Read, dammit

Okay. Times are tough, right? And we should all do our bit to not make things harder, right? You think this might be a reasonable approach to our current situation? Maybe?


Hey, I admit it - I'm biased. I have a special front row seat in the trenches - I work for one of Michigan's fine employment agencies. I see a lot of people in a lot of situations, mostly hurting. I see the amount of need has increased, but the staffing hasn't. Problemmatic? Definitely.

Given that we're all in this together, it might make sense for us to pull together to get through. So, to all of us dealing with stress, anger, tanked investments, and a shrunken or absent paycheck, I have one little request:

READ, dammit.

Read the stuff that shows up in the mail.

Read your emails, your newspapers, your resumes and your job fair flyers.

Do not walk into a service agency with your mail, and expect someone to read it for you - clarify things, yes, freakin' read it to you like a bedtime story, no. Hell, no. But it happens on a daily basis in my place of business.

You need an example? Here's one. I helped stuff over 2,000 envelopes with important outplacement letters. I saw this letter so many times, I memorized it. I can even read it for people over the phone without having it in front of my face.

It goes like this:

Client: "I got this letter from your office, and I want to know what it means."
Me: "Is it regarding TAA benefits?"
Client: (Long pause) "Yeah . . . yeah. What do I do with this?"
Me: "Look down towards the bottom, do you see an orientation date and location?"
Client: (Longer pause) "Yeah, I see it now . . . . ."

And so on - you get the drift.

Just my opinion here, but I think that failing to follow directions regarding money or benefits is a Bad Thing. Don't do it. You could miss the boat.

Read, dammit. Even if it has too many words, or is raising issues that you'd rather not deal with at the moment, read it. Cut yourself - and the world - some slack. Use your mind and expand it through reading. The mind is the best and most reliable competitive advantage anyone has right now. Tuning out is not going to impress anyone, especially someone with a paycheck to hand out.

In short, publicly demonstrating that you can't-won't-don't read might make you flunk the interview. Maybe? You think?

Go read up on it - your wallet and your I.Q. will thank you.