded with those that inspire, motivate you by their messages and those that fuel your thirst for knowledge.
 
Twitter is like a gigantic newspaper:  you read the headlines and click on anything and everything that attracts your interest.  No longer are you restricted to your local media (yet it is important to do so if you like to keep up to date).  It is like a fast moving reel of what is going on in the world at that precise moment.  You identify with an addiction to knowledge when you find out something is happening in the real world, and go to Twitter to see if it is trending as if it validates that it is important to everyone else.  It has power.  It gives voice to the voiceless.  It stimulates the causes that need attention.
 
Facebook is where you can more intimately interact with others and uncover better insight into the personalities of people.  It is often used for select friends and family.  I admit, I have two identities:  one for my social media and the other for my close knit of friends and family.  If you have young adult children, you would understand why I do so.  I want to protect their privacy and not throw them into the social media world where there is an abundance of people and opinions.  Quite frankly, they may not be interested in that world.  I let them join my social media world as an option, I try to avoid my soap box and curate good content that is relevant to them and personalize the experience there.
 

“Seven Deadly Sins”


“Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice.”


~ Mahatma Gandhi   
 
Google Plus allows me to frame my circles and although labelling is a bad trait, it can be used constructively.  I have circles of photographers, artists, thought leaders who stimulate me visually and emotionally and are grouped specific to the content that it is surrounded by.  The Group feature is really cool because you become immersed amongst people that share the same interests.  Valuable if you have a specific query on technology, design as a source of education and knowledge.
 
Pinterest has become my visual, creative stimulator and where I curate what I think are amazing.  I gravitate and relate strongly to the Photography and Art boards.  When I need creative inspiration, it is just a click away.  Like anything you enjoy, you tend to become quite good at it.  I love the visual stimulation that talented imagery provides.  It is really cool when you are invited to share on to boards, as reinforcement that others like what you see or think, as what you PIN tends to define who you are.  It is far below being used at its power in marketing, in my opinion.  I find myself congratulating others who have discovered and manipulated to communicate their brand.  Not surprising that it is considerably geared towards the female audience because it is often considered that women are more visual than men.  However, some of the best graphics, artistic and technologically oriented men are using it to share their inner creative side.  Seriously, where can you host all your dreams in one spot?  Goals are what makes us reach out to make ourselves better and reach farther.  If you are consciously capturing this, you are creating intuitive understanding of what motivates and floats your boat. 
 
InstaGRAM is what I use more personally again because my kids, family and their friends are there and again I want to protect their privacy.  As a parent, Facebook used to be where you could get a sense of where your kids were at, but InstaGRAM usually shows you and with whom they're with.  I haven't tried SNAPChat but know it is popular among the younger set who think (and they probably do) what they're up to, where and with whom.  I'm discovering that there are others that share great visual content and inspiration in the ease and immediacy that these platforms allow.  I'm fooling around a bit with Tumbler, Stumble Upon and Reddit similarly but not as loyally as the aforementioned.
 
Now it gets dicey when you start to up your social media culture and influence when you start looking at KRED and KLOUT -- third party independent measurement services that combine unique algorithms.
(WIKIPEDIA  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithm) based on your social media usage and followers to determine what kind of influence you have on the internet.  I will set this aside for another post, yet just say that there may be some political influence or strengths of one over the other when one increases your score while the other stays static while it is measuring the same activity.  Peer Index is another one and there is even another that provides your standings based on your geographical location.
 
WIKIPEDIA is always there if you need to uncover something quickly.  There are other sites like "Ask How" that you can find yourself lost in yet wonderful sources to punt you into research mode.  Knowledge is power but it can become dangerous if you tend to take things personally.  Everything should be taken with a grain of salt to be sure.
 
LINKED IN is where I started on Social Media and where I usually start and end my social media day.  Particularly if you're job hunting, a recruiter, or use it to exchange business contacts.  There are again, groups on topics, industries, companies, employers that allow you to maneuver around in.  It is THE perfect spot to centrally host your contacts and document your career.  Recommendations are awesome and Endorsements are fairly new.  How people use them is unique to each character.  I personally only try to Endorse those that I've had direct contact or interaction on the subject matter.
 
