There are two aspects of human nature that are always fascinating to me. The first is that people, generally speaking, rarely take immediate action when they have a positive customer experience. The second is that people, again generally speaking, rarely like to say bad things to someone’s face. Combine those two aspects of human nature and you’ve got the fuel for social media.

Regarding positive customer experiences, I am referencing the immediate-type responses like — “Wow! Dragonfly Farms just blew my socks off with the bag of vegetables they provided this week – nice work. #CSA.” You see them – but not as often as you hear the griping and dinging.  Positive customer feedback is often delivered when someone asks your opinion on a particular brand/experience at a later point in time. For example, next spring when people are considering joining a CSA and they ask my opinion, I willingly go on and on about what a wonderful job Dragonfly Farms did and how much value we derived from their products.

That positive customer experience is very important – don’t get me wrong – but don’t expect immediate feedback from your efforts. This is important for companies to remember when launching and maintaining social media efforts. You may not truly understand the impact of your actions on the customer experience until much later. And, you may never be privy to those conversations because they will happen between the customers. Don’t underestimate your role in the experience, though, just because you are not seeing direct feedback. I like to encourage folks to pay it forward with providing immediate positive customer experience feedback because it is very motivational for organizations and the people that work for them, but the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t always happen.

Regarding our tendency to hedge on saying bad things to someone’s face – in my opinion this is probably one of the most important reasons to participate in social media. Every negative comment is an opportunity to engage and turn that experience into a positive customer interaction. The minute you engage with the person making negative comments they step back and rethink the directness of their delivery and approach. I am not suggesting that they will not provide any feedback, but rather that it will have been inadvertently filtered if it’s not given spontaneously and more anonymously. People speak their spontaneous thoughts which may be more brutal than you would prefer to a broad anonymous audience, but in this situation there is an opportunity to gain critical insights into what your customers think of your business. Then, when you address the situation you have the opportunity to engage on a more professional level with the customer and hopefully improve the overall interaction.

I had such an experience when working from my home office. I had the windows open and heard a very heated and unprofessional exchange between two men installing cable at my neighbor’s house. A quick tweet on my part, detailing how awful I thought the situation was being handled was quickly downplayed when a representative of the cable company tweeted back within moments of my tweet hitting the “wires.” I quickly back pedaled and made my tweets more professional – you see, it is easy to forget that your negative feedback can have human impact until a human is actually talking to you and reminds you of that fact.

This brings me to the point of my post.

Customers will not knock on your door and tell you how much they love you, but they will tell you that you are not so bad when confronted after a negative post – even if they still cringe at the mention of your name. It is only your effort to rectify the situation that will change their perception.

Sounds a bit like seventh grade hallway conversations doesn’t it?

I am not currently in the job market looking for a position, but I was as recently as January 2010. I also have many (more than I can count on one hand) friends and family members in the job market. And, many more who are considering entering the job market as we speak (the mass exodus that will happen when the economy starts to shift as MANY miserable and overworked employees leave at once shocking their employers because they thought everything was A-OK is fodder for another post.)

While talking to them, I get the distinct impression that some people think of social media networking – especially LinkedIn – as a tool you use once you’ve lost or job. And, that it’s just a site you plod along with while you’re working, but don’t really engage all that much. You know – accept the occasional LinkedIn request, sign in to approve it and sign out.

The point I was trying to make with my Tweet exchange with @wileyccoyote (and she totally gets it – she’s a social media rock star with INgage Networks) is that if you wait until you’ve already lost your job then you’re missing the whole point of networking. And – it’s not just about amassing large numbers of contacts and asking them to do things for you. The point of social media networking is to learn from others (none of this is a  big surprise there) but then also to be willing to teach others and ask for help when needed. It’s a quid pro quo situation and for candidates – this means that you are stronger because of your network.

You know – like the Verizon(R)  guy. When a company hires you now, they have additional factors to take into consideration. How well networked are you? If you have a business problem to solve can you reach to your network to help solve that problem quickly? If the company has a need for particular expertise, might you have some contact in your network that could solve that need? Does your network see you as valuable and do they ask for your insight on important issues?

Building these types of relationships takes time and it’s very important. Start engaging with your network NOW! Not because you have to, but because you understand that your network makes you smarter, faster, and better.

It is a very difficult job market and you must be prepared for:

1.) Organizations that have been bootstrapping their workload and are starting to get burnt out. And although they WANT to hire, they are often times waiting on company performance and looser budgets to allow them to hire.

2.) The plethora of feedback you will get from prospective employers (everyone has taken the idea of user generated content and transparency to heart and is sharing WAY more than they used to with candidates!) Be ready to learn from it.

3.) The fact that if you do not know someone in the hiring company or organization – you’ll have to work for it! It is not impossible, but organizations are definitely taking internal referrals very seriously these days. It is an easy way for them to sift through the sea of resumes they get from unknown candidates and move quickly once they have been given a headcount.

In addition, you will likely be in simultaneous talks tracking at different paces with several organizations at once. You need to stay energized about each interaction. It takes some time to determine if the organization is a cultural fit for you, if the organization is interested in you and respects your experience, if the role is active/funded, and if the company is stable and on an upward trajectory. You need to interview them just as they are interviewing you.

