Blog Post: The Infusionite Blog: How are we handling the employed masses?

Go to CNN.com. Maybe check out Foxnews.com if you consider yourself to be more of the fair and balanced variety. Regardless of the news source, you'll probably find yourself waist-deep in the malaise related to the current job-market. You might see a story of a former six-figure earner that has begun serving at a local diner as their only means of income. You'll see previous top execs resorting to new and creative ways of getting their resumes seen, whether it be via walking billboard, or their significant other perched on a corner handing out resumes pleading to get their husband or wife out of the house. It's been well documented how the current state of the economy has affected the jobless, but as an organization, what do we make of the majority of us still employed? Are there lessons we can learn here, and what opportunities are arising as a result?

Opportunity : Top-grading talent

In a candidate rich market such as this, the obvious answer would be to max out the talent you are able to attract for a given position. More and more professionals are willing to “take a step back” to “get a foot in the door” with a great company. Although extremely tempting for the company itself, this can be a tricky proposition. Candidates, by their nature will never be as fully invested in the future as the organization itself. When this job market starts trending upward again, the call to get back onto an original career path will be great. This is not to say that companies should refuse the advances of overly qualified candidates, but additional attention should be made at the point of the screening and interviewing process.

Opportunity : Top-grading culture fit

This opportunity lies in top-grading employees that are genuinely exuberant to be working for your company. At Infusionsoft, we definitely appreciate raw talent, but culture fit and enthusiasm weigh more heavily. To see a genuinely unhappy employee here, no matter the economic climate, is mostly an aberration. It is a good situation for us to be in to make sure we have the most satisfied contingent of employees in the Valley

Opportunity : Training

Offering more expansive training opportunities will help any organization who can’t automatically increase production by adding headcount. Also, employees who at one time might not have been interested in certain training opportunities might be more apt to participate, if solely to improve their marketability in a down job market.

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Sure we all look for benefits and an enjoyable workplace, but what happens when jobs become so scarce, that the greatest benefit of employment is the actual act of being employed? In this day and age, perhaps to be employed and at the same time, profoundly unhappy about your plight in your respective company shows a lack of perspective. While we always should  pursue greatness and achievement, it is important to remain mindful of what we have. There are former execs out there, hat in hand, that would trade with most of us in a second. Just read the news.

In the spirit of building to last