Mr. Topsy Turvy's Job Rant

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MR. Topsy Turvy’s Job Rant

by Greg Fry on February 5th, 2010
40 Comments

I have started to read my two little boys the Mr. Men books at bedtime. They love them and it gives me a chance to reminisce about my childhood, as I also loved them. However last night something happened to me that has never happened before… I had my very first Mr. Man dream. Freaky stuff I hear you say. Well yes, but it was a fascinating dream too. Let me tell you about it.

The dream was about a character Mr. Topsy Turvy who gets everything mixed up, upside down, inside out and back to front. (not surprisingly the very story I read the children last night). Mr Topsy Turvy lives in Happyland and seems to cause havoc everywhere he goes. He greets people he meets by saying “Morning Good” and wears his hat upside-down.

So anyway my dream…like Ireland the economic climate in Happyland was challenging to say the least and jobs were hard to find. Mr. Topsy Turvy had been looking for employment for over 6 months and had not had any luck. He was starting to get frustrated and even angry with his job search. His confidence was low and he was starting to feel depressed. He avoided his neighbours Mr. Happy and Mr. Nosey at all costs. One day when having a cup of tea with Mr. Muddle he decided to write a letter to the local newspaper about his job search and the lack of support he was getting. It would be the perfect opportunity to get the anger and frustration off his chest.

So he sat down and wrote his letter-

“To Mr. Chatterbox – the Editor of the Happyland Gazette,

I haven’t been looking for a job for 6 months now. There seems to be job opportunities everywhere. There is a point going to recruitment agencies, after all they have vacancies to fill. I feel that they are not only looking after themselves and that they really care about me. The newspapers even have jobs advertised that I want and that I am qualified to do. Job boards seem to have unique and up to date jobs and hundreds of them.

People are not talking about networking not all of the time. I know how to network. I like talking to strangers. I do know even how to start. I think it is for me. And what’s with this “Media Social”? It can help me with my job search. InLink, Bookface and Tertwit are not time consuming and are a complete use of my time.

I am a great interviewer. I always get excited about them. I believe I will get offered the job based on my great interview skills.

Get me stated on the government, the government is useful and is doing everything it can.

I wake up every day happy and motivated and always leave the house. I really love job seeking and believe I have been given an opportunity to look for something new. At this rate I am going to find a job forever.

Please don’t publish this.

Regards Kind,

Mr. Topsy Turvy”

So that is my dream, the letter was published and it acted as a great motivator to the job seekers of Happyland. Mr Topsy Turvy was hired by the gazette as an Economic journalist and Happyland is now officially out of recession.

Okay so the letter is quite hard to read and Mr. Topsy Turvy didn’t say what he meant to say. However what he has said is what most job seekers should believe if they are going to be successful about their job search. In the current market “Positive Attitude” is a vital ingredient in every job success. We cannot control the economy or even how the government deals with these challenging times, but we can control our beliefs and how we view our world.

So why don’t you take the Topsy Turvey approach to job seeking?

Category: HR and recruitment

Tags: career advice, find a job, Greg Fry, inspiration, Job Hunting, Job Search, Job seeking, jobseeking, motivation, mr. men, mr. topsy turvy, networking, positive attitude, recruitment

The Author: Greg Fry

Greg qualified from the Marketing Institute of Ireland and is passionate about helping organisations achieve more from their social media efforts. Greg is a Social Media trainer and workshop facilitator with the Digital Marketing Institute. He has also delivered lectures and short courses for leading organisations including SureSkills, Socialmedia.ie and The Michael Smurfit Business School. Greg also works with the Ahain Group as a Social Business Consultant. He believes that in order to make social media work for your business you must have a clear business goal, a clearly defined strategy and make sure that everything you do is measureable. Specialities include: Social Media Training | Personal Branding |Social Business Consultancy | Social Strategy Workshops | Interview Techniques | Psychometric Profiling | LinkedIn Training | Facebook Training | Twitter Training | Blogging | Online Video and You Tube Training | Emerging Social Media (Pinterest, Foursquare, Instagram, Google+ etc.) More information at: www.ahaingroup.com and www.careerscoach.ie http://www.careerscoach.ie

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http://www.channelship.ie/blog facundo

Nice one Greg. Funny that today’s two posts are quite connected. Lewis’ (http://bit.ly/anMuAU) was looking for originality and creativity (which you showed) and then you are looking for people to believe a bit more and stop listening to the blues and get their act together; just as Lewis is encouraging people to get into their laboratory and find out their own way!
Anonymous

Greg, lovely post! Don’t read mine, it doesn’t apply here!
Anonymous

Actually, I think he was saying exactly what he meant! It’s interesting how uplifting the letter is. It turns a very negative situation into one full of possibilities – which of course it is, if you want to see it that way. It’s only when we change our mindset that things on the outside change. We are the authors of our own circumstances, but so often we don’t know that we have that power.
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http://twitter.com/MiriamAhern Miriam Ahern

I really enjoyed this Greg. It’s very well written and kept me engaged right to the end (which doesn’t always happen when I invest the time to read a blog-post). It would also make a great videoblog!
http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Enjoyable analogy Greg – thanks. Mr Tickle was always my favourite Mr Men! I would take your thoughts “Positive Attitude” further than the job success – it is a life success tool whatever you are engaged in. Positivity follows positivity (is that even a word?!) and will always bring a great outcome.
Anonymous

Thanks to you all for your comments.

@Lewis – thanks for a great comment – “It’s only when we change our mindset that things on the outside change