Pay Attention to Bad Press

I shared this nugget in another forum and thought it would be wise to post it here as well. Please indulge me if you've read it before.

There is no doubt the media loves to focus on negative news. A company who finds itself in the spotlight for not so positive reasons tends to become the company with a big X over its name. Job seekers and sales professionals fawn over those getting good press for doing well and sometimes make the mistake of steering clear of those who are on the receiving end of bad press.

When I was in sales as a recruiter/headhunter, I loved to call on companies who were up to their ears in a mess of some sort. From media reports I had a reasonable idea of what was broken internally and could offer solutions to help them deal with the problems. I knew exactly how I could have a positive influence on the company's bottom line. That's every salesperson's ideal, yes? Remember, job seekers are salespeople too. Their product is them. I built wonderful relationships with corporate clients by simply being there, when others were keeping them at arms length, and treating them with respect. You build a special bond with a client when you can help lift them out of a low. This is a time when many companies are having those lows. What an amazing opportunity to stretch our minds, explore our capabilities to instigate change and help be part of the process of generating solutions for those companies.

I challenge everyone here to embrace the bad press around us and ask "what can I do for these individuals and companies that will make a positive difference?" There is opportunity in it for you. I promise. Make yourself part of the solution, deliver on that solution and enjoy doing so with fewer people to compete against.