I woke up this morning. Wondered where I was. But took a deep breath and stayed calm.
This is after all the advice from what is apparently the most influential post on LinkedIn, which has unknowingly or knowingly to some of us become not only a job marketplace but a media platform.
Dr Travis Bradberry, co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and president at TalentSmart, says that his research shows that 90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control.
Okay, I am not exactly having a stressful moment. After the deep breath, I took an even deeper breath when I realised I was at the Sofitel Sukhumvit in Bangkok, lying on a super comfortable bed.
Dr Bradberry, whose post is ranked #1 of 14 “influencer” posts of 2014 by LinkedIn, goes on to say though that some stress is good, just not prolonged. Apparently, the onset of stress entices the brain to grow new cells responsible for improved memory – but if the stress continues beyond a few moments, then the brain is unable to develop new cells.
I found myself trying to recall last night’s dinner at a new restaurant that’s garnering great reviews. I thought I knew Thai food well but The Local has added new dimensions to my knowledge – their dishes are made from ancient recipes.
The Local: Authentic food made from ancient recipes
I was also reminded that Bangkok, indeed Thailand, is still under martial law. “I didn’t feel that at all,” I told my girlfriend. “Neither do we,” she said. “It’s life as normal.”
There’s no denying though that Bangkok is a city bruised from its political troubles of the last few years but here’s another quote from Dr Bradberry’s influential post, “Intermittent stressful events are probably what keeps the brain more alert, and you perform better when you are alert.”
Well, if that’s the case, then well Bangkok residents must be pretty alert and are probably performing better than they’ve ever done.
The second “influencer” post of 2014 is by Google’s HR chief and it’s titled “The Biggest Mistakes I See on Resumes, and How To Correct Them”.
So Laszlo Bock, SVP, People Operations at Google (makes me think he’s a surgeon or something), has personally reviewed more than 20,000 resumes and he says Google sometimes gets more than 50,000 resumes in a single week. I wonder how stressful his job is.
The first mistake is typos. A survey by CareerBuilder found that 58% of resumes have typos.
I think this also applies to press releases. This morning I deleted one that spelt “launches” wrong.
The second is length. So let me sum up Bock’s blog – spell right, keep it short, format it right, be discreet and don’t lie.
The third influencer post is “10 Reasons You Have To Quit Your Job”.
My takeaway from all this – LinkedIn is mostly read by people who are extremely stressed probably because they’re trying to find jobs and/or because they’re not happy in their jobs.
Now I am going to go out, explore Bangkok, take intermittent deep breaths and be thankful I am back in one of Asia’s greatest cities. I also have a theory about why Thais are such happy people despite their country’s political issues.
They know how to live with tangled wires.
