A job isn't something you "get"...

[RHL]

"Hey... you're the guy with the Viper, right?"

It's 12:45AM, the holiday weekend has ended and the 24 hour gas station is utterly dead, not one customer. The attendant actually has to walk out from the store to pump the gas. I have on muddy sneakers and dusty jeans with a huge tear in the a$$, and I'm driving my 14 year old Honda, but apparently I still can't go incognito.

"What are you doing driving that piece of s--t?"

Respect for the neighbors concerning exhaust noise, don't want to be tearing around in the dead of night, not worth pulling it out to drive 5 minutes, etc.

"So I've been wondering ever since I first saw you around, what the hell do you do for a living?"

I tell him about the internet business that's supporting me right now.

"I don't know what that means." (It's a technical B2B service niche)

I explain it in more simple terms using an analogy.

"Wow... so... you hiring right now man? I'd love to get out of here."

It's everywhere. In the news, on social media, all over your Facebook feed. People need jobs and nobody's hiring. People spend six months writing two resumes a day and get no response. People blast employers, imagining that jobs are like a resource that's being horded, or maybe outsourced to some place where people work for a bowl of rice a day and a corrugated tin roof over their heads.

Here's the problem: That's all DoD-classified weapons-grade bullshit.

I never realized this until I read TMF -If you can't get a job the problem is you, but not in the way you think. Some political pundits are fond of saying that a lack of employment is the result of laziness. I don't think that's necessarily true. What it is definitely a result of is what the gas station attendant demonstrated-A lack of understanding of how jobs works (and possibly the reason why he's pumping gas at 1AM on a Holiday).

Jobs come from businesses, from people hiring. Most slowlaners assume that businesses ape their set of motivations, just writ large-businesses get started and operate to make money just like they go to work to make money and need to "get" a job to get paid. Of course at TMF , we know that's not true: Businesses operate because they create value; businesses that chase cash go broke. You can probably see where this is going.

That guy at the gas station was so clueless about what I do that he didn't even understand industry terminology. He didn't care about the businesses I help, he didn't even ask who the customers were. All he wanted was to get paid. My car had a V10, his had a 2-liter 4-banger, and he figured that the trick to evening out that disparity was to get access to the magical money tree I had, where cash flowed without effort and jobs were given out like candy to satisfy the desires of employees.

What I took away from MJ's book, as far as the slow-lane is concerned, is this:

A job isn't something you get. It's something you give.

If that gas station attendant had said "Hey, I know how to do x, y, and z related to your field and have a track record of success in this related area, if you give me a chance for a few weeks, I'll show you how I can boost your profit and make your life easier," that would have been his last shift at the gas station. If he had approached the conversation by telling me what he could do for me, and for my customers, he would have captivated my interest and had me taking down his cell number. If he had tried to provide value to me rather than putting the onus on me, saying "you figure out how to make money, then you figure out how to fit me into that equation and make me money," his income might have quadrupled or more starting today. People complain that jobs don't pay for training when they hire workers anymore. Why should they? Did anyone train your employer when she or he put their house, their health insurance, and their children's security on the line to start the company you work for? Employers are doing nothing but holding employees to the same standard others held them to-expecting them to figure out how to add value to others without paying to teach them how to do it.

When you, as fastlaners, approach customers as a B2B service provider in the fastlane, a true win-win will have a 95+% chance of being accepted. If you can show customers how your product definitively enriches their lives, cash will roll in without trickery or arm twisting. If you apply for a job and focus on demonstrable ways that you will make things better for your employer (and their bottom line), you'll need two resumes to land your next job rather than 200.

Your life (and your bank account) will be enriched when you stop asking "how can I get?" and start asking "what can I give?"

 

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[GuestUser113]

If that gas station attendant had said "Hey, I know how to do x, y, and z related to your field and have a track record of success in this related area, if you give me a chance for a few weeks, I'll show you how I can boost your profit and make your life easier," that would have been his last shift at the gas station. If he had approached the conversation by telling me what he could do for me, and for my customers, he would have captivated my interest and had me taking down his cell number.

This has Robert Herjavec all over it.

Thanks for another good read!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Your life (and your bank account) will be enriched when you stop asking "how can I get?" and start asking "what can I give?"

Seems to be quite relevant here today.

 

[throttleforward]

Instantly one of my favorite posts on the forum. This fundamental concept (how jobs work) is something I've had to explain countless times. People believe there is this repository of jobs that businesses are hoarding; that if they would only stop being less mean/less greedy/more patriotic, the evil companies would allow all of us to be rich. The idea that you don't get a job, you give a job (or create a job!) is such a foreign concept.

