Apr 30, 2008

BUSINESS MATTERS: Adaptability essential in global market

Mildred Culp / Daily News columnist

Dear Dr. Culp: We're in an increasingly competitive global market. Please identify the skills essential to be competitive in a rapidly changing, sometimes volatile economy.

Prescient



A: The most critical skill for this economy is a personal trait - adaptability, which enables you to adjust as your workplace changes. Listening extremely well and reading about global trends will give you critical information you need. Personal marketing skills will help you seize opportunities. You'll recognize signs of business growth, profitability and decline.

You'll communicate extremely well, especially virtually. You'll develop a facility for working with people unlike you and take joy in it. You'll know the international map well.

Developing the ability to acknowledge an error or insensitivity also will be essential. So will be redressing it. You'll learn to perceive humor on your side and theirs, and to laugh when appropriate. You'll do the unthinkable - accept that English isn't the world's only language - and, if you specialize in a particular country, learn enough of that language to get by.

Your greatest skill will be evident when you make others feel comfortable.



Dear Dr. Culp: Immediately after receiving a master's degree in counseling, I began work in my field but was forced to leave after six months because of family illness. I recently began seeking full-time employment. I have great experience in my field but haven't been hired after several interviews for vacant positions. I explain why I had to leave without getting too personal.

I feel hopeless, because I don't know what I am saying that is wrong and if I should give employers more detail. Am I doing something wrong, causing me to be unemployed after many, many interviews?

Confused



A: Exactly how many interviews have you had? First you said "several." That mushroomed into "many, many." If you haven't landed a job in several (three or four), don't panic. Twenty would be another matter. If the illness was mental, don't name it to avoid stigma.

Call employers who don't hire you. If you can't get them on the phone, get a secretary to find out why you weren't hired. Schedule a specific time, at the secretary's convenience, to call. If you hear the same thing two or three times, you'll know more about what to do/say next, including what other type of job to seek.

blogTip

If you're doing everything you know how to do to get promoted, but you feel stuck, you might be underutilizing your interpersonal skills.

Leif Smith (personalbestconsulting.com) suggests that relationships are grounded on trust and excellent listening. How does this transfer to your job? Consider deadlines and steppingstones.

Some people think that "deadline" means "starting point for inspiration and instigation." If you miss one, scramble. Don't let up until you casually walk into your boss's office with the finished project. Ask for deadlines on future projects; mark your calendar; meet them. Remind him that this is what you're doing so he notices your change.

Remember your boss' remark that something is being left undone in the department? This might be your bridge to increased responsibilities. Don't take a nap. Get in your boat and paddle your way back to his office, armed with your self-promotional skills and a plan about what you'll do and what you'll drop. If he says, "No go. We need the other stuff done, too," consider how important it is to your future to do the new thing. Slot it into your repertoire.

You can't lose by overperforming, even if you're paid the same, because your resume will sing all of the way around the company.



E-mail your job-hunting questions to Dr. Mildred Culp at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2008 Passage Media.