Effective Problem Solvers

Your ability to solve other people’s problems can be the difference between being employed and being unemployed. A problem solver is a thinker who focuses on problems in front of them and they use information and knowledge to come to a solution. A solution that works is better than one that doesn’t. So a successful problem solver is valuable to organizations. I stumbled on a question this evening on LinkedIn asked by Charles Caro, that provoked this post tonight.

Here is the question:

The other day I was setting in on a professional networking group for job seekers. One of the participants, who had not been a job seeker for many years, was shocked to hear that some unscrupulous employers will actually post a job opening for the sole purpose of bringing in people to query about how they run their business or for tips on a new product or project while having absolutely no intention of actually hiring anybody.

These unscrupulous employers look at such practices as an easy way to get good and free advice while caring nothing about the people they talk to in the process. They know that in talking to 10, 15, or 20 individuals either through a phone interview or face-to-face interview they will get hours of free consulting time from individuals matching the specifications for the “fake” job they posted.

Here is my question and response to this interesting question:

How do you tell the difference between an authentic job opportunity and one that is not authentic? I don’t know that you can without asking good questions. But here’s the thing, if you are actively looking for a job, why waste one ounce of energy trying to determine if the job opportunity is authentic when you could invest time in preparing for the interview. You can invest time in understanding the business where the potential opportunity exist and come ready to share how you can effectively solve problems. I promise you that your ability to solve problems is more likely to get a job than if you are not an effective problem solver. Not every organization out there is going to play above the board, but that is not your problem. If you don’t have a job and you want one, that is a problem to solve. If you are unemployed and you want to work, look for as many people who are willing to talk to you about their organization, their problems and bring something to the table that will assist the organization move forward. That will get you a job much faster than any suspicions about their ultimate motive. For every organization that is not authentic about their job opportunity, think of it as an opportunity to practice your interviewing skills. And move on the next organization. Someone will hire you and allow you to share your skills and abilities with them.