 
Avoid Junior High School HI-jinx if you're in a group and dropped out or not included.   Refrain from Social Media if you start to care and you think of it outside and when you're off.  Consistency is key and you don't have to spend as much time on it as it sometimes appears.  Obviously, some people are growing reputations as Social Media, Branding, Content Marketing experts and they may seem more active than others.  However, 10-15 minutes in the morning, over lunch and early evening are key times and really all you need. 
 
If you're in politics, marketing, leading a business, looking for investment, establishing a reputation -- you may need Social Media more than others.  However, like all things good for you (and bad) moderation is key!
 
 
 

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.”
~     Albert Einstein

 
 
 
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WALK before you RUN ... STOP before you POST ... SLOW DOWN before you LAUNCH


"Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions"
~Ken Blanchard


There is an increasing alarming trend of social media enthusiasts launching displeasure at their nemesis via Social Media.  Which brings to mind the Blog Title:  "WALK before you RUN (i.e. install new programs) ... STOP before you POST (think of the ramifications of what your brand is doing) .... SLOW DOWN before you LAUNCH (do a careful analysis of how you will manage Social Media before you simply launch your brand).  Airlines seem to be the highest target of displeasure these days, I would imagine with all the weather challenges causing travel mayhem over the holiday travel season. 



Just by performing a Google search "travel displeasure expressed" I was able to find plenty. 

  1.  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/USAirways/posts/10151562598183473
  2.  New York Times:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/business/southwest-flight-to-missouri-lands-at-the-wrong-airport.html?_r=0
  3.  Linked In:  http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121014052901-204274949-no-airline-bashing-from-me?trk=vsrp_influencer_content_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A701314631389748985907%2CVSRPtargetId%3A5084%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary
So much so that even Trip Advisor has launched their Airline Review feature (story by NextWeb).

Having become such a topical subject, even USA Today posted how to write an effective complaint to an airline.

What surprised me what wasn't being said:  how negative social media feedback has the airlines scrambling to recoup and recover.  It is impacting dozens of other brands.  This creates ample opportunity for Social Media advisors to flourish!

NOTE:  This is not solely an airline dilemma but only used based on very recent developments.  I had my own soap opera with an airline after I went online to express my own displeasure on service by a particular airline on a recent trip to Mexico with my sister.  Here are some of my observations:

  1. Organizations are asking for consumers to resort to online ordering, booking, etc. which obviously decreases human capital;
  2. They are asking for online feedback or bookings but not drawing out a full organizational plan on how communications/feedback is going to be handled, how, by whom and when? 
  3. The same websites that are promoting feedback, online bookings are not making sure that recent developments are being updated or communicated  across channels to those interacting with customers directly(i.e.  a special seat selection feature was not posted nor communicated when a 1-800 was called)
  4. Everyone seems to have recognized that "be there or be square" is a necessity for social media but it hasn't been prioritized or effectively organized before it has been launched.  Results:  Knee jerk reaction instead of carefully crafted planning.




 
Another personal example that prompted me to write was after purchasing a Christmas present for a beauty service for my sister using my credit card, when trying to telephone to book an appointment over the telephone I got a broadcast message, they didn't answer and referred to their website to book online.   Unfortunately, the website would only allow the booking to be made if you provided a credit card, which I didn't want to do since the service had already been paid for ... nor was it updated to allow entering the most recent promotion.  I would have really have liked to emphasized with them that whenever a customer is willing to speak to you personally,  you shouldn't take away this opportunity to learn what they want, what inspired them to call.  It strongly communicates complacency and lack of care .... quite the opposite of savvy or hip thinking they're ahead of the curve.

Peter (Petra) isn't talking to Paul (Paula) in organizations apparently.  Managing your online data, website, social media is imploding at an alarming rate -- the same rate as Social Media panic adoption is unfolding.   Unfortunately, it is seemingly being used as a Marketing Tool to promote (or what I sometimes call SPAM)  nice stories, or brilliantly leverage viral messaging i.e.  West Jet's Christmas miracle.  Let's be honest:  this is not "engaging" with your customers, it is broadcasting, self promotion (aka SPAM) and dictating what you want them to believe.

