If you're so smart, why are you so poor?

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Several years ago I worked in one firm, engaged in the selection of personnel for other companies for a specific order: the employing firm submits an application, which indicates which specialist it needs and what professional and personal qualities he should have, and we conducted a search and careful selection of candidates for this vacancy. Someone, thanks to our company, was able to find a worthwhile job, but I found the answer to the question"

"Shy genius"

A large company needed a specialist - a young man with a higher education, a programmer who knows English at the level of technical translations and spoken German. In a word - a star from the sky. I had to advertise on the Internet. There were a lot of calls, but the "necessary" one rang out only a week later. "Hello, I'm about to work." - "Age?" - "27" - "Education?" - "Higher technical. Programmer". - "What exactly were you dealing with?" - Lists everything I need to hear, plus what I didn't even know. - "And English, German?.." - "English is almost perfect, but in German live practice is not enough." - "Do you work anywhere?" - a question from the category, "so smart and still haven't found a job?" And suddenly: "You see, everything that I have just told you does not apply to me, but to my friend Max. He is really a" pro ", but at the same time he is completely unable to sell himself, well, in the sense of finding a cool job. that all the good places have already been sorted out, and there is no need to fuss. So he sits in his school. Can I bring him to you? You will not regret it."

Less than a week passed from the interview with Max to his hiring. We received a letter of gratitude from the management of the company for providing a valuable specialist. Although gratitude should have been addressed to his friend. After all, if not for him, then this shy genius would have remained "smart, but poor" for a long time. Thanks to this incident, I made the first conclusion: “An intelligent and talented person will be poor if he is socially passive or, as Max's friend said, is not able to profitably“sell”himself to the employer.

"Under the guise of carelessness"

It's not the first time we've talked to Tatiana about work. Young, pretty. Philologist. Petersburg University. Looking for a job as a secretary-assistant in a prestigious location. Three times she successfully passed the qualifying rounds in companies, but all three times did not appear for the final round, when there were two or three applicants for a place. Before sending her for the fourth interview, I decide to find out the reasons for this behavior (I don't want to puncture her whims again). "You know, all the time there were some urgent matters that day."

- "Tatiana, let's be honest. Once - an accident, two - a coincidence, three - a pattern" … After a long walk around the bush, I finally hear the keywords: "Well, in general, I was scared. Suddenly they will not choose me, but another girl How will I tell my friends about this? That I turned out to be less intelligent and capable? I will no longer respect myself."

- "It turns out, it's better to just not go to the final interview and say that you yourself decided not to get a job in this company, than to go and, perhaps, get rejected?"

- "Yes".

Thanks to Tatiana, I made a second conclusion: "An intelligent person can remain poor if he is pessimistic about any prospect of improving his position due to the fact that he is not confident in his abilities and prefers to look careless rather than a failure."

"Overconfident Chatterbox"

Pavel came to our office himself. Friends gave the address. He is looking for a job. Wants to be the leader of a creative team. Incomplete higher education. He dropped out of the institute several years ago. "What does it matter now? The main thing is to have your head on your shoulders." It is difficult to argue with this, although many employers are sure that it would be nice to have a diploma in addition to their heads. From further conversation it becomes clear that Paul has already "tried everything in the world." Why didn't he stay at any job? Because somewhere he was "not allowed to express himself creatively", somewhere "the boss considered him his competitor", somewhere "had no luck with the team", somewhere he was "put a spoke in the wheel." In general, there are a lot of reasons beyond his control. Please indicate in the questionnaire the company where you worked. The list is really long. After his departure, I choose several names. I'm calling (this was part of our rules). I explain the situation. "Oh, this one! They barely got rid of him. I didn't want to do anything, I just gave out valuable instructions …" He always had some excuses: then he cannot do it, because he does not have one, then another, and so on ad infinitum …"

This incident led me to draw a third conclusion: "If a person is trying to convince you that he is smart and talented, but circumstances do not allow him to" unwind "(there are too many ill-wishers around, there is no money, opportunities, etc.), you should ask the question is, is he pretending to be?"

And yet why? Despite the fact that all the people about whom there was a story are very different, there is something that unites them. They do not believe in their chance of success and, fearing failure, create all sorts of obstacles for themselves, and not always realizing it. For such people, making an effort and failing is worse than not making it at all. It is easier to look for and find external reasons that prevent you from doing what you "could", because, having started to act and having failed in this, you will have to admit that you overestimated your capabilities. Psychologically, it is easier to say: "I am satisfied with what I have," rather than not being able to get a more promising job. Despite all the differences, these people live according to the same principle described by William James 107 years ago: "Without attempt there can be no failure; without failure there is no humiliation." Forgetting that without an attempt there will be no success, and therefore no recognition and financial well-being.

Alena Metelkina, psychologist