Listen Up If You Are in Job Search Mode

Keith Ferrazzi wrote an article called “Are Your Poor Listening Skills Hurting Your Career?”   Ferrazzi’s the guy that wrote a “Never Eat Alone” and another one recently called “Who’s Got Your Back.” In both books Ferrazzi talks about networking and gaining support from the people around you. Could your listening habits be undermining all the hard work you’re putting into your job hunt?

Listening. Talk about a basic skill. Talk about a skill that can get you in good with people or make you look like a jerk. And it’s one that can help you succeed in your job search or completely tank it.

Remember, people tend to connect with people they like. People who listen are more likable. Bad listeners come across as just plain rude and who likes that? Ferrazzi’s article describes the different kinds of listening from removed listening to receptive listening, but what I was thinking was,

“What impact might listening be having on your success today?”

When someone listens well to me, I feel … what’s the right word…pampered. That’s the feeling I get.  If I wasn’t at my best or even “bitchy” before my encounter with this fabulous listener, their behavior lifts my spirits. I feel important. The other person cares.

But what happens when the other person’s messin’ with their Blackberry, staring at something over my shoulder or, worse yet, impatiently interrupting me mid-sentence not allowing me to finish a thought. That bugs me. It’s not much better than an order taker at McDonalds taking my order while talking to their co-workers about what they’ll do after work, failing to make any eye contact and mumbling my total while looking over at the French fryer. (Boy, does that bug me)

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the person helping me network, hopin’ to hire me or a fellow job hunter helping me research a potential employer thinking mentally,

“This guys treating me like the kid at Mickey D’s!”

I want to be held in esteem and something as simple as (or maybe it’s not so simple) listening can give the kind of positive impression I need to be making…especially during the search.

I’d love to hear what you have to say about people you know who listen well and how that made you feel. And better yet, give us the scoop on the times when someone didn’t listen well and how that came across.

I impatiently await your response.