How Character Can Make or Break Your Professional Success

Neat, diligent, patient, approachable. Would I work with them again? Absolutely. Were they talented? Oh yea, that too. Am I describing a colleague? No, I’m talking about my contractor. I had a great experience and you will too if you use them, but that’s not really the point of this piece.

My neighbor needed some work done and asked me for a recommendation. We recently reconfigured a few rooms on our main floor, (thanks HGTV for these ideas) so I happily offered our contractor’s name, describing them as I did above. And that was enough for our neighbor to hire them. The fact that they did good work was, while important, almost an afterthought.

Now, this got me thinking. How does that make sense? Why wouldn’t the quality of the work be the first question? And the only answer I can come up with is that the fact that someone does good work is simply, an expectation. In fact, if they did a poor job, that’s what the description would lead with. So, what’s the part that makes an actual impact on getting hired? It seems, it’s the 'other stuff'. And that stuff is almost always a description of a person’s character.

This doesn’t just apply to contractors of course. I recently referred someone for a role, which by the way, he got. The fact that he was qualified wasn’t what I led with- it was other qualities - THE “other” qualities. And so I wonder and you should too - what are your other qualities? How do people describe you? Not just your work- hopefully you’re good at it as apparently that’s the baseline, but rather- are you kind? Friendly? Approachable? Because if you’re not, it could make the difference in landing that next job.

All that being said, if you ARE looking for a contractor and you're in PA - https://protheroconstruction.com/ was amazing!

Christine Robinson is a Resource Management expert, Strategic Advisor, award-winning speaker, best selling author, and the mother/stepmother of six. Recognized as one of the top leaders in the Philadelphia Business Journal's 40 Under 40 List for her performance and community contributions, Christine is passionate about supporting women and underserved families. She holds an MS in Human Resource Management from Fordham University, a BS in Sociology from Bowling Green University, and is a certified Resource Management Professional.

The former Managing Director and Head of Resource Management at a prestigious accounting and consulting firm, Christine has steered national teams, instituted firmwide functions, and established international joint ventures. As the visionary and Founder of Resource Management In The Wild, her mission is to empower professionals and organizations to successfully navigate resource allocation. A true RM at heart, Christine loves suggesting products to people who can benefit from them, and as such, may earn a commission from links in this newsletter.

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