Bookmarked, Rep+.

 

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[jon.a]

Thank you for sharing that!

 

[davedev]

Storytime with @ΕΝΔΕΚΑ,

always a terrific read. Repped.

 

[Mike.B]

People complain that jobs don't pay for training when they hire workers anymore. Why should they?

Oh ... so maybe your IT staff has adequate training for the multi-million dollar software/hardware rollout that management just requested, and your IT staff doesn't have a spare $6-8K per head laying around. Let's start there ...

Did anyone train your employer when she or he put their house, their health insurance, and their children's security on the line to start the company you work for?

You are comparing apples and oranges here. There is a major difference between starting a business, and having properly trained employees that keep the business running and growing.

 

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[RHL]

so maybe your IT staff has adequate training for the multi-million dollar software/hardware rollout that management just requested, and your IT staff doesn't have a spare $6-8K per head laying around. Let's start there ...

Did you mean "inadequate training?" I can't figure out what this was supposed to mean, but it seems like you're saying "what if the company decides to deploy expensive new software and the IT people you have can't afford training?" I want to be clear; that wasn't the kind of thing I was talking about. I was talking about when you first look for a job, expecting companies to teach you the basic ins-and-outs that could apply to jobs at other companies where you might have worked, not keeping your workforce up to date on the systems you're currently using. You're right to be incensed at that prospect; that's just good business sense. The idea that a company will indoctrinate you into any idiosyncratic software/hardware they're using goes without saying, I'm talking about the people who say "I know nothing about marketing, teach me how to market, buy ads, funnel, etc. and then pay me to do it for you."

There is a major difference between starting a business, and having properly trained employees that keep the business running and growing.

If you can hire pre-trained or veteran employees in the area where they'll be working, cost effectively, it makes financial sense to do so. If you can't, than you need to do what makes more financial sense at the end of the day, either hire the employees and pay to train them, or abort your project, or find a way to do it without the employees. Again, I'm not talking about keeping your workforce up to date, I'm talking about the hiring process and, as a worker, figuring out as much about how you can help your potential employer as possible (including self-study in the field) before you send in your application.

 

[Mike.B]

I was talking about when you first look for a job, expecting companies to teach you the basic ins-and-outs that could apply to jobs at other companies where you might have worked, not keeping your workforce up to date on the systems you're currently using.

Got it.

 

[ilrein]

It's always fun to see the underlying, universal principles in teeny tiny social interactions...

And a place like this forum, else who would appreciate our cosmic insights?

 

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[Solrac]

Another wake up call....Have had a few BIG wake up calls after being on this forum....thanks man..

 

[BaladOfARichMan]

This is gold. Thank you ΕΝΔΕΚΑ

If he had approached the conversation by telling me what he could do for me, and for my customers, he would have captivated my interest and had me taking down his cell number.

 

[BaladOfARichMan]

I have a question though. I understand perfectly that you have to give before you can get, especially if you're a beginner. That's alright, but in the same way there are greedy employees, there are also greedy employers who only want to get and give you very little. As a beginner you may think that's the right thing, but it may be not. How do you avoid that?

What do you guys think of that?

 

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[ilrein]

There's a key characteristic here, that overlaps both situations: judgement.

Accepting a job, and offering a job--are two sides of the same coin--trade for mutual benefit. A capitalist society protects each party from coercion, which includes fraud (deliberate misleading information). But there is a difference between fraud and just a bad trade. The individual party must exercise their judgement, and if said party makes a bad judgement call, such is life. Learn from your mistakes, and don't throw good money after bad money.

 

[RHL]

there are also greedy employers who only want to get and give you very little.

Yes. There are also companies that seek to violate the basic principle of provide value->get paid, for example, when a company uses lobbyists, monopolies, or coersion to force customers to keep using an inferior product they are unhappy with (Comcast, Verizon) rather than a better one that could easily dominate the market and force them to evolve or die (civic or local fiber), that's a violation of this principle. So is deriving significant value from employees without properly compensating them.

From the worker side, specialized skills that raise the barrier to entry will help you avoid being stiffed. Also, keep your options open. Always be looking for different or better work. Always be maximizing your value within your current job. If a person gets laid off, offer to do that person's job too. If you are indispensable, you are in a good position to ask for raises, etc.

 

[BaladOfARichMan]

Thanks!

If a person gets laid off, offer to do that person's job too. If you are indispensable, you are in a good position to ask for raises, etc.

 

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[Allen]

Great story. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[JoeBocce]

"Hey... you're the guy with the Viper, right?"

