Differentiating yourself. I found when I was
meeting with professional groups, career center clients, etc., that I was
surrounded by people who were just like me—they were unemployed. As
obvious as this may sound, my next thought was that they couldn’t help me,
or in some cases, they could actually be competing with me. What I found
was the opposite—we were all in this together. The amount of anger, fear,
apprehension, confusion and many other feelings varied from individual to
individual, but we found solace in our shared predicament. Our support
groups sitting around talking about our problems made others in the group
open up. As people opened up, others began to offer suggestions. “I know
someone who used to work there,” or “Let me introduce you to someone I
know who may be able to help you,” were common comments.
It became important in these group settings to clearly direct the dialog
in a way that had each individual focusing on what they wanted and
needed to move forward in their pursuit of a job, not just on the emotional
rollercoaster ride we were all on. In some cases, we asked specifically if
there was anyone in the room who had a contact or connections specific
to what an individual member wanted or needed. Although it began
slowly, that networking process became contagious as members realized
we all had some loose connections and expertise that others could benefit
from. I didn’t realize we were practicing a concept that Adam Grant
discusses in his book Give and Take as a “Reciprocity Ring.” Becoming
aware of that concept helped me to further and more explicitly drive the
conversation down the path of action.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby