Our episode today is, “I Am Competing With Three Billion People For My Job! Really?”
Yes. This show is intended to remind us that whether or not we want to think from a global perspective as individuals that we are subject to global realities. Thus, instead of focusing on your employment opportunities in a particular city, country, region or other limited part of our planet, you are impacted by global competition for professional opportunities. This title of this episode was inspired by the following content, “A good job is a job with a paycheck from an employer and steady work that averages 30+ hours per week. Global labor economists refer to these as formal jobs. Sometimes leaders and economists blur the line between good jobs (formal jobs) and informal jobs. Informal jobs are jobs with no paycheck, no steady work. […] Of the 7 billion people on Earth, there are 5 billion adults aged 15 and older. Of these 5 billion, 3 billion tell Gallup they work or want to work. Most of these people need a full-time formal job. The problem is that there are currently only 1.2 billion full-time, formal jobs in the world. This is a potentially devastating global shortfall of about 1.8 billion good jobs. It means that global unemployment for those seeking a formal good job with a paycheck and 30+ hours of steady work approaches a staggering 50%, with another 10% wanting part-time work. [...]This also means that potential societal stress and instability lies within 1.8 billion -- nearly a quarter of the world's population.” (http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/149144/coming-jobs-war.aspx) We are all competing (in some sense) for the optimal quality of life for ourselves and our loved ones. We seek the ability to stretch ourselves intellectually, to be able to apply our knowledge in useful ways to better society and have an enjoyable and productive live. The article quoted above is from a book that asserts a “coming jobs war.” We should at least consider the possibility that we are not isolated in our professional and career aspirations no matter where we currently are on the planet. I love international business issues! I was born in Germany, live in the US currently and have worked as a speaker/ corporate educator in India, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Italy, South Africa, The Netherlands, 49 out of 50 US states including Alaska and Hawaii (I still need to work in Wyoming), and many other parts of our planet. I have had the privilege of learning more about myself and our wondrous planet. I have also had the first hand opportunity to meet and share knowledge with people from diverse areas of our planet. Although there are differences among us regarding local laws, cultural norms and perspectives there is a uniform desire for people to be respected, fairly compensated and provided future growth and development in their careers. It is amazing how similar we humans are! In fact, [...] You are craving a new mountain to climb. This series, “SATISFACTION SATURATION™”, is for you. We will address the challenges in reaching the SATISFACTION SATURATION state in regards to specific experiences, how to recognize it, how to treat it, how to prevent it, and how to handle the feedback from other people (“Must be nice to have that job, that house, that car, that award,” etc.).
This specific episode is, “I Am Used To Having Things MY WAY and I Have NO PATIENCE When They Aren't. Help Me!" Who are we after an extended time period of being catered to by others? When we get used to having our needs and desires met (because we are the boss, the important client, the well paying supporter, etc.) it may result in us starting to believe that we deserve to be catered to and treated as a “special” person. We get used to having our meals served as we prefer and not having to wait in lines (because we are granted special access or we pay for extra convenience). Our ability to tolerate discomfort and to simply wait passively for attention is reduced. We start to think that any obstacle in our path is simply a temporary issue that with money or other resources will be removed from our life. We know that we can often leverage our income and/ or power to make our lives easier. This is one of the primary reasons we made the sacrifices that we did to surpass our goals! We treat ourselves to our favorite experiences and why not? Yet, we are quick to anger and become frustrated when we hear that magic word that no human likes directed towards their request, “No.” We hear this word more rarely now (for some it is a faint memory from an earlier time that they try to forget). Everyone is usually so “nice” to us (asking us if we need anything, checking on our preferences, paying attention to us, etc.). Instead of that dreaded word “no”, in a stressful situation (where we are not immediately receiving what we desire) we may be told, “let me see what I can do for you.” We change our thinking and behavior and start to expect attentive deference. Why not? We pay top dollar. We are a great customer or client. Why shouldn’t we be treated as someone who is important by employees, vendors, and even family or friends who we “help” with our guidance and generosity? The prolonged exposure to having our needs and desires met, to not hearing “No” may result in us becoming intolerant, impatient and a pathetic caricature of the pampered, incessantly demanding and insensitive “successful” person. STOP! We are not that spoiled, insipid, whiny baby who always has to have things our way. So, why are we acting like that? “As a person’s levels of wealth increase, their feelings of compassion and empathy go down, and their feelings of entitlement, of deservingness, and their ideology of self-interest increases,” (http://blog.ted.com/2013/12/20/6-studies-of-money-and-the-mind/) How did this happen? Because [...] In our HELP! SITUATION SPOTLIGHT™ series, we shine the light on challenges that community members have shared. This episode is, “ I Was Taught That I Have to Be Twice As Good As Them…and I Am Exhausted."
