How to Get the Job You Want in 30 Seconds

This is written by the Organization Development expert who designs the hiring processes that employers use to screen applicants.  He has also personally screened and hired thousands of people for his own companies and other employers, and teaches managers how to interview and manage employee performance.

Artificial Intelligence is shifting how the hiring process works. However, most hiring decisions are still made within the first 30 seconds. That's right. Regardless if you're applying for an hourly or salary job inside a company, or walking in the door at the local retailer, or submitting a resume for a higher level professional position. 

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

The current research shows that 1 in ever 2 people is keeping their eye open for another job. Since so many people are applying for jobs, imagine the hiring manager or Human Resources (HR) person who has to do the screening. Although AI is changing the process, at a manual level in one four-week period last summer I screened 500 applicants to hire three 3 people at one company.  Only five people made it into the door for the interview and three were offered jobs. By the time they made it in the door they were already in the home stretch to be hired, except they didn't know it. Unless there was something unexpected, they already had the job because they had been through an extensive screening process, including steps unknown to themselves, which also saved the company a lot of time.  At that point we were looking to confirm it and see any final warning flags to NOT hire you. And these particular people had demonstrated themselves to be so superior as high-performers to make it to face-to-face interviews, that the company would have likely hired more than originally planned. 

Employers are always looking for effective methods to find the best person for the job AND the company.  What I described above saved the company tremendous amounts of time and got the absolute top best people for the job. Separate from the internal hiring processes or hiring styles of the employers, there are multiple triggers that automatically eliminate you from making it to the manager’s desk for hiring consideration. Each step or trigger is intentionally designed for an incredibly simple purpose, which a shocking number of people fail, yet a majority should easily pass. Technology today makes it easier for the applicant to apply, yet also makes it easier for the applicant to fall into the technology hole, never to demonstrate that you’re better than the other applicants.

As AI evolves to screen out qualified applicants, un-qualified applicants are also evolving to bypass AI, which is creating a new problem for companies. 

So here are some tips: 

APPLICATION PROCESS 
#1) DON'T BE LAZY: Many applicants don't follow the submission instructions.  Sometimes the requirement to have you put the job code in the SUBJECT line is only a test to see if you follow instructions, not because the receiving computer or email is going to route the submission, although many times it’s also for that purpose. If it was for that second purpose, then your application went into the unmonitored mailbox just as fast as you hit the SEND button;

#2) RESEARCH: Most applicants don't indicate that they know anything specific about the company or the job. They hit the SUBMIT button and hope for things to happen. Take a moment to look at the company’s web site;
  
#3) CUSTOMIZE: Ensure that your resume AND cover memo is tailored to the job you want. Most applicants don’t include a customized introduction email or memo that indicates you want THIS job and know something about this company.  Otherwise, it says you don’t care, or that you’re taking the shotgun approach hoping that something will hit. The 1^st sentence of your email AND your resume MUST get their attention and show that it’s customized and related to the purpose;

#4) PUBLIC INFO: Clean up your public profiles. Dump or hide the awkward Facebook photos. Google yourself to see what shows up that needs to be cleaned up. Even though hiring should be focused on skills, competencies and ability to fit into the company, don’t risk it;

#5) OUTCOME STATEMENTS: Write statements on your resume, and answer interview questions from the perspective of results you've achieved, not beliefs that you have. What accomplishments did you achieve at your last job, not just what your responsibilities included. Also, it doesn't ultimately matter what you BELIEVE, or theories you have, such as believing in team work and good communication. What have you done or actively do to DEMONSTRATE that you are a team player and communicate effectively? "My last performance review said...." "Customer feedback indicated...." "I received an award for...." “My leadership style is…. and I do that by..."

#6) OWNERSHIP/INITIATIVE: Attach something more to your submission than just the resume, such as a letter of recommendation or a testimonial. The additional page can make you stand out for the recipient to remember you;

#7) FOLLOW-THROUGH: Send a follow-up note to acknowledge the submission. Send a follow-up note to say 'thank you.' Don't nag, just simply say that you're following up to ensure they got your message, or "I just wanted to let you know that I'm still interested in the job."



