Is it time to change the dialogue?

Slow to enter the world of blogging, I began in October 2011 with “Thoughts on Resumes (Becoming a Symphony Composer)”. Following that were 3 parts of “Teaming with a Recruiter”. Since all of those addressed resumes and Recruiters which should lead to dialogue, I followed up with “How to prepare for a phone interview” in October of 2012. Then came two more. This subject has laid around long enough and it’s time to allow it to exit my mind so I can think about something new. Both written and/or spoken dialogue between people is how we communicate. Technology has changed the process but not the dialogue. Wikipedia describes dialogue as consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more ("dia" means through or across) people. In the recruiting profession the two or more people fall into two categories. Clients (employers) and Candidates (recruited and/or referred). Seldom do Clients use the word “Job or Jobs”. Forever, it seems like Candidates have said “I need a job or what type of job is it you are recruiting for?” From an earlier blog about Job Boards I wrote “Ask yourself this question “If I were a Physician, Lawyer, CPA, Professor, etc. would I refer to myself as having a Job with the Mayo Clinic, ABC Law Firm, DEF Accounting Firm, you name it University?” No, you are a Professional and you would refer to your Position not your Job! One might say that they are a Product Design Engineer with the ABC Widget Corporation or they are a Plant Manager with XYZ Corporation. Yet when they no longer are employed with whomever they were employed by the first thing they do is go out looking for a Job. The largest employer in the world, our military refers to their employees jobs as “rank”. “Name, Rank and Serial Number”. Not “Name, Job and Serial Number”. Maybe I’m becoming cynical, I don’t think so but, I think it’s time to change our terminology. Just as you are what you eat, you are who you say you are. I believe everyone should aspire to be more or better, do more or better. A waiter should aspire to become the “Headwaiter or Maître d. A Salesperson the Sales Manager. A Nurse, the Head Nurse. An Engineer, the Sr. Engineer then the Engineering Manager. A General Foreperson, the Plant Manager, etc. The media talks about, writes about “Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained”. Those are Positions real people either lost or gained. They are a place we “aspire to do better” from, get promoted from, advance our skills from, etc. The dialogue needs to change. I volunteered with a non-profit whose goal was to assist the down-cast, lower-income and even criminals in skills on interviewing, writing resumes, 3 minute elevator sales pitches and then how to use a P.C. to compose a resume. We then taught them how to search the web for Jobs. In this endeavor I began to think, what keeps these same people from seeking a Position, what gives them hope, motivation to aspire to be more or better, do more or better? Dialogue and the attitude of those on both sides of the table is the only answer I came up with. So I feel it is time to change the dialogue. People need to think of themselves as having a Position regardless of how large or small the organization, company, shop, fast-food business, hospital, office; you name it is. You need to see yourself as having a Position. Maybe it’s not the one you aspire to nor deserve but it’s a launching pad to the next better thing. The media needs to speak of Positions so the worker can see that they are not alone in building their self-respect. The CEO’s, Board Members need to see themselves as having a Position of responsibility to themselves as well as those down the ladder of the organization they manage as people who are in Positions. What keeps this from happening? The dialogue is lost between those in Positions and those looking for a Position. In a phone conversation or perhaps in a face-to-face interview an applicant might say “I really could excel in this Job” rather than “in this Position I will build my skills so I may be a value-added human asset to your organization.” The challenge as I see it is that both up and down the structure, system, society we need to change the dialogue so that we see the value in each other. That includes the media, the government, corporations, and society in general. I have no aspirations of changing the world but, if one person can see the value of how they speak of themselves and others then perhaps we can begin to change the dialogue. Authored by: Bob Simril