Chapter 34
Don’t Be
Blackballed
by Your BlackBerry
In a 2009 New York Times
article, author Alex Williams recalls how a Dallas “college student
sunk his chance to have an internship at a hedge fund . . . when he
pulled out a BlackBerry to look up a fact to help him make a point
during his interview, then lingered—momentarily, but perceptibly—to
check a text message a friend had sent.”
“A third of more than 5,300 workers polled in May
by Yahoo HotJobs, a career research and job listings Web site,”
according to Williams, “said they frequently checked e-mail in
meetings. Nearly 20 percent said they had been castigated for poor
manners regarding wireless devices.”
“Students bring their cell phones or they’re on
them when they walk into a meeting,” business etiquette consultant
Gail Madison told me. “I had one student who was calling on a cell
phone while texting on another at the same time. My hair just about
caught on fire!”
In meetings within companies, many attendees now
use their BlackBerrys or iPhones to conduct a running commentary on
the session. The BlackBerry messages will often be jeering
raspberries at the presenter. “You’ll have half the participants
BlackBerrying each other as a submeeting, with a running commentary
on the primary meeting,” according to the Williams article.
“BlackBerrys have become like cartoon thought bubbles.”
When your interviewer plays with his or her
smartphone in your presence, it’s none of your business. If I had a
multimillion-dollar prospect talking with his infant grandchild or
playing a video game while I pitched my company, I’d find a way to
let that slight roll off my back. I’d only be worried if someone
with that kind of attention span and obvious disregard for people
would be around next year to renew the contract.
The New York Times
article quotes Nancy Flynn, an Ohio consultant, on a seriously
incorrect opinion held by many: “People mistakenly think that
tapping is not as distracting as talking . . . In fact, it can be
every bit as much if not more distracting. And it’s pretty
insulting to the speaker.”
If you’re on a job interview, the rules are
clear, and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room to make them any
looser:
• Turn off your smartphone before you go into an
interview.
• Do not be seen talking on your phone when you go
into an interview.
• Do not be seen reaching for your phone as you
leave an interview.
• Don’t boast about the amount of time you spend
talking or texting on your smartphone during the day.
• Try to find a way to point out that you
discipline your cell phone and Internet time for productive
results, and then actually do it!
Companies are increasingly aware of the huge
amounts of time people waste on the latest gadgets. They want
employees who have the self-discipline to use these tools
wisely.
Two more afterthoughts: A wacko ringtone on your
phone may wow your friends, but it can paint you as a goofball if
it goes off someday when you and your new CEO are unexpectedly
riding fifty floors in the same elevator.
Lastly, Gail Madison recommends checking the
outgoing message on your cell phone. If it says “Yo, dude, you’ve
reached Hot Mama”—it’s time to retool.
Mackay’s Moral:
Companies want to hire pros
who are linked into the latest technology, not
junkies who are hooked on it.
who are linked into the latest technology, not
junkies who are hooked on it.
Quickie—Twitter: Risk and
Risqué
The headline for a Twitter article by David Phelps
in the Minneapolis Star Tribune offered a
caution: “put a lid on tweets” before starting a job search. Phelps
reported on one PR agency candidate who “tweeted herself directly
out of a job interview.” The agency said “she was negative and
critical of other agencies” in her tweets and other Web hits. The
agency was concerned what sentiments she might voice about them or
their customers.
In June 2009, Twitter received widespread praise
for sparking political change in Iran by instantly publicizing
demonstrations. It pulled focus to the “Angel of Iran”—a young
woman whose slaying was videotaped by a bystander. Twitter can be
equally powerful in derailing careers in image-conscious companies.
Let’s face it. In today’s harum-scarum economy, would you rather
hire tact or temerity?
Social networking sites—such as Twitter, Facebook,
and LinkedIn—are now checked as carefully as résumés once were. In
the Phelps article, Amy Langer, a placement firm cofounder, says,
“It’s becoming part of the vetting process.” That’s because social
and business networking are now tangled up in one very visible
maze. When you tweet an awesomely bad partying photo of yourself on
a social site, you can easily crater your career on the
professional side.
We live in a stressful world. There’s a big
temptation to share your inner feelings, trials, and zany ballistic
moments. Just because your pals do it, why follow those lemmings
off the cliff?
Risks are everywhere. In the Phelps article, one
female exec “suffered serious career damage when a boyfriend posted
a seminude picture of her on her Facebook page.” By the way, turn
the tables and play the vetting game in the other direction. Before
you get involved with your next boyfriend, be sure to vet him on
the Web.