INTERVIEWING
In the application & hiring process most skilled hiring professionals are doing BEI (Behavioral Event Interviewing) and listening for behaviors that tell them what they need to know (reference #5 above OUTCOMES). #5, 6, and 7 above will be your best asset in the interview process AND ongoing such as when doing performance reviews. When you do the interview in person, bring your resume and additional paperwork that can be left with the company, such as copies of certificates, awards, or letters of recognition.  If your first interview is via phone, then ask to send the additional information, or include it as an attachment when you send the follow-up "Thank You" note (see #7 above).


ONGOING
ALWAYS save positive emails, accolades, testimonials, awards, certificates, performance reviews, and letters of recognition throughout your career. If someone tells you that you did a good job, then ask them to please send an email to tell your boss or write a testimonial. Sound egotistic? Excessive? Ok, then ignore this suggestion. The person who follows this suggestion is the one who will show an edge over you both in being hired and promoted.

If you think any of the above suggestions are excessive or too much work, then you’ll reinforce why others will get the job instead of you, and you’ll make it easier for people like me.  If you're too quick to hit the SEND button for submission, then it’s likely the recipient is just as fast to hit DELETE.  If you got this far in reading, then you are likely already following the above suggestions and picked up one or two reminders, or you are someone committed to ongoing future success and this will help you accelerate the growth you deserve.

- KenSergi

(c) Ken Sergi

Note that images and graphics used in this blog are copyrighted and licensed for use to Ken Sergi. 

How to Determine Your Value

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR VALUE

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." 

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it...?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. 

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. 

We can make the voice in our head tell us what we want to reinforce.

Always put yourself in a place, environment, and with people that reinforce your value, not diminish it. 

You are special-Don't EVER forget it." Count your blessings, not your problems.  

Can you write at least 6 things for which you are grateful?

1. _____________________________________

2. _____________________________________

3. _____________________________________

4. _____________________________________

5. _____________________________________

6. _____________________________________

by SergiConsulting.com

Posted on the blog http://mycoachken.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-determine-your-value.html

Communication: Active Listening

THE PREDICTABLE BREAKDOWN OF INFLUENCE AND RELATIONSHIPS
(This article is also available in PDF at the bottom of this page.)

Active listening is an essential technique that successful and well-adapted people demonstrate.  It’s simple to apply, but difficult to master.  Without this skill you cannot be effective in your communication, influence, problem-solving, job performance or even relationships (professional and personal), regardless of your position, rank or status.

WHAT IS ACTIVE LISTENING?

The listener is actively engaged in paying attention to the speaker’s words in addition to behaviors, emotions, and body language, while preparing to repeat back what was said using the speaker’s own words and intentions. 

80% of communication is non-verbal.  In the process of preparing to repeat back what was said by using the speaker’s own words and intentions, the active listener is challenged to keep mentally present and suspend judgment, premature argument, and bias.  The listener can only ask clarifying questions.

EVERYDAY PASSIVE LISTENING CREATES PREDICTABLE CONFLICT

Applying this technique does not imply agreement with the speaker.  It’s easy to witness the lack of demonstrating this skill by a passive listener, which frequently leads to misunderstanding or conflict.  A passive listener might paraphrase back in his/her own words, which becomes the listener’s bias.  The listener’s personality style is trying to apply meaning, which might not express what the speaker intended and shows that the listener is not fully attentive.  The passive listener might also be mentally preparing to “ambush” the speaker by listening to weaknesses of the statements in order to attack the speaker’s position, or support the listener’s perspective.

VALUABLE IMPACT

The impact of active listening demonstrates respect, empathy, common ground of language and understanding without assumptions.  It also enhances comprehension and retention.  High performing people engage this technique to be more significantly more effective and influential.

HOW TO APPLY IT

Active listening is a simple technique, yet incredible difficult to master because your own style gets in the way, or pressure to respond, or perform can cause you to push and negatively impact your ability to be mentally present.  Here are a few tips:

1)    Be mentally present and clear-headed (Reference the article “Mind-the-Gap”);

2)    Recognize your own style to not let distorting filters drive or blind you;

3)    Observe body language, words, styles, and emotions to capture intention;

4)    Repeat back what you heard using the speaker’s own words.  This is also called “reflective listening.” Followed by:
“Is what I said what you meant?”

