ago a day in the 30’s made me shiver – now I want to go for a long walk. My perception has clearly been impacted by the circumstances around me. This happens in everything that we do and sometimes it causes us to make choices without the proper clarity because we are looking at our situation through a manipulated lens. Bundling up in coat, hat, scarf and gloves a week ago was required. This morning my son ran out the door with his coat unzipped and no hat, no gloves, no scarf. It’s not that cold! he yells as he heads for the bus stop. Perception based on the recent circumstances.
Continuous review of the circumstances around us and the decisions we are making about the situation at hand are critical, even when talking about the business we (That’s Good HR) are in – staffing. How you interpret and react to hiring trends, Indianapolis job openings and your own job search are all impacted by current events. For example, there have been so many reports on economic and hiring trends in the media lately that leave Indianapolis staffing firms and job seekers feeling almost schizophrenic in how to react each day.
One day the message is that "Employers Expect an Uptick in Hiring" and the next week the message tries hard to remain optimistic with "Surprise Fall in Jobs does not dash Recovery hopes". Next come this week’s report on Small Business challenges with access to credit and other issues going into 2010 that will affect hiring trends. Meanwhile, those who have been unemployed and working hard to find a job are simply confused about how they should feel about their options: good? bad? happy? sad? It’s enough to drive even the most level headed person a little crazy because no matter what the news says, if you are still unemployed you are frustrated and your perception of the situation is based on that fact alone. It is hard not to be mad, frustrated and skeptical of the noise when your own personal situation does not change with the news.
So what do you do? You stop where you are, you consider the information at hand and you sort through what is relevant to your own personal situation and you do your very best to use it effectively. What not to do? Don’t let every change in the media reports effect your perception of what is real. So, when the Freakonomics blog post in the New York Times highlights the latest study on the effect of the rain on your upcoming interview, I suggest you make the best decision for you personally rather than rushing to the phone to call and tell your potential employer that you would like to reschedule for a sunny day.
At That’s Good HR, we have to wade through the flood of media updates all the time and translate all of the noise out there into what is best for our candidates and our clients at the end of the day – regardless of the weather.