 



What seems sad is that when opinions don't agree with the masses (often employees or related advocates) they aren't improving matters.  Defending by bullying is not positive, but fighting fire with fire, or adding fuel to an ember.  I wondered out loud if savvy social media campaigns that go viral are not simply leveraged advertising campaigns that are significant.  At least Old Spice is open and honest that their viral campaigns ARE advertising campaigns and are even tied in with television commercials.  Beware, if you are going to express your opinion, you had better be prepared for open attack.  Thankfully, Mike Lehr, @MikeLehrOZA an Intuition Expert and Author, defended the writer's opinion and things quietened down:

  •  First, this is an advertisement. Second, it is heart warming; the volunteers should be commended. The comment by +BLOCKED OUT  is unscrupulous.
  • Let's remember that good people are often used to serve purposes we don't like. I know I have been used in such a manner. However, let's not confuse criticism for the effort as criticism for the people involved and for their efforts
  • The best example is war. Good men and women, with very good intentions, are sometimes sent to fight for questionable purposes determined by others. There is a difference between criticizing the war and criticizing the soldiers. One does not mean you are also criticizing the other. In Vietnam, we treated the soldiers badly for a war we did not like. This was wrong. An overwhelming number of these soldiers, including my deceased cousin, were good people not baby killers. In Iraq and Afghanistan, while most do not like the war, this time we realize that the vast majority of soldiers are good people working hard and we are treating them far better.
  • Returning to Jeannette's point at hand, she is criticizing the war, not the soldiers. However, it's easy for those who support the war to discredit critics by trying to say criticism for the war is also criticism for the soldiers. This is an unscrupulous tactic.
  • If there are problems with Jeannette's facts about the circumstances surrounding the advertisement, let's hear it. However, unless I misread something, I don't believe Jeannette attacked any volunteer or their efforts.
  • Let's also face it that often companies with a troubling image pay a lot of money to revamp it. WalMart changed it's logo to add a yellow, friendly sun. BP after the Gulf disaster spent much on an advertising campaign highlighting its environmental efforts. It's not inconceivable that West Jet is doing the same. That is what I believe Jeannette is calling into question
Feedback is good for me and I learn a great deal from both the positive and negative sides:  it helps me to define, improve, or expand on messages, posts, content.  Sadly, this same advice could be applied by the many brands, industries, companies that are bulldozing their way on to the Social Media scene without much forethought.  What the above was a brilliant opportunity to turn controversy and feedback into more positive wins. 



I get the impression that there are so many ways that Social Media is being misunderstood and/or mismanaged.  My suggestion:  instead of marketing, IT and webmaster battling for control, organizations start thinking of a new title:  Chief Messaging Officer.  This person would be an insider who could objectively look at, monitor, and author messaging from the organization to ensure that it is all seamless and connected across all fronts rather than the often fragmented methodology. 



Draw out a Feedback chart for heavens sake.  Draw the lines on who responds to what, with it tied in with Social Media.  Organizations are taking the time to promote the brand, pay for agencies by the boatload of money but not really protecting their feedback channels.  Consider the old adage that good news travels fast, but negative faster.  Like the Facebook post example, you can't manage or control what users do or what platform they use to express their displeasure, but you can sure be more proactive in managing the feedback by turning the adversaries into advocates (Previous Blog Post:  Turn Adversaries into Advocates ) or a great recent post by one of my favorite writers from Forbes, TJ McCue "How to get more positive reviews!

So ... like I said, WALK before you RUN with it, STOP before you POST a response, and SLOW DOWN before you LAUNCH your social media program -- start identifying and placing more importance on feedback, looping website/promotions to social media messaging, be responsive and embrace feedback for what it is worth:  a way to uncover opportunities to make improvements.






"All the adversities I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me .... you may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth  may be the best thing in the world for you."


~Walt Disney


Do you agree with my comments?  Have any suggestions on how companies can handle their social media better?  Do you also think that disgruntled customers are going to get louder and louder?  I'd love to hear from you! 

In the meantime, make 2014 your best year ever!



 




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