Hot Lunch

You read it here first people. Things are happening. I may be getting ahead of myself here, however the wheels are starting to turn and the ball has been put into play. I may have mentioned last week that I have been speaking to a business consultant I met through my college alumni network, and he had me complete a "Career Assessment" test. The results were quite interesting and we got together yesterday over lunch for a little analysis, if you will. Raise your hand if you think I say "if you will" too much. Good, now put it back down.

We dined at the exclusive Manchester Country Club, which is what some might consider a "private joint," so right off the bat I was feeling very important and distinguished. And that's half the battle, right? We engaged in some rapport building before food was ordered and for those of you plebians, that means small talk. A way to start things off without jumping right into the good stuff. Also in case you were wondering, I ordered an Asian Salmon Stir Fry Wrap, which was very nice.

So the "assessment" I took is based on Behavioral Research, which suggests that the most effective people are those who understand themselves, both their strengths and weaknesses, so they can develop strategies to meet the demands of the environment.

A person's behavior is a necessary and integral part of who they are. In other words, much of our behavior comes from "nature" (inherent), and much comes from "nurture" (our upbringing). It is the universal language of "how we act", or our observable human behavior.

In this particular report, 4 dimensions of normal behavior are measured. They are:

How you respond to problems and challenges
How you influence others to your point of view
How you respond to the pace of the environment
How you respond to rules and procedures set by others

FYI: Past 3 paragraphs=totally plagiarized, but how else can I explain this mofo?

Although there was a sh*t ton of information taken from the assessment (strengths, weaknesses, etc;) the focal point is based on something called DISC Analysis. At least that's what I think the focal point is. D is for Dominance, meaning your most dominant traits. These were competitive, decisive, goal-oriented, problem-solver, (I got a problem solver...his name is revolver), direct and disliking routine. These are many of the characteristics that many successful sales people possess...

I is for Influencing, which I guess is how I influence others or how I am influenced. I forget exactly, but you get the point. These traits were encouraging, trusting, outgoing, optimistic, motivated by praise, and acting impulsively. Again, characteristics of many successful sales people.

S is for Steadiness, based on what type of environment I could thrive in. Dominant characteristics in this category are steady, stable, calm, composed and holding grudges. Ironically, these characteristics are those not common in successful salespeople.

Finally, C stands for Compliance, and again I forget the total meaning of this, but characteristics were high risk, creative and fearless. I think it means that I strive for critical, independent thinking, rather than being given some list of rules or tasks and told to follow them.

So, what do we take from this DISC Analysis? Well, for one, it tells me a great deal of why I am doing this whole thing in the first place; why I like some parts of sales, but hate others. As we see with the dominant traits of the D, the I, and the S, they are conflicting. Meaning I have an internal struggle or conflict within myself that I must be able to channel to find the proper work environment. While I possess many of the inherent traits of a great sales person, but yet there is something that has always held me back.

Now, please, do not mistake me for Freud here, but what all this tells me is this: I need a positive, enthusiastic, friendly, social environment which offers flexibility, variety of task, and interaction with people in a results-oriented field.

So if anyone out there knows where I can find one of these, please let me know!

Anyway, the general scope of this lunch was extremely positive. This gentleman offered to help in a few different ways. First, he offered me a job. Part-time side type of work, but hey I appreciate the offer, and the work does seem enjoyable. Second, he invited me to peruse his contact list on LinkedIn and let him know of anyone I'd like to speak to, for an "informational interview" type of thing. And lastly, he said he would think of some of his contacts/clients who I may be a good fit to either work for or simply speak with. Needless to say, I was fired up as I left the lunch, 2 hours later. And yes, we had dessert.

Another note before I leave you all to your weekends. Yesterday I asked a recruiter friend of mine for some advice regarding my LinkedIn profile. He gave me a few pointers, one of which being to change my contact settings to "looking for employment opportunities." I did that yesterday afternoon, and sure enough what do I wake up to this morning (at the crack of 9:30)? My blackberry buzzing with an email from a recruiter I have met in the past, asking me to give him a call. Snap!

So I'm going to give this fella a call right now. And I feel pretty good about the whole thing, because I have this great new feedback by which I can now judge any employment opportunity that arises. And I'm being picky here people. I didn't just quit my job and go on sabbatical to find some horrible new gig. Not this guy.

But then again, check back in a few months, I may be flipping burgers down at the Tasty Freeze.

And bonus points to anyone who can name the song in which the "Tasty Freeze" is prominently mentioned...