This is an episode that I feel very strongly about! The central question is who is in charge of your life? Is it you? Or, someone or something else? If you are in charge of your life then you define your goals, your value and your experiences. If you accede that power over your life to other people or entities then they will define your goals, your value and your experiences. How much money should you make per year? What type of neighborhood should you live in? Either you will decide or someone (or something) else will decide. When do you decide that you have done your best (versus when you have more to give)? What is ‘good enough’ and what constitutes success? When you choose to let other people or entities make these decisions they will have their own ideas of how much money you will earn (especially as it relates to how much money they earn), where you will live (by determining how much you will be able to spend on housing as part of your salary) and everything else in your life. If you elect to exercise your own personal power over your life, then you decide. Are you qualified for a job? You decide. How much money will you earn this year? You decide. What type of neighborhood will you live in? You decide. What if you are operating under the understanding that everything you do is weighed down by some aspects of who you are? That you are running the race of life with heavy weights around your ankles that slow you down? That the weights make you have to run twice as fast as other people (those without weights) just to have any opportunity at finishing (or competing to win) the race? Many of us have cultural, societal, family, or other group feedback that taught us from an early age that we are weighed down. That when we run in the race of life we have to overcompensate for who we are (e.g., gender, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic group, national origin, disabilities, color, size, etc.) by laboring at least twice as hard as those who are free of the weights we bear. Are some of us given specific information that who we are is a liability and that we have to work at least twice as hard as people without our burdens? Yes. Here is an example of this language (being twice as good) from a fictional television show out of the US, Scandal: “Rowan: Did I not raise you for better? How many times have I told you? You have to be what? Olivia: Twice as good. Rowan: You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have.”(http://www.salon.com/2013/10/04/scandals_racially_charged_motto_you_have_to_be_twice_as_good_as_them/) Here is an example of this language (being twice as good) from a biography title about a real life US former Secretary of State, “Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power.” (http://www.amazon.com/Twice-As-Good-Condoleezza-Power/dp/B001FOR6EI) I have to share that [...] In our JOYFUL ART OF BUSINESS™ series we explore how to combine the positive benefits of our professional endeavors (“business”) with the overall positive emotional return on our efforts (“joy”). The act of engaging in professional endeavors, in any capacity (i.e., as an employee, employer, entrepreneur, contractor, volunteer, paid, full time, part time, intermittently, etc.) is an expression of our ideas and creative talents (“art”). All of this is in furtherance of our mission to surpass our goals! Our episode today is, "Why You Have To Apply For Jobs You Don’t Think You Are Qualified For!”
I often make the assertion that “data is your friend.” That is because credible data will help us make better decisions as we will have more reliable information and facts. We will also have a more accurate perspective on society at large (instead of simply relying on our individual skewed experiences and beliefs). One challenge is that you will never have perfect data. There will be some incomplete, outdated or corrupted information that impacts your decisions. Thus, how do you know that you are not the most qualified for a job? Perhaps you determine that you are unqualified because you ‘only’ have 55% of the stated job criteria, yet you do not know who else will apply and what their percentages will be. This is due to the fact that you only have complete data on yourself and incomplete data on the overall applicant pool, etc.. You have nothing to lose by determining your own value. Logically, if you apply for a job that requires a doctorate degree in physics and you have a high school education and no college degree, it is highly probable that you will not be hired. Yet, if you have a high school education and experience as a bookkeeper, why not apply for a job that requires bookkeeping experience and states a preference for a college graduate? If there are 10 criteria listed for a job and you have met 6 of them, why not apply? Here is a statistic that asserts that some gender groups (males) do exactly that (emphasis added), “Confidence gap: He thinks he can. She thinks she can’t […] A few years ago, the computer giant Hewlett-Packard found that their female employees applied for a promotion only when they believed they met 100pc of the job requirements. The men were happy to apply when they thought they could meet 60pc. “Underqualified and underprepared men don’t think twice about leaning in,” write Kay and Shipman. “Overqualified and overprepared, too many women still hold back. Women feel confident only when they are perfect. Or practically perfect.” (http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-news/confidence-gap-he-thinks-he-can-she-thinks-she-cant-30428323.html#sthash.uJVRw2oM.dpuf) Why do some people feel happy to apply to apply when they meet 6 out of 10 requirements and other people deny themselves opportunities at 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, and wait all the way until they feel they meet 100% of the requirements? Simple. They are qualified (to some degree) and competent but they believe they aren’t. It is their imagination but these imaginary issues deny them real life jobs, income and opportunities. Consider the following (emphasis added), “Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology. […] In studies, men overestimate their abilities and performance, and women underestimate both. Their performances do not differ in quality.” (http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/04/the-confidence-gap/359815/) The individuals (of any gender identify) who refuse to participate in professional opportunities guarantee that other less qualified people will be hired. They are waiting around on the sidelines of life not even competing. So, the person who is 60% qualified applies for the job. The next closest qualified candidate that applied met only 40% of the requirements and the 60% candidate was hired. The illogical decision of the person who was 95% qualified to not even apply for the position left them with no job. They also failed to take advantage of the other benefits that even an unsuccessful applicant may glean from applying and being considered (making a positive impression, networking contacts that may result in future professional opportunities, etc.). The strange thing is that the person who voluntarily refused to be in charge of their lives and refused to apply for the position will later complain about how people less qualified than them earn more income, have a more powerful job title, etc.. Well of course they do! They showed up to their own life and took charge of what they would do (and applied). If you don’t compete, you lose. The catch is [...] |
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