Today I was speaking with a potential candidate and after a few minutes, I began getting impatient with his questions and how he was going “off script” from my normal dialogue. He was asking very specific questions about the location of the job and the train/bus availability. And he was also incessant in telling me he needed relocation assistance. I quickly explained that relocation wasn’t always readily available but I'd check for him, yet he continued to say how much he needed it. Just as I was about to try to wrap up the call, I stopped. And listened.
And I was quickly reminded: Everyone carries a burden.
It turns out that he was a brain cancer survivor. And although he is in remission, he still suffers from occasional seizures. He is required to be five-years, seizure-free and cleared by a doctor before he could get his driver's license back. So he needed to know the exact job location to research the bus or train schedule in that part of town. And in regard to the relocation assistance, he had to recently bury his father who left him with a mountain of debt so he was unable to afford moving costs for a new job but was willing to relocate anywhere in the US.
Who knows if his story is 100% true as I've had my share of doozy stories in my career… or perhaps it was only the tip of the ice burg of obstacles he has to deal with every day. But he had vigor in his voice and a grateful attitude to be alive. He just wanted to get back to work.
So remember, we all have a back story, we all carry around something that affects who we are today. Be kind to one another, listen to one another, and never be quick to judge.
Kindness doesn’t cost a thing. Spread that sh*t everywhere.