Throughout the process it can be hard to remain positive and jazzed about each individual opportunity. Especially if you discover some of them are not what they appeared to be on the surface. If you reach this point, and you may not even mean to do it, some of that dampened spirit could show through to your prospective employers. Perhaps your reflection is portraying your troubled demeanor, your faltering confidence, and your sapped energy level – even if there is a smile on your face!

I have heard many people say, “If you do not like your job, then you need better hobbies.” I think this same insight applies to job hunting. If the job hunting process is getting you down then you need to focus your energy on identifying those one or two things that make you happy and go enjoy them. Immerse yourself in it and let it rejuvenate you. The next time you sit down for an interview maybe your reflection will be portray the confident, dedicated, and happy employee you are.

I’ll give you some hints.

• Apple has used them for many, many years.
• They come in varying shapes, colors and sizes.
• They are typically affixed to things.

Have you figured it out yet?

Did you guess notebook bumper stickers?

That’s right. Notebook bumper stickers. The rainbow Apple logo was designed in 1977. When turned into a sticker and placed on notebooks, car windows, and suitcases, it became a badge of innovation and creativity. The stickers have changed over the years and they are a simple white graphic now, but the concept is still the same and many people show their Apple loyalty with the stickers — even covering up their logos on their PCs with the iconic Mac brand. Now days, the Apple sticker still stands for innovation, but you would have to add superior customer experience and technology to the list of attributes assigned to the company reputation. It’s become a technical “political” statement and a visible, yet passive, way to buck the norms of the enterprise IT/technical environment being drowned in stifling audit processes.

I’ve been meeting with, and talking to, a lot of people recently. During all of these conversations I’ve begun to notice a trend. The notebook bumper stickers are back in the emerging social media technology space and it is again becoming a badge of honor to show your company loyalties. Companies like Radian6, HubSpot, The Community Roundtable and more have begun producing and distributing their logo stickers and people are once again plastering their meeting notebooks, laptop covers and  hand held devices with them.

So why is this an opportunity for you?

Notebook bumper stickers are back, but not everyone has jumped on board again, yet. There’s still an opportunity to be the first in your industry to dole them out like candy to all your customers. It’s an easy way for your customers, partners and general enthusiasts to show their loyalties and to spread the reach of your brand without having to do too much work on their own.

The bar is low for participation. Unlike with logo t-shirts (which most people can’t wear to the office or to business meetings), the notebook bumper stickers are portable and all a person has to do to participate is peel and stick. It couldn’t be any easier.

The notebook bumper stickers are cheap. With sites like Branders.com, it’s very easy to create and print your own stickers. They run anywhere from $.06 to $1.47 per sticker and the more you order the cheaper they get.

So here’s a photo of the cover of my meeting notebook. I’ve got just one so far, but hope to build my collection as I receive them from my favorite companies. I’m happy to share in their brand impression.

What does yours look like? Post a comment and link to a photo of your notebook bumper sticker wall of fame (you’ll need to host the photo in Flickr or some other photo sharing site) for all of us to see!

Give it a chance. This really is a hope-inspiring post.

I have found that the job hunting week goes something like this:

MONDAY - it’s a brand new week. You’ve got some things lined up from the prior week’s work and you’re jazzed to tackle this new adventure. You remember how lucky you are. You are having excellent conversations with many very talented and smart people in your industry. Meetings about web marketing, communities, and the social medias are exciting and participatory discussions these days. It’s not every day that you get 4+ weeks carved out from your job to go learn. Good things await you.

TUESDAY - it’s a working day. Tuesday is one of those days for which you often schedule meetings, interviews, lunches, and networking events. Time flies and Tuesdays go by fast.

WEDNESDAY – it’s the second working day of the week. It flies by just as fast as Tuesday and for the same reasons.

THURSDAY – it just bites. You realize – Holy crabgrass, Batman! – another week has escaped you. You’re still unemployed and while you’ve learned a whole bunch – that doesn’t pay the mortgage. The conversations you’ve been having all week haven’t materialized in any booked meetings for next week and you’re not sure how this is going to play out. Thursday is the day it becomes all too real. You’re frustrated, scared and sad.

FRIDAY - It’s a new day. Yes the week is over, but now you have Saturday and Sunday to step away from job hunting – to take that much needed break. Some meeting or interview or conversation you had earlier in the week somehow pulls through to more work for Tuesday or Wednesday of the next week and you’re off and running again.

So what’s the best way to survive Thursdays, you ask?

Some people sleep through Thursdays. Some people take Thursday off – no job hunting. Some people drink on Thursday and start the weekend early. Some people get sucked in by the emotions and begin the downward spiral into depression.

I say — live Thursdays. I have come to understand that it’s the day that I won’t feel so great. That’s OK. The other days I don’t let myself get down. I keep my positive attitude. On Thursdays, I acknowledge where I am in the process and allow myself to work through all the emotions that go along with my new adventure. Don’t get me wrong, Thursdays bite, but even I know that if only 1 out of 6 days is cruddy, then those are pretty good odds.

Feel what you need to feel on Thursday, go to bed early and be ready for Friday. Friday is a new day.