Why it is hard to believe in the invisible

Most of the time, we don’t realize how many things that we just trust that are invisible to our eyes. For example, with our new German Shepherd, Buddy, we decided to invest in an invisible fence.

Buddy turns one on April 16 and with Teddy, our first German Shepherd, it took until he was about 3 years old to trust him outside and even then I kept my eye on him. Most of the reason for the fence is to keep him in the yard and not worry about him running away or getting hit by a car. But there is the new leash law with the $114 fee for dogs off leash and the times he wants to be outside (or needs to be outside) and I am working with clients.

The fence gives me flexibility and gives Buddy a safe place to explore and play. Compared to the tie-outs we used with Teddy, we now can play ball with Buddy and he has a great time catching and running with the balls, giving him exercise and fun while staying safe.

But the fence is invisible.

We do have signage on the property letting people know there is an invisible fence but no one can actually see the fence itself. When Buddy is barking in the yard, he sounds like a typical German Shepherd and I have told more than one passerby that he is behind a fence. You might guess that I get some very strange looks.

It’s hard to believe in the invisible

There are plenty of people who see this German Shepherd as not the family pet who is lovable and huggable like we do, but rather as a formidable force that frightens them. Telling them that he is behind a fence is probably not very reassuring because they can’t see the fence.

How does this relate to career marketing services?

Even though the professionally written resume is very visible and a targeted cover letter is visible, people still see career marketing as an invisible service. It is really hard to trust in something that is invisible. The part of the career marketing services that are invisible is the trust factor. You have to trust most products but with few other products do you have so many people telling you that you shouldn’t pay for the service or you should be able to provide the service for yourself.

Career centers and English classes often give contrary and outdated advice in writing resumes and looking for jobs but because they are part of the educational system, they are trusted more than the career professional who may have 20 or 30 years of experience marketing job seekers and helping them achieve their career goals.

The Brother-in-law Factor (he knows it ALL)

Then you have the brother-in-law factor. I don’t know why everyone’s brother-in-law thinks that they are a resume writer and career pro but it seems that way sometimes. With career marketing, you have to trust that the career professional has the skills to write your resume, skills to show you how to market yourself against a wide range of other people in the market, and has the skills to make you more likely to be hired than the other 100 people or 1000 people who are applying for the same position.

All of this hits the invisible services barrier very quickly and because career professionals have only started to become more widely known thanks to the use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs like this one, they seem like an invisible service to many. And invisible is scary!

I can tell you that career professionals like myself are the best investment in your career search but when the invisibility factor kicks in, you may not believe me. However, for those people who have taken the leap of faith to believe in the invisible, they are the ones who have new positions and are out reaching their own goals.

Stuck in your job search or existing position? Don’t know how to get unstuck? Hire an expert to do it for you. You will hit your target much more quickly and be doing what you do best instead of trying to figure your way through the job search maze. To find out how, Click here!