Swimming (and not drowning)

Or "How to Win Friends and Influence People When You Don't Have a Job..."

Among the ranks of Talent Acquisition professionals, we're starting to see more visible signs of stress due to prolonged unemployment.  As the saying goes, I feel your pain.  Some have been treading water so long they feel like they’re going to drown.  The seas are rough and there’s no port in the storm. At least not yet.

However, I'd like to encourage each of my professional colleagues to dig deep and see this for what it is: a test.  For years we talk the talk about candidates.  Now we must walk the walk.  We're the candidates now.  (I'd imagine there may even some bemused schadenfreude out there because of this. 😊 )

This is also an excellent learning laboratory for all of us.  We're seeing what it’s like on the other end of the stick.  Every time any of us were slow to get back to a candidate or were nebulous in our intents, well... I'm not saying we're all complicit, but I am saying we can see those issues anew and much more clearly now from the candidate's perspective.  One would hope this is making each of us better at our jobs: more empathetic, and more dedicated to professionalism.

But more importantly, this is a test of how we react to that stress.  If or when savings run low and bills are due and choices are going to made for us rather than by us, it's very important to approach that adversity in the right way.

A reminder is warranted here.  Employers are still watching you, even if they're not talking to you.  They may not have made up their minds about you.  Or maybe they've bookmarked your profile for later consideration.  Meanwhile, especially here on this platform, they get to be flies on our walls, dispassionately considering how we deal with rejection, adversity, and ambiguity.

I've certainly posted about my own frustration before.  Ghosting continues to be a major issue, and its systemic.  This tells me that such a ubiquitous problem is partially just due to an overwhelming number of applicants, and not purely just negligence.  Are there things that can be done via automated messaging and diligent (daily) dispositioning of candidates?  Sure.  But let's face it: I'm not living that life right now, so I'm not talking from real world experience.  It could be worse than I even imagined.  One thing seems clear: in the arena of white collar hiring, there are far less recruiters, and far more applicants. That imbalance is not yet in my favor, however.  When there are more open positions to fill (not just applicants) and a continued lack of recruiting staff, then my skills, experience, and proficiencies are back in demand.

But I want to shift back to why I felt it necessary to remind everyone of this teaching moment.  I'd like to recommend to everyone this: before you post in your social media feeds, consider your potential audiences.  Yes, some of them are your colleagues. But you're also posting in front of potential employers. So you need to consider who your message serves best, and who it might hurt. It might even be yourself.  

Firstly, there's the analogy of a soldier’s long march through the jungle.  It's hot. It's humid and sticky.  There are bugs and mud and disease and oh yeah there's danger. And as the wisdom goes, can you imagine what your fellow soldiers would rather not hear about at that very moment? That it’s hot, its humid, there’s bugs and mud and disease and oh yeah, danger. They know, and they don’t need to be reminded by comrades to the left and the right.  In fact, it might not be the best thing for morale to focus on those things.  Better to focus on the plan, on protecting your flanks, on the route, on provisions.  Tactics and a sense of direction get you out of the jungle, and hopefully win the day.

Secondly, all those silent watchers out there are may be witness to your best and worst moments playing out.  Which qualities do you want prospective employers to see?  Aggression, desperation, despair, manic shifts in focus?  Or that you’re a positive force with a plan?  It's a good idea to show them that adversity is not something new to you, and you know how to deal with it (even if, strictly speaking, we don’t all the time).  Or that you’re confident in your skills and experience.  That you rely more on data than emotion to make decisions, and you’re prepared to share that data to tell the right story. And that you’re patient for the right conditions. As a dear departed friend once was fond of saying to our circle of friends: "Act like you've been there before. Act like you got cable TV."

The truth is, even when we have jobs, there are many days when things don’t go our way in Talent Acquisition.  Employed TA professionals still have to deal with their fair share of rejection, adversity, and ambiguity.  And their jobs depend on not just finding candidates, but on how they deal with those challenges. 

So remember that each day is an experiment in the laboratory of job-seeking, and there are lessons to be learned, and lessons to be taught as well.  Share the best of yourselves in that moment.  Find a trusted confidant to share your frustrations behind the scenes, but don’t let ‘em see you sweat in public.  Keep focused, stick to your personal plan and your daily goals.  Use the same time management skills you’ve already honed in your professional experience and apply them to your job search.  We’ll all make it through to win the day soon enough.  Bad times, like good times, are always temporary.  Save up for the worst, plan for the best, and keep moving forward.

It's times like these that I would prefer to abandon the analogy of that long slog through the jungle for a more positive and slightly more whimsical message.  If you have kids, or you just occasionally enjoy the guilty pleasure of a Disney animated feature from time to time, then you know who Dory is.  If you don’t, well, treat yourself to a viewing of Finding Nemo today.  It’s chicken soup for the jobless soul.

And remember: Just Keep Swimming.