An acquaintance of mine pulled me aside at the gym the other day. Like me, he’s in his mid 40’s. He’s out-going, likable and hard-working.
He’s just been hired for a new job.
For as long as I’ve known him, he’s been selling cars. He told me he just felt it was time for change, and that he was grateful for his new job, but that he was actually a little surprised he got it.
I asked him why.
He said he was having to learn how to use a laptop. With some level of embarrassment, he exclaimed, “Kev, I’ve never used a laptop before!”
I replied, “So what? What did they hire you for? Why do you need the laptop?”
He answered, “I’ll be doing some presentations, customer relations … stuff like that. I need to learn how to do the presentations from the laptop.”
He went on to tell me he thought a few other candidates for the job were “way more qualified” with their computer skills. And yet, he said, they hired him.
Why do you think they did?
I offered: “Dude. You’re a personable, out-going, resourceful person who looks people in the eye, isn’t afraid of adversity and knows how to interact with actual human beings, face-to-face, without taking things personally. Those are skills anyone would love to have on their team! I think you’ll find a LOT of companies are dying to find people like you. Anyone can learn how to use a laptop or a smartphone.”
He said he’d never thought of it like that before.
I’m not quite sure how to indicate emotional intelligence, self awareness and resourcefulness on resume (any ideas?).
But I know this …
As I build my businesses and hire new team members, those are exactly the sorts of things I’ll be looking for.
Kevin Bulmer is the founder of No Schedule Man Brand Media and producer and host of the momondays London inspirational event series.
As a dynamic, down-to-earth and highly engaging professional speaker, it’s Kevin’s intention to uplift through a shared example of continual growth. He has a gift for helping people see themselves from a fresh perspective on matters related to mindset and effective marketing messaging. In both cases, it pretty much comes down to just being true to yourself … a principle which is fundamentally simple, but not necessarily easy to do.
To stay in touch with Kevin on a day-to-day basis, join his online personal growth support community, “The Turtle Tribe.” Membership is free for Kevin’s active email subscribers.
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