In my online “Interview Tips Course,” one of the many (many) lessons that learners will hear about is to not cancel. There are so many reasons to not cancel, I explain, and it really should only be done if you honestly and truly are borderline headed to the hospital (or already in the hospital). Sure, a death in the family would qualify too, although even then, if it’s your mom’s aunt who is 97 years old and 1500 miles away and you haven’t had any contact with Aunt Mary in years and years, don’t play the “death in the family card” just because you’d really rather go out on the boat.
While it seems more reserved for the dating world, the term ‘ghosting’ has become pretty popular these days and can be applied in a business setting too.
A friend of mine owns a handful of Starbucks locations and told me about seeking employees for a new store he was opening. He told me not only about the people who would schedule but not show up for interviews, but someone who he actually hired that didn’t show up for work on their first day. My gosh, people. What is happening?
On my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast I’m always talking about the Owwll app. In fact, at the end of my blog each week I always end with an open invitation for anyone who wants to tap into my almost 20 years of working with clients from around the country, so I can draw from my experience to share some wisdom relative to whatever your career efforts are. One of the great things about Owwll is that it’s relationship building. In other words, very few people are getting on their first call with someone and trying to make a sale.
That said, I recently got a request on there to Go Live (which essentially means that I wasn’t “online” on Owwll). This is an indication that someone wants to call me, and just needs me to put myself Live. I responded right away to the notification request, yet the person never called me. I stayed Live on the app for two hours and, yup, saw that this individual was still Live themselves the whole time.
You will get found out when you ghost someone in 2023.
With SO many online platforms, there’s almost nowhere to hide. Consider this a warning, then, when you’re scheduled to go be interviewed for someone’s podcast, and you instead send in the “not feeling 100%” excuse, only to then post on your Instagram Story some footage of you and others out on the lake.
What is the harm, you might think? You know the old expression, “Good news travels fast”? I submit that bad news travels even faster. Pull a stunt like something I’ve described up to this point and watch how quickly word will get around and then doors will close, and you won’t get asked to do things that otherwise would’ve probably been a natural invitation. You’re also potentially leaving a venue, a show host, or a would-be collab partner in a lurch. You don’t know what they do or don’t have going on and how much time they put into what you were supposed to do and the way you just impacted their day.
Imagine going to the recording studio and waiting for someone to show up who is going to record background vocals on your newest project or a musician who is going to lay down their parts and nobody shows up. You are now sitting in the control room staring at the engineer. You’ve paid for the studio time. You’re staring at your email or text messages and this singer or musician isn’t going to show up because they were out too late last night and, um, er, I mean, they’re allegedly going to the walk-in clinic. Oh yeah, wait, and later you talk to someone else who says they saw that person out at breakfast that morning that you were sitting in the studio waiting for them to walk in.
Remember that it’s the music business. If you treat it like a hobby or like you’re better than someone or some opportunity, you’re not going to like what comes back to you at some point. And weigh that against the benefits that could’ve instead come back to you at some point. Be on time, be respectful, be grateful, and be accountable. The Golden Rule, right? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Here’s that invitation again. Call me on the Owwll app. Let’s talk about the challenges you’re having and what you can do to keep moving forward. I won’t be trying to get you to become a Now Hear This client. I simply want to contribute to what you’re working so hard to accomplish. And remember, if you search for me on Owwll and I’m not online, request for me to go live so we can talk when you want to!