5)    Ask open-ended or clarifying questions, such as:
“What is the best way you would like me to respond?”
“My impression is that you are frustrated, is that accurate?” or “Are you angry?”
“Is it accurate that….”
“How can I support you?”
“What if the opposite were true?”
“Describe for me…”

- (c) Ken Sergi.  Do not post or publish without permission. It's ok to link.

Click here for a PDF version of this article.

Posted on the blog  http://mycoachken.blogspot.com/2013/03/communication-active-listening.html

Top 2 Reasons People Stay or Leave Their Job

LEADERS, MANAGERS, AND OWNERS: CAUSE AND CURE

Research continues to show that the top two reasons people stay or leave their job is surprisingly the same today as it has been for several decades. Although money is cited, it is NOT the consistently top reason. Our work methods (e.g., virtual office, and a gig economy), technologies, and social consciousness have evolved over time with each generation, there is still a need to address issues of retention, separate from money, which is significantly cheaper than the cost of turnover.

The conservative cost of turnover is estimated to be one-half to two times the employee's annual salary¹. The financial cost of turnover to a company hits hard not just in terms of the lost employee's projects, but also the loss of institutional knowledge, commitment of time to search for a replacement, in addition to the negative impact on team performance, and on the organization's culture. Although post-pandemic challenges of hiring and retention mid-2021 have shown that these top two reasons are much more significantly important, to the extent people are willing to hold out for them as a condition of employment, or quit within days or weeks of discovering they don't exist. Eventually, depending on your geographic location, or public disclosure on hiring websites of the company's culture, it can making hiring extremely difficult for a company, at least for hiring the quality people essential for ensuring the organization's success. 

THE TOP TWO REASONS ARE: 

1) Leadership - encompasses relationship with the boss, organization culture, leadership and/or not having a clear direction.
 
2) Opportunity.²  - encompasses meaningful work, professional development, career growth, and feeling appreciated or recognized.

On the contrary, people are willing to stay in their job, even when the pay is not very good, when these two primary qualities are present. Amazon executives expressed concerns of their ability to attract workers in the June, New York Times revelation that Amazon has a 150% turnover rate³, which also showed retention issues began before the pandemic. I recently worked on a project for the U.S. Forest Service to address the issue of hiring and retention with a new generation, which had to address these same issues.

SYSTEMIC WAYS TO ADDRESS RETENTION

The solutions to address the top two retention issues are interrelated, thus all must be addressed systemically to be sustainable.  

1) Connectivity - The workforce is significantly more virtual. However, similar to the ancillary benefits of kids being in school versus online during the pandemic, a common emerging issue is that employees are becoming much more disconnected to company purpose, culture, learning, and building of trust with each other and with management. Particularly when hiring someone virtually who is new to joining a company they know nothing about. Building trust takes time and effort. It normally happens in between the meeting, like small talk before and afterwards, or going to lunch, and passing in the hallway. The effort is harder without human contact where 80% of communication is non-verbal.

2) Development opportunities - Professional development happens in many different ways, from formal classrooms, webinars, mentors, hallway conversations, and managers acting as coaches. However, "the number one skill for recruiters to embrace in 2021 is adaptability."⁵

3) Strategy/Purpose - Leaders setting clear organization direction and communicating it throughout the company. The more disconnected the employee, the less they are able to connect, or communicate purpose, and more likely they are to ultimately quit. Recent research indicates that only ___% of employees understand their company's strategy and direction, which is still true with research in 2012 that only 14% of employees⁴. An employee who doesn't feel 

4) Managers as Coach - Managers focusing on outcomes versus micro managing, and learning coaching skills to facilitate professional development 

What are you doing that contributes to the employee staying or going? If managers knew the answer, it’s likely that the statistics shown above would not be so high. Your greatest strength can be your most dangerous blind spot.

FREE LUNCH CHALLENGE

Go to lunch with employees and ask how their job maps to the business strategy, or how the manager supports their personal vision for the future.  Offer to buy lunch if they have a concrete answer.  According to research, you have at least an 86%³ chance they will not know the answer and you won’t be forking over any lunch money. 

