Thursday’s Thought: Scrooge Has Not Left The Building!

Every year about this time, I start to invite the snow into my life, welcome the joys of the Christmas season, and even look forward to wearing the heavy artillery because the temperatures have fallen to unmentionable degrees. I am even prepared to deal with the crazy shoppers that scurry to the malls like they are going out of business and just gotta have that third Mickey Mouse Pancake Maker in their household.

However, I am not prepared for the "attitude" that I encounter, and probably never will be receptive to people with bad attitudes (at least in a business environment). I may notice this more because I am a people watcher. If you have not tried this past-time activity, I encourage you to try it. I observe people. And I have seen Mr. & Mrs. Scrooge just about everywhere I go. They show up in restaurants, shopping areas, interviews, networking clubs, and even entertainment venues (how ironic). Since my attitude hasn't been 100% perfect in the general public (because let's face it, people make you mad sometimes), I can overlook those areas of misconduct, but I cannot forgive the job related or networking related attitudes that are running rampant in the business world.

Just in the past two weeks, I have witnessed the meltdown of Frosty the Optimistic Jobseeker Snowman. I know times are hard but your attitude will come across in both verbal and non-verbal communications. In the past, I have said that 95% of all recruiters are incompetent (and that is still true), but I also would say that 95% of all recruiters DO have the ability to sniff out a bad attitude. That is one trait that almost all recruiters are capable of doing. Thus, you might have the "ability" to do the job, but you are not getting an offer because your attitude is not up to par. People don't want to hire a scrooge. If you have to fake it until you make it, I suggest you do that, because Hiring Managers are observant, and are rejecting people because of "fit". And one of those main components of "fit" is your attitude. Think about it this way, "Would you hire you (and your attitude)?"