It's 12:45AM, the holiday weekend has ended and the 24 hour gas station is utterly dead, not one customer. The attendant actually has to walk out from the store to pump the gas. I have on muddy sneakers and dusty jeans with a huge tear in the a$$, and I'm driving my 14 year old Honda, but apparently I still can't go incognito.

"What are you doing driving that piece of s--t?"

Respect for the neighbors concerning exhaust noise, don't want to be tearing around in the dead of night, not worth pulling it out to drive 5 minutes, etc.

"So I've been wondering ever since I first saw you around, what the hell do you do for a living?"

I tell him about the internet business that's supporting me right now.

"I don't know what that means." (It's a technical B2B service niche)

I explain it in more simple terms using an analogy.

"Wow... so... you hiring right now man? I'd love to get out of here."

It's everywhere. In the news, on social media, all over your Facebook feed. People need jobs and nobody's hiring. People spend six months writing two resumes a day and get no response. People blast employers, imagining that jobs are like a resource that's being horded, or maybe outsourced to some place where people work for a bowl of rice a day and a corrugated tin roof over their heads.

Here's the problem: That's all DoD-classified weapons-grade bullshit.

I never realized this until I read TMF -If you can't get a job the problem is you, but not in the way you think. Some political pundits are fond of saying that a lack of employment is the result of laziness. I don't think that's necessarily true. What it is definitely a result of is what the gas station attendant demonstrated-A lack of understanding of how jobs works (and possibly the reason why he's pumping gas at 1AM on a Holiday).

Jobs come from businesses, from people hiring. Most slowlaners assume that businesses ape their set of motivations, just writ large-businesses get started and operate to make money just like they go to work to make money and need to "get" a job to get paid. Of course at TMF , we know that's not true: Businesses operate because they create value; businesses that chase cash go broke. You can probably see where this is going.

That guy at the gas station was so clueless about what I do that he didn't even understand industry terminology. He didn't care about the businesses I help, he didn't even ask who the customers were. All he wanted was to get paid. My car had a V10, his had a 2-liter 4-banger, and he figured that the trick to evening out that disparity was to get access to the magical money tree I had, where cash flowed without effort and jobs were given out like candy to satisfy the desires of employees.

What I took away from MJ's book, as far as the slow-lane is concerned, is this:

A job isn't something you get. It's something you give.

If that gas station attendant had said "Hey, I know how to do x, y, and z related to your field and have a track record of success in this related area, if you give me a chance for a few weeks, I'll show you how I can boost your profit and make your life easier," that would have been his last shift at the gas station. If he had approached the conversation by telling me what he could do for me, and for my customers, he would have captivated my interest and had me taking down his cell number. If he had tried to provide value to me rather than putting the onus on me, saying "you figure out how to make money, then you figure out how to fit me into that equation and make me money," his income might have quadrupled or more starting today. People complain that jobs don't pay for training when they hire workers anymore. Why should they? Did anyone train your employer when she or he put their house, their health insurance, and their children's security on the line to start the company you work for? Employers are doing nothing but holding employees to the same standard others held them to-expecting them to figure out how to add value to others without paying to teach them how to do it.

When you, as fastlaners, approach customers as a B2B service provider in the fastlane, a true win-win will have a 95+% chance of being accepted. If you can show customers how your product definitively enriches their lives, cash will roll in without trickery or arm twisting. If you apply for a job and focus on demonstrable ways that you will make things better for your employer (and their bottom line), you'll need two resumes to land your next job rather than 200.

Your life (and your bank account) will be enriched when you stop asking "how can I get?" and start asking "what can I give?"

People forget JFK's challenge to ask themselves what they can do for their country, vs what they can get from it. I was a kid in the 80s when I heard his speech and those famous words have been embedded in my mind since. They have influenced my attitude and work ethic towards every job I've had, team I've played on in HS, college and recreational, and customer I serve in my businesses. Do I slip sometimes? Sure, but the message had a such a deep impact on me it's easy to remember why I must get back on track. We exist to serve others as well as ourselves.

Yes. There are also companies that seek to violate the basic principle of provide value->get paid, for example, when a company uses lobbyists, monopolies, or coersion to force customers to keep using an inferior product they are unhappy with (Comcast, Verizon) rather than a better one that could easily dominate the market and force them to evolve or die (civic or local fiber), that's a violation of this principle. So is deriving significant value from employees without properly compensating them.

From the worker side, specialized skills that raise the barrier to entry will help you avoid being stiffed. Also, keep your options open. Always be looking for different or better work. Always be maximizing your value within your current job. If a person gets laid off, offer to do that person's job too. If you are indispensable, you are in a good position to ask for raises, etc.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

A great book that reflects this philosophy is Thick Face, Black Heart.