THE MISSING LINKS

Among the qualities that define exceptional leadership⁴, people want to know and feel that: a) there is a plan; b) they have a role to play that supports the plan (e.g., meaningful work); c) there is empowerment to function independently; and d) there is opportunity for professional development to achieve their best.  “Opportunity” does not necessarily mean promotion.  Along the way they want transparency, to be respected and supported.  How do you define success and encourage the people you manage or lead?  If you verbally define what is expected, then that’s your first warning flag.  Effective performance management tools, measurable objectives, cross-functional opportunities, training, coaching, and mentorship are a few answers.  An empowered employee has a multi-dimensional process that helps them control their work and fosters power in managing their success and failures.

LEADERSHIP STRENGTHS CAN BE DANGEROUS BLIND SPOTS

A successful leader and manager can blend the skills of leadership, to inspire vision, confidence and stability, with management to produce work results, while creating opportunity.  However, most follow the cultural norm of “command and control” to get the job done. Ask anyone who was promoted, or manages a business about the different skills required.  We tend to rely on the skills that were great strengths that made us the success of today.  But those strengths are a liability going into the future.  High-performing people don’t want to be micro-managed.  But, like most leaders, managers, owners, and entrepreneurs, the solution tends to be running faster, pushing harder, working longer, communicating ineffectively, and creating more procedures to fix problems.  In the process they push away the greatest assets that could help achieve the sustainable success they’re desperately seeking.

TAKE ACTION TO BE INFLUENTIAL

What have you done to influence success and retention or departures?  Small business is able to easily attract and retain high quality talent from large stable organizations when the company demonstrates the missing links.  Everyone has their own internal motivation.  What drives one person is not the same for another.  Leadership can inspire and tap into human potential.  To achieve greater success and employee retention, know how you operate and how you affect the people around you.  If you’re not absolutely certain, then find out.  If you are the obstacle to employee success, then you will continue attracting employees that support your style, but not retain people who can achieve your plan or vision.

Older references shown below are kept to show consistency of the data over the years....

¹ Gallup-Workplace  "The Fixable Problem Costs U.S. Businesses $1 Trillion" 

²  Southern New Hampshire University 10/2025 "11 Good Reasons for Leaving a Job"
²  LinkedIn 3/4/2025 "Top 10 Reasons People Leave Their Company"

²  Gallup 2025 "Employee Retention & Attraction" 

² The Balance Careers  2/24/2021 "Top 10 Reasons Why Employees Quit Their Jobs” 

² CNBC  2/27/2019 "94% of Employees say they'd stay if the company invested in their learning” 
² Forbes 10/9/2016 "Ten Ways Managers Cause Employees to Quit” 
² Harvard Business Review 9/2016 "Why People Quit their Jobs” 
² Forbes 1/2/2013 “Top Five Reasons Employees Will Quit in 2013” 

3 New York Times 6/16/21  "Amazon is Brilliant. Why Not at H.R.?"

3 New York Times 6/16/21 "The Amazon Customers Don't See"

⁴ Blanchard LeaderChart  

⁴ “8 Signs of an Extraordinary Boss”  

   Bureau of Labor Statistics.

⁵SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) 2/1/21 "2021 Recruiting Trends Shaped by the Pandemic"

Posted on the blog  http://mycoachken.blogspot.com/2013/03/top-reasons-people-stay-or-leave-job.html

Click here for a PDF version of this article

- (c) Ken Sergi.

Do not post or publish without permission.  It's ok to link.

Communication: How to Reduce Incoming Email - It Increases Productivity

Do you get a lot of email?  Do you want to reduce how much email you receive?  Well, here is the answer...  [“Ding!”] Oh, hold please; I have a text message.

The self-anointed grammar police forcefully argue against the contemporary eroding of proper English in the name of brevity. Social  media is a powerful force that only allows brief posts and single letters to mean whole words, and the use of more visuals. But, it’s that same technology at our fingertips 24/7 that allows our thoughts to instantly flow into posts, and email to fly at the speed that our experiences will allow it to happen.

FACTS

#1 The average business user receives 19% irrelevant mail daily and spends 1:36 hours on non-company websites.

#2 No one seems to have time to read long email, but we all seem to have the time to write email.

#3 The need for validation tends to have people writing messages to CYA (cover your 'assets') documentation.

#4 The fingers are in gear before the brain is engaged.  We data-dump the moments we’re having.

#5 Most people won’t remember whatever email, text or post they read one hour ago.

