Tesla Got it Right, Sign, Sign Everywhere a Sign

March 6, 2013 - PRLog -- At 45, with a college degree and 14 years of digital marketing experience I never thought of myself as a hiring burden?  As a driven businessman I am continually trying to find the best people to work with.  What do I mean by best?  An individual who is honest, talented, genuine, enthusiastic, passionate, compassionate and knowledgeable.  There are many people out there who claim to have these traits, I see them from time to time in the work place, but mostly this behavior is reserved for the privacy of their homes.  A place to let their hair down, however, times are changing and people, especially employers have to realize there are many more free thinking individuals today and what applied over the past 50 years in business is a dead end road.  

Today people and potential hires have a multitude of ways in which to peacock their individuality.  Facebook and Twitter have given a voice to generations and allowed them to express themselves.  You may think individuals love the attention, of course they do, but the reality is they can be heard.  Their feelings and opinions can now impact the injustices they see. The stereotypes that continue to exist in the workplace and in society are problematic because they limit an individual’s personal freedoms.  Regardless, I applaud platforms that promote free speech and give individuals an equalizer against repression and oppression.  

Many of the individuals I have worked with over the years are repressed and I will go as far as to say, depressed.  They have little balance in their life and cling to the almighty paycheck because society has conditioned them to value money over the individual.  It is easy to have compassion for someone when your belly is full and your bank account is flush. However, they are holding onto an illusion of happiness that is generated from lofty false praise or by looking the other way when the axe is falling.  If an individual is in any way outside of the norm, “the posers” (many in leadership roles) refer to a mental check list of preconditioned acceptability usually derived from their puppeteers over the years. GFB, they should hire anyone that does not have a predisposition to say “Yes” or a perfect pedigree.

In addition, posers do not want to hire anyone who could be considered more knowledgeable or a threat to their status.  Many posers have been posing for so long they have lost their identities, individuality and perspective.  In my experience they hire other posers or mirrors of themselves.  Thus, the merry go round of mediocrity continues to revolve in every sector of business worldwide.

Anyone who has been out of work for some time comes to the realization that people look negatively on a person who has lost their job.  Why, because they are afraid of losing their livelihood and somehow the association with an unemployed person makes them feel uncomfortable or makes them vulnerable to the same thing happening to them, which is completely ridiculous.  It is a vicious unnecessary perception cycle that adversely affects everyone and makes those who are actively searching feel inadequate.  

Being out of work for almost a year has given me the time and perspective to reflect on these issues.  In my situation I hear “you are great, exactly what we are looking for”, “your experience is amazing” did I miss something in the translation? Then I remembered “you need a membership card to get inside.” Prior to social media a person’s predisposed discrimination had to be vetted during the interview process, so even long haired, freaky people could apply.  I surmise many membership cards are revoked after social media profiles are reviewed. Speculation of course, but I find it hard to believe that no one has the ability to look beyond appearance and their own limited perceptions of reality.

Unfortunately, due to these twisted perceptions some of the best candidates never get a chance. This brings me to another point, why is leadership lacking in the business world?  Because posers are not leaders they are “Yes Men” or “Yes Women” trying to do everything in their power to maintain their existence through perception.  This of course is usually at the expense of genuine people.  There have been numerous times that I have seen incompetent people kept on payroll while deserving individuals get let go because they stood up for truth and justice.  I have heard a universal description of these people, “oh they are not a team player.” That could not be further from the truth.  Today’s business world is filled with frauds, they delegate with authority, pretend to be busy, take intellectual property to claim as their own, have no leadership qualities, but they are the leader and they are excellent at one task, meetings. Not a meeting to be productive, a meeting for the sake of having a meeting, so they can pretend to be important and maintain their illusion of importance.

The major problem with this is that no one is motivated to take “risks” to address the management malfunction that exists in the work place today.  Baby Boomers and Gen-Y are like Tuna Fish and Ice Cream, they do not mix.  Baby Boomers are in the twilight of their careers and most are treading water.  Gen-X and especially Gen-Y are beginning to think for themselves, granted they still need to remember knowledge grows with time, but they are quite capable of doing the tasks of the majority of individuals in the work place.  So why would you pay a Gen-Xer  with 21 years of marketing experience when you perceive you can hire a “super smart social media expert”, 5 years out of college, with an MBA for less money to run your digital? Leadership, strategy, experience, knowledge and seamless execution proven over time, experience is valuable.  

This article is for all those individuals who have had to deal with the posers of the world.  For those who continue to pose, the plank is getting short, yes that same plank you have walked so many out on and forgotten about.  Those individuals are now your burden of despair.  For those who continue to search, be strong and stay true to yourself.  At the end of the day as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and like what you see, life will get better.  Take it from a Yogi businessman, Karma is real and it is not limited to linear time or space.  So to all those hiring managers and people with hiring responsibilities please remember unemployed individuals with experience are worth your time, consideration and investment.

All the Best,

LC

Photo:
https://www.prlog.org/12092414/1