Aside from simply aspiring to be a genuinely nice person, following the Golden Rule can help you leverage the connections you make throughout your life, and can drastically impact your future.
Why, you may ask? Because eventually in one way or another, you’ll need people. You’ll need help. Connections. A friend. It’s very difficult going through life trying to do everything on your own.
I have first-hand experience on how this can pay off in the job world. In fact, I’d say 90% of people who I know that had jobs right out of college got them through some connection they had already made. I may not have ever found out about the company I now work for (and love my job at!) if it hadn’t been for someone I knew from school.
She called me up, wondering if I was still looking for a job, because she had thought of me, saw that I was looking on LinkedIn (sign up, now) and thought about what I would be like to work with on a day-to-day basis. Again, being a positive and hardworking person has its advantages.
Adversely, I’ve seen people lose out on opportunities because of how they had treated people in the past.
In sorority recruitment, we were taught that people may not remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. If you go out of your way to be a kind human being to others, they will remember that later.
If you don’t already have connections in your career field, scheduling informational interviews can get you far as well.
Informational interviews give you a chance to learn more about your field, companies, work environment, and any other things you may need to know about your profession. Additionally, it shows that you’re willing to go out of your way to learn about a job you’re passionate in and gives you a connection on the inside.
If the company isn’t hiring at that time, you can always use the person you spoke with as a reference down the road when there is a position available. It is more beneficial to schedule these before you hear about any open positions. Companies can often see through these and you don't want to end up in an informational interview when you could have been at a real one.
Who do you think is more likely to get a job from a company, someone they have spoken with and know is interested or a new random person they've never heard of?
Exactly. It’s you!
Standing out is necessary to get a job these days, so make sure you leave a positive impression.
Treating others well will also make your world a more positive place, and that should be reason enough to implement the Golden Rule always.