#6 We assume that because it was sent, it was received AND/OR comprehended.  Email communication gets lost in translation.  80% of communication is non-verbal.  This doesn’t mean it comes via electronic method; instead it's all the subtle methods of voice, tone, body language, eye contact, etc.

#7 Email is one-way communication.  We think at approximately 800 words-per-minute, we talk at approximately 125 wpm, and generally type less than 65 wpm. Although voice-to-text is closing the gap, but editing the errors takes time. The ROI (Return on Investment) shows that it actually takes more time to produce the email than the value of the impact it's supposed to have. Although it feels like the path of least resistance because we don't actually have to talk or interact with the other person.

Do you have friends or colleagues who send you so much email, or Facebook posts, or Tweets that you have developed an auto-pilot reaction to ignore them, or always read everything they send?  We have an internal instinct that when certain people send a message we know what to expect.  Maybe you’re one of those people.  When you send messages you’re creating an image and reputation for yourself that impacts your ability to be heard or be influential. 

What impact do you want to have when you’re sending a message?  "Wait!" You're thinking... isn't the question supposed to be how to get everyone else to stop sending you email?  You are also part of "everyone else."  When you are deciding to send a message how quick do you go from thought to action?

HOW PEOPLE READ

We “data mine” the computer screen looking for highlights.  Google has great research on the topic.  The best web designers know how the human eye scans for data and the “hot spots” on the screen that gives them less than 0.2 seconds to capture your attention.  Speed-readers look down the center of each page mining for highlights.  Each morning the US President receives a state-of-affairs briefing that is summarized on one page.  If he can do it, so can you.

REAL SITUATION – STOP TRYING

A client that I was coaching recently asked for advice on how to get his emails read by upper management.  He is a brilliant man with a senior position at a mid-sized company.  He had a lot of great business ideas that could significantly help achieve strategic objectives and grow the organization.  But he was very frustrated that he felt ignored and ultimately disrespected.  I gave him one simple suggestion that completely changed everything.  He was suddenly experiencing responses to his messages, respect for his input, and seeing actions taken as a result of his ideas.  What changed?  He stopped trying so hard and started by reducing the number of emails being sent.

The one thing he wanted the most was the one thing he was harming the greatest.  The more he tried to be heard, the more he was being ignored.  He was creating a reputation for himself of someone who always bombards people with email messages and ideas.  As the ideas flowed, his fingers typed.  His most significant ideas were getting lost among all of his other ideas the he simultaneously presented. 

The solution: He created structure.  He wrote down all the ideas and held onto them until the end of the week.  He emailed them to himself or saved a draft message and updated it throughout the week.  Then, at the end of the week, decided which idea was the top most important one that should be sent.  He was discovering that the idea he had on Monday was not as important on Friday.  This structure flowed into his personal life.  He stopped providing comments to a majority of emails he received.  And he wasn’t getting distracted by posting regular Facebook updates.

End result:  Instead of trying to change others, my client created his own self-development that raised his ability to be influential.  He simultaneously reduced email and was getting more of his ideas through upper management.

TRY THIS GAME

Next time you’re with someone at lunch or dinner, tell everyone to put their cell phones in a stack on the table.  The first person to check their phone for any purpose has to pay the check.  (Talk about a deterrent!) We create the world around us, and how people perceive us by our everyday actions.  What have you done to self-observe the impact and influence that you have?  Have you lost the ability to control what’s happening around you?  

WE’RE ALWAYS “ON”

The constant need we have to be activated is pervasive.  Look around and see people together in public, but relating to their devices versus each other.  Apps are constantly feeding us and getting us to respond.  We have a primal drive to be attentive.  It’s why the negative news is more engaging than positive and commercials are intended to stimulate a response.  It’s also why we recommend not having any “activating” activities at least 30 minutes prior to bed, and thus no TV, computer, email, text, or phone in the bedroom.  This technology stimulates us and we’re compelled to respond.