In the book it explains why it is important to do all your tasks to the best of your ability, and yes, even those shitty jobs. So if you're mopping floors, you are to aim to be the best floor mopper in the world. If you're driving a cab, you are to be the best cab driver in the world. This mindset will train you to excel at everything in life, even the things most people would easily cheat or half-heart.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

A great book that reflects this philosophy is Thick Face, Black Heart.

In the book it explains why it is important to do all your tasks to the best of your ability, and yes, even those shitty jobs. So if you're mopping floors, you are to aim to be the best floor mopper in the world. If you're driving a cab, you are to be the best cab driver in the world. This mindset will train you to excel at everything in life, even the things most people would easily cheat or half-heart.

From Sept 2012 to April 2013 I worked the 11pm to 3am shift at FedEx. The winter months were brutal. Below zero temperatures. We worked inside but the building was open to the elements on two sides. It was colder inside than outside with a killer cross wind every night. Even though I was only working this job part time and for a short period I was one the hardest and best workers (at least on my line). I was constantly being recognized as the best workers there. I've always wanted to be the best at what I was doing no matter what job it was.

 

[RogueInnovation]

Easier said than done though and tbh, its an IDEAL not an exact reality.
Jobs don't exist by giving, cuz if they did, due to all the stingy a##es that want to do it all themselves, compete, be the boss, all you end up with is saturation.

Jobs, for the masses exist because crucial and automatable aspects of business and customer service can be achieved by most peoples general smarts/personality

TBH
If we lived in THAT generous world, of giving ourselves to jobs, there still wouldnt be jobs.
Lets be real.


I think jobs start accumulating when you create a culture or lifestyle that emboldens workers and clientelle to share experiences with each other. This way, your employee is part of the product.

I think that is what most people imagine rich guys are smart enough to be able to understand.
They think you have good vibes and a healthy company, and imagine you know how to better utilise staff than these big companies.

He's not wrong, hes just looking for a job and a good atmosphere and maybe support/encouragement.


Sure he'd persuade you better if he gave you a sales pitch. But lets be honest...
Your not hiring, and not hiring guys like him, cuz thats not your business.


BTW I believe jobs exist because demand exists. I believe businesses sometimes squeeze demand down into a little box, and hire less people, filter cash out the top, and create "pressure", which enlivens the economy to hustle a bit more, which requires workers to blindly get dragged along for that ride, in order to be part of "society".
If they don't, they are labelled hobos and shamed.

Who the h#ll are we kidding when we say we are saints? That we know it all?
We don't

And its fn bs all around. Just cuz as business people we get closer to the fire, it doesnt mean we own the problems of the world and need to divy some out.

F that, lets make this life easier, not harder


This isn't black n white, thats all I'm saying

 

[JoeBocce]

Easier said than done though and tbh, its an IDEAL not an exact reality.
Jobs don't exist by giving, cuz if they did, due to all the stingy a##es that want to do it all themselves, compete, be the boss, all you end up with is saturation.

Jobs, for the masses exist because crucial and automatable aspects of business and customer service can be achieved by most peoples general smarts/personality

TBH
If we lived in THAT generous world, of giving ourselves to jobs, there still wouldnt be jobs.
Lets be real.


I think jobs start accumulating when you create a culture or lifestyle that emboldens workers and clientelle to share experiences with each other. This way, your employee is part of the product.

I think that is what most people imagine rich guys are smart enough to be able to understand.
They think you have good vibes and a healthy company, and imagine you know how to better utilise staff than these big companies.

He's not wrong, hes just looking for a job and a good atmosphere and maybe support/encouragement.


Sure he'd persuade you better if he gave you a sales pitch. But lets be honest...
Your not hiring, and not hiring guys like him, cuz thats not your business.


BTW I believe jobs exist because demand exists. I believe businesses sometimes squeeze demand down into a little box, and hire less people, filter cash out the top, and create "pressure", which enlivens the economy to hustle a bit more, which requires workers to blindly get dragged along for that ride, in order to be part of "society".
If they don't, they are labelled hobos and shamed.

Who the h#ll are we kidding when we say we are saints? That we know it all?
We don't

And its fn bs all around. Just cuz as business people we get closer to the fire, it doesnt mean we own the problems of the world and need to divy some out.

