Tag Archives: communication

Communication While in Transition

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free_2789878Disclaimer: My professional background is not in the field of communication, but I still have some opinions.

Certainly, the cliché “It’s not what you know but whom you know” is often true. However, when people are in transition, I would add “but while in transition, who knows you is more important” because you are the one who needs a job, and if people cannot find you, your job search will be unnecessarily prolonged.

I categorize communication in general to occur on three levels: The lowest level is daily chitchat. We chitchat with people we know: family members, friends, and perhaps others we communicate with occasionally such as other job seekers. Communication with job seekers is superficial, though, because its only objective is to get connected.

The second level of communication involves passing or receiving relevant—or sometimes less relevant—information. For example, the news on television. This type of information is intended to inform and is often given a spin to dramatize it and keep viewers glued to the TV, but when the excitement is at its peak, we hear, ”And now this commercial.” Of course, that’s how television stations—which, after all, are businesses—generate revenues. In most cases, though, we commit this type of information only to short-term memory. Nobody remembers news from two weeks ago.

The third level of communication has to do with ideas. This is what attracts me. I’m interested in other prominent people’s or experts’ ideas. It’s where we can learn about and understand the Big Picture.

So, how is all of this relevant to people in transition? Well, you want to be viewed as an expert, and you want people to be attracted to you. When they check you out, you want potential employers to consider you an expert in your own professional field. The way to project that image is to communicate—sporadically—with those connected to you. Be aware, though, that every time you do communicate, your writing had better be of value to them. Given a little time, your connections will learn that when you send them a piece of communication, it is indeed worth their while to spend the time to read it.

A good communicator while in transition knows to use social media to advantage. On one hand, certainly you should connect with many people; on the other hand, you must connect with prospects who could help you into your next job. Remember: What’s important when you connect with others is that they be willing to share their networks with you. The power of networking is not vested in the person you communicate with so much as it is in the person’s connections. You never know whom they know!

Social Media: So, What Is It for People in Transition?

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There’s no newspaper or magazine nowadays that does not devote some space to the fast-developing new phenomenon called social media. My explanation for this is very simple: Let’s say you invite some people for a social gathering to take place in your house. Among the dozen or so you host will be some who are very knowledgeable about certain subjects, and some others, less so. That doesn’t mean that those who aren’t very knowledgeable will not contribute to the conversation. They will, but their content will be less factual or less valuable to the listeners.

So, how does this situation apply to the electronic versions of social media? Today there are a significant number of such venues. The more popular are Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn (which is oriented more toward business contacts). People use them for communication in a similar way that those guests of yours do in your house. However, the interchanges happen electronically. Some of the written material is thorough, researched, meaningful, and at times useful. Other information simply amounts to chitchat that has no value except perhaps to a very few. The advantage of social media is that if you don’t like what you read, you can just move on to read something else. Conversely, when you’re faced with a similar situation in a physical venue, it would be rude to tell the speaker you’re bored and you’d prefer to move on.

If you’re in transition and looking for your next job, you’ll have to interact or network with people extensively. Not everything you hear people say will be valuable to you, but some of it will. Similarly, you have to be selective about your sources of reading material and their contents; it’s easy to be swept into meaningless and verbose articles at the end of which you realize you’ve gained nothing. On the other hand, once you learn to become selective and focus only on substantive reading material, you’ll realize you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, meaning that some other people can provide you the information you need.

Twitter, as an example, is limited to 140 characters. Some tweets are obvious wastes of time. The fact that John finished eating his muffin is irrelevant to most readers. But if someone draws your attention to a newly written article about a subject you’re trying to learn more about, that article could prove to be very valuable. The conclusion is that you need to eliminate the garbage found on social media and follow the selective few gems that will compensate you for your precious time.

The importance of being customer focused

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I am sure you are looking at the title of this post and wondering why a career expert is writing about customer service. Well, there are two reasons; the first is that I think customer service is prevalent in all areas of business. Providing strong customer service can be the difference in getting repeat clients and referrals – and not getting them at all. The second reason is that I recently wrote to a company that sponsors outdoor street fairs. I was interested in obtaining information regarding an upcoming fair. There, displayed on their website was an email address indicating that they would be more than happy to answer any questions to help the public. What did I do? I wrote to them; I was interested in simply obtaining the location of the fair so I could take my daughter over the weekend. What did I receive? An email from Darryl (the customer service rep) with a street name. Not very helpful; that street name would not really give me enough information to get to the fair; I wrote again and asked for some specific directions. Not being familiar with the town, I needed a bit more to avoid getting completely lost. What did he send me? A Google map of the entire United States. Thanks Darryl. You officially win an award for complete rudeness and utterly poor customer service.

I am not one who believes the customer is always right; however, I do believe that you should always try to provide good customer service in a friendly and helpful manner. They don’t say that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar for nothing.

Here are some good tips to follow to ensure your customer service skills shine:

Communication: One of the hallmarks of success in providing customer service is to communicate clearly and effectively with your customers. Answer questions in an easy to understand manner, be thoughtful in approach, and don’t rush. You don’t want to make people think that you have something better to do, like washing your hair. Part of being customer focused is being attentive and making the person or people feel special. This will go a long way in establishing trusting relationships, which will lead to continued business.

Set Expectations: Don’t make it up as you go along. If you know that you cannot deliver something, don’t simply agree to it to make the sale. This will come back to bite you. All parties need to be on the same page with clear expectations outlined from the beginning. This will serve to avoid confusion later and a he said, she said situation. When people understand the situation from the outset, they are more likely to remain happy.

Keep Written Notes: This will allow you to remain organized and also serve as a point of reference if questions about initial agreements arise later on. You cannot remember everything that was said; nor should you try. Writing things down will help keep everyone on the same page, no pun intended.

Walk A Mile in My Shoes: Be empathetic to the position of others. You cannot provide good customer service if you fail to see or recognize that there is another side to the coin. Your genuineness will likely foster longer-term relationships that will be highly beneficial for business.

You can really add tremendous value and generate clients for life by simply providing strong customer service. The point is that no matter what you do, customer service is important in all aspects of business.

Want to develop stronger customer service skills? Here are some resources for you: Learningtree.com; theelearningcenter.com; and elareners.com.

Comments and feedback are requested and desired; and you are welcome and encouraged to submit questions to thecareerdoctor.

Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is the founder and Chief Career Strategist of ResumesDoneWrite, a premier career services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries.

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