ORGANIZATION CULTURE BY LEADERSHIP – THE STATISTICS

Regardless of your type of business, internal and external email volume impacts productivity.  The average business user receives 78 email messages per day of which 19% are considered spam and 24% contain an attachment. If an employee is checking personal email via external websites, then this further reduces productivity.  The average user spends 1.36 hours per day on external (i.e. not business-related) websites, and spends 41 minutes per day on instant messaging. ¹ 

Leadership within an organization has a significant influence on the volume of email in the culture.  Email overload is a symptom of a larger issue, such as ambiguous decision-making processes, lack of clear protocols, and people not getting what they need from peers.  If your culture is to drop everything and regularly check email, or you feel compelled to “CYA” (cover your ‘assets’) then your leadership team has the opportunity to reshape the culture.  Email overload becomes a performance management issue that impacts efficiency, effectiveness and the financial bottom line.  It must be addressed systemically beyond issuing a set of rules.  

#1   -  Don’t create a broad set of rules or policies that won’t stick.  Creating a set of guidelines or protocols that can be demonstrated without contradiction, such as “Don’t CC anyone as an FYI” can go a long way to reducing email and establishing trust for employees who feel compelled to include others on their messages.

#2   -  Establish if, when, and how someone should update you and others.

#3   -  Evaluate how decisions are made and give clear direction on work assignments.

#4   -  Incorporate a simple protocol in meetings that establishes how follow-up actions will be communicated.

#5   -  Create standards, such as labeling the Subject line with “Action Required”

#6   -  Provide training, such as communication styles and how to handle meetings. It will reduce the time to generate or reply to email. 

MESSAGE BLACK HOLES

A "message black hole" is the abyss where your message went without any acknowledgement that it was received, understood, appreciated, or acted upon.  Navigating these black holes requires more about knowing yourself (personality) and your needs, than about techniques or actions to achieve less email.  But the end result will still create less email.

PRACTICES – CREATE STRUCTURE – GET CONTROL

DON’T

#1   Do not check email first thing when you wake up, or when you arrive into the office.  Set-aside “start-up” time to plan your day and know “What are the most important things I need to do today?”

#2   Do not reply unless you were asked, or unless you expect action. 

#3   Do not be quick to reply.  “The mouth is in gear before the brain is engaged” is equally dangerous with a keyboard.

#4   Do not “Reply All.”  What’s important to you is not to others.
#5   Never use the "High Priority" flag unless it requires immediate attention and action.

#6   Do not send jokes, cartoons, or motivational messages.  You’re creating a reputation that your messages are intermingled with unimportant meaningless content that doesn’t warrant consistent respect.

DOs

#1   Send less email, (those are the three magic words!), and it will generate fewer responses.  If you send less, you will get less

#2   Create structure for when you check and send email.  Spontaneous checking keeps your brain always “ON” and one message leads to another.  The mail becomes your driver without you in control.

#3   Before sending, ask yourself “What do I want as a result of sending this?”  Do I need an action?  If this message isn’t high priority, then keep it in DRAFT to send 3 – 5 days later.

#4   Get to the point.  Try to use bullets.  Remind yourself that the message recipients have just as much going on in their day as you do in yours.  Put action items in an obvious location.  Put “Action Required” or “FYI” in the Subject line.

#5   Communicate expectations with staff, senders, peers, etc. Let them know that you check email at specific times.  Then, be consistent about it.  If you reply during evenings and weekends then expect undesirable consequences.

#6   Turn off the audible or tactile (vibrate) notification that you have email and/or text messages.  Don’t become a slave to your device's “ding!” You're disrupting your ability to be focused, and you're telling others that you’re always available and to "contact me anytime."

#7   Unsubscribe to email newsletters and notifications, such as from Facebook and Twitter.

#8   Recognize your style.  Your personality type impacts your communication style.  It determines what you need to say; how much you say; the type, style and frequency of the message; and thus impacts how others will respond to you.  Know yourself and your personality that drives you, and how it shows up in the way you attend to mail.  If you don’t know your personality type, then find a class, take a test, or locate a professional that can help you know it and how to effectively self-manage to be more influential.  One example is if you like lots of facts and data, then you’ll tend to share that in your communications, resulting in excessive time writing email without consideration of the receiver, who might not care. 

We’ve evolved into the modern day “Pavlov’s dog’ of automatic response to technology commanding our attention.  The “ding!” of incoming email gets our attention and we move into auto-pilot response.  The technology drives us instead of us staying in control of it as a tool.  Challenge yourself to do it better to self-manage your personality style while adapting to the styles of others.  Don’t let your blind spots impact your success or negatively affect your ability to be influential.

- (c) Ken Sergi

Do not post or publish without permission.  It's ok to link.