Whooops - September 2006

A few weeks ago, I shared with you my "Mea Culpa", and my thoughts on recovering from the inevitable gaffes we make in life.

So many of you wrote in with your own bloopers, goofs, and Uh-Oh's, that it struck me as a humorous way to start off this holiday and get your September job hunt under way...

Just for fun, it might be interesting to have readers write in their worst "faux pas" and however they recovered from it. I had an experience with a vendor once...I and my boss (a very tough, very smart VP at a large company) were talking with a vendor about a supply problem, and we needed something right away (pretty typical). The vendor provided various options, and my boss said she would put him on hold while she and I made a quick call. My boss put him on "mute" (not "hold"), and we discussed the options. All of the sudden, the vendor started talking to his boss, and we could hear every word. The vendor said, "I don't know what she's talking about...she's nuts...what an idiotic thing to do...they don't know what they're doing over there" etc. Imagine my boss and I looking at each other, jaws dropping and eyes bulging!

 

My boss very coolly released the "mute" button and said to the vendor, "I can hear e-v-e-r-y word you're saying..." L-o-n-g silence, followed by some very quick apologies ("oh my gosh, I'm such an idiot, I am SO sorry..."). In less than an hour, the vendor appeared with flowers, and more very sincere apologies. As it turned out, that became one of our solidifying experiences on the way to a very long and strong partnership with that vendor (who followed up by doing excellent work)...but it was due to his sincerity, and his full acceptance of his poor judgment at that moment. It also taught me that even "good" people can make some poor snap decisions, and judgments.

Keep up the good work (and it is good work!).
Suzi Benes
Glen Ellyn, IL

Thanks for sharing, Suzi. A wise reminder of the dangers of the mute button!

To paraphrase Bob Weir, we'll move from a story about tragedy impending to a story about tragedy narrowly averted. This recruiter's openness saved a candidate's dignity... and guess who got the job?

Excellent recovery from last week - well positioned, with an obviously honest intent. Creating a learning opportunity out of a slight slip in judgment puts emphasis on how important our reaction to a mistake may be, particularly to those parties who perceive injury. It reminds me of a breakfast meeting with a candidate prior to a critical day-long series of interviews with our organization. As our meal concluded, I pointed out to this candidate that there was a 2 inch tear in the crotch of his pants. Despite some considerable emotional discomfort and distraction (at this point, there was nothing that could be done to repair the damage), this individual went on to successfully complete 7, back to back appointments with key leadership and ownership of our company, culminating with an offer of employment (adopting a cross legged strategy for these appointments was advice that the candidate obviously took to heart).

 

Three years later, we still get together and laugh about this unfortunate circumstance - how devastating it appeared at the time, but in reality, how meaningless it turned out to be.

All the best,
RB
Minneapolis, MN

And, finally, a reminder that just because you're smooth enough to recover from many mistakes, you shouldn't tempt fate...

It happens to everyone. My favorite blooper is when I was offered a plastic bottle of water and there was a hole in the bottom. The water exploded when I opened the bottle (laws of physics at work). I asked for some napkins and someone handed me a stack of Pizza Hut napkins. In my nervousness, I said, "Ah, you are a gourmet I see." Didn't get the job...

Lisa S.
San Francisco, CA

Thanks for sharing that Lisa!

We all make mistakes in life, but I know one that you, our 900,000 subscribers, aren't going to make any this September ? taking your pick of the more than 30,000 great jobs and 20,000 recruiters we'll bring you this month!

Happy Hunting Readers!