Exciting!
This is my first video and text post ever. I gotta tell you, it’s hard at first.
Sure it’s not that hard to get the message through if you just practice, but I’m trying to be transparent and real here so no retakes! (One this time because the phone stopped filming)
What I’ve found to be the hardest, so far, when communicating through video isn’t the video itself but having the guts to post it even if it isn’t perfect.
As I don’t think I got the real message through this time I’ve also written a clarification on what I was trying to say.
[Note: After publishing this I realize the pure irony in me talking not-so-clearly as I'm talking about communicating clearly. OH WELL 
]
Background
To recap: In the video I was telling you about an event by the employment center which got kind of chaotic due to unclear communication in their ad for this particular event. This lead to longer queues (they were even telling people to go home and come back later) and disappointed people.
Solution 1: Communicating clearly in the first place
Even though I think there are better ways of doing these kind of events (which will be discussed in the next section) I still think they could’ve kept it as it was but improved just a few things.
For one, there was a lack of information in the ad.
Some companies accepted applications and some didn’t. This should’ve been communicated clearly enough so that people wouldn’t have been disappointed later on.
Second, there was a lack of information when entering.
There were two booths from the beginning where you could see what was going on, but in the other part of the room there were two long lines to unknown-land. A big poster with information in the entrance would’ve fixed this right away.
Solution 2: Choosing your medium
Now this solution is only applicable to the company where you couldn’t apply at the spot. But I still think that a lot more of the companies could’ve applied this method and perhaps even saved a few bucks by not being part of the event at all.
The choosing of which medium you want to be seen in, is a big factor I think. As we are in a shift today where internet is taking over in so many areas, people try to implement both old tactics with new ones.
The problem is, in my opinion, that in order to still preserve the old mediums (meetings, events, ads) they will have to go according to a certain flow. This by the way, goes within “social media” too.
In this case the flow was like this:
People read the ad -> They go to a physical location to apply -> They are then directed to go home again go on the internet and apply there.
See the flaw(s)? What if it were like this instead:
People read an ad (or see the info through facebook/twitter) -> The ad directs them to a website with information -> You can there choose to either apply for a job or if you’re uncertain they will be having a quick information meeting with an Q&A in a lecture hall.
What would be the difference in reactions and efficency here?
- Instead of people queuing there would be no queue. Those actually interested would apply for the job, and those uncertain would be given the information all at once.
- I’m unsure about the amount of applications, but I think that by disappointing people now they have definitely decreased the amount of applications they get. It could be a good thing though because only the people who are really interested will be bothered to apply now, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good way of going about it.
- The possibility to spread the information would’ve been bigger. This is probably one of the most unscalable things I’ve ever seen. Think about it. You gather a few hundred people, make them said in line and then have 2 people to give the same information over and over again one-on-one. I don’t think I have to explain this any further..
These are just a few things I think could’ve changed.
Conclusion
I think the event in itself didn’t fill much purpose. Sure in some cases you could actually apply there which was good. But the queues and the short amount of time you had to give your resumé and then get out of there is just ridiculous.
I’ve always been interested in certain companies and how they act in general. In this case, I had no possibility what so ever to get to know the company.
In fact, there was even a corporate convention a few weeks ago where many of these companies did have a booth. Why couldn’t they have mixed those ideas and accept applications there?
It feels like I’ve been ranting the whole post, but I still think there are some lessons to be learned here.
I sincerely hope that companies think about these things, especially when choosing a medium for their cause and a flow that works for them.
Awesome stuff, Jonas. You pronounced my name right. You shall not be punished.
You look older in the video than on your twitter profile picture. After your first video things are just going to start getting better. You’ll probably start feeling a bit of relief of getting over the hurdle of putting your FIRST video out there, so it won’t feel as huge to put out the next, and the next and so on.
That’s what happened to me at least.
Cheers!
Thanks man
Well, my profile picture is from -08/-09 I think, so that makes sense
Yeah, I’m actually eager to make a better one now seeing how this one was not that that good. I’m just trying to keep it real and improve gradually.
Have a great weekend Henri
/Jonas
Hey Jonas,
Cool to see you in person! Like Henri said, you do indeed look older than on your profile pic.
Keep on working on your projects and don’t give up!
Cheers
Diggy
Hey Diggy!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great day,
Jonas