Things Will Happen
I awoke on a nice bright sunny Saturday morning as I write this post, preparing for my day. At mid-morning I was scheduled to have an online video conference with a client of mine to practice for an upcoming interview he has this coming Monday. While I have not done much interview preparation with clients over the computer, (most of it has either been in-person or over the telephone), this time I had even taken the time to set up and host an online video conference myself. As I went to bed last evening, everything was all set, (or so I thought).
When I got up and went to my computer, I turned it on and it booted up. I noticed that I had no internet connection. Not a problem. That has happened before. Usually it has required me to go to my router, reboot it, and then once it resets itself, my internet and Wifi connection are reset. However, this time that did not happen. I rebooted the router again. After about five unsuccessful reboots, it was obvious I was going to have to call my service provider.
After running several tests, and doing many of the steps I had already done, it was concluded that the problem was likely on the provider’s end. I am now waiting out a service ticket that can be addressed anywhere between 0 to 24 hours. I must admit, I am not always the calmest person in handing adversity when it comes into my life. I can rant and rave, and even feel at times like it is the end of the world. However, after quickly collecting myself I said, what must I do to still be prepared for my client at 10 A.M?
One thing that I realized was that it was important that I speak to my client in preparation of his Monday interviews. I still had telephone access. Admittedly, when I looked up his telephone number I did so through my online administrative system for my business, WHICH REQUIRED INTERNET CONNECTION. After, having an initial panic attack, I remembered I had prepared resumes’ for the client of which I had saved copies, and which had his telephone number as part of them. I called my client before our scheduled meeting. I explained my lack of internet connectivity. I suggested that we speak by telephone because there was a lot we could share in preparation of his Monday interviews.
That call just finished. It worked very well. There has been a lot of preparation we have done over the last several months that has helped him to define himself as a professional, and which is becoming more natural for him to present. We also had a shared some materials on interview preparation over the last few weeks. In addition, we had some practice interview experience 3 days ago, and this session was going to be a last minute refresher.
The lessons from my experiences of this morning, which I want to share with you, my readers. Even with the best of preparation, unexpected things may and will happen. If one alternative is not going to be available or work, do I have others that will help to accomplish what it is I am looking to do? Perhaps there are things I can look to do, or consider for the future, to enhance my readiness even more in case something unexpected strikes?
Tied to all of this is the word PREPARATION. Fortunately, I have prepared myself well in getting to know my client, getting to know his particular search needs, knowing well the various aspects of the job search process on which I coach individuals. Even without my usual tools of the trade, I can still provide value to others. And, above all, I WILL NOT ALWAYS HAVE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN MY IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT, but, I can sure control how I react to it.