F that, lets make this life easier, not harder


This isn't black n white, thats all I'm saying

I disagree. If you are a cashier at a gas station, which I was, be the best one you can be. Check the oil and wash the window as best you can, wash the back window, too... Smile and make people feel welcomed, wear clean clothes and look respectable. Maybe no fantastic job will miraculously come from a customer, but you're putting yourself in a position to be successful at something else...building a foundation, building up character, getting into the right frame of mind. Maybe the manager will introduce you to a friend with a business some day who needs a new employee, or give you a really good recommendation that helps get you into college or a new job.

In addition, if that person never does anything else, an employer will most likely give him raises and preferential treatment for holidays off, sick time, etc. Also, the person will simply be happier and make customers' live happier with his positive attitude. So yes, not everyone will be a star sales person or business owner, but they can always positively contribute and be happy if they choose to be.

 

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[throttleforward]

Your not hiring, and not hiring guys like him, cuz thats not your business.

The thing is that in the future, fewer people will be "hiring" in the traditional sense of the word. The traditional model of 9-5, 40hrs/wk work is being replaced by part time and outsourced, task-oriented work. So while the OP might not be "hiring employess" for fulltime work, he could very well be in need of web services, social media management, writing/copy, etc. If the gas station attendant does a good job, he may get "hired" full time or he may get referrals from the OP. Now all of a sudden he "owns his own business", sets his own hours, etc. It's not perfect, but it's the wave of the future.

Tl'dr: We need to rethink what "work" and "jobs" are if we are going to survive; gone are the days of long-term, full time employment with one or two companies followed by comfortable retirement.

 

[wilddog]

Last week I did an internal interview with someone that wanted to enter my department. All he talked about was himself.
"I'm a PHD and I want to do this...and that.... and that too. I want to be a manager in 5 years..."

All I could think about what JFK's famous saying. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Tell me what you can do for me, not what I can do for you. You always Sow before you Reap. Just ask a farmer.

Great post.

 

[RogueInnovation]

gone are the days of long-term, full time employment with one or two companies followed by comfortable retirement.

Its a good thing too...
But we all have to be vigilant that in the transition, we don't play mind games.


That said, Enaeka, man I too find it hard to find reasons to employ people. It really does bother me. I don't have the answers, I just avoid employing people for now (great solution /sarcasm). So deep down, I'm really being as bs to that guy as you.

I dunno man, it is hard.

But some professions are easier to hire in, security operations, restaurants, mining, and cleaning jobs for example. In those sectors you get a contract, fill the spaces.

So maybe its just our line of work that makes hiring people a pain in the D, unless they bring exceptional value. And in that context, I agree, we need go getters.

 

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[Mike.B]

It's funny, because for 20 years I thought I was going to be the best IT person I could possibly be. I worked tons of hours, I studied hours upon hours on my own time learning everything I could, and I volunteered for every project that came along. And what I got out of it was more work (because appreciation became expectation), longer hours, calls at all hours of the night, oh and a great 2-3% raise every year! Then came the restructuring and layoffs, and I was one of the first to go. And this didn't just happen with one company!

So I have to disagree slightly with the "be the best you can be" mantra. Even when you think you have a great career, it's still just a JOB, and nobody gives a shit about you, your family, or any problems you may have.

Do your best, but do it for your business not someone else's!

 

[Writer]

Last week I did an internal interview with someone that wanted to enter my department. All he talked about was himself.
"I'm a PHD and I want to do this...and that.... and that too. I want to be a manager in 5 years..."

All I could think about what JFK's famous saying. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Tell me what you can do for me, not what I can do for you. You always Sow before you Reap. Just ask a farmer.

Great post.

Yes but tell it to HR departments and the industrial psychologists they refer to.
No offense, but in 10+ year in the industry, I had to go through an exorbitant number of self-improvement/Performance Review forms and discussions. 99% are about "what you are" and "what do you want to gain" and in a few cases "what are you doing outside of work". This without considering the bullshit questions like "how did you relate with your coworkers?". Out of 100 questions only one or two are about productivity and/or process improvements. At most!

 

[lewj24]

Bump. Found this thread. Very good lesson. Should be marked gold in my opinion.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Bump. Found this thread. Very good lesson. Should be marked gold in my opinion.

Yes, definitely needs an upgrade.

 

[ChrisV]

Bump. Found this thread. Very good lesson. Should be marked gold in my opinion.

Yes, definitely needs an upgrade.

Yea, I was honestly just thinking this thread should be Gold.

I’m literally sitting here making highlights and saving the post to my evernote (i do that with certain posts,) and this is stuff I know

It’s just something about his wording that makes it stick 10x more



I’d also add “and effectively communicate what I can give” and the formula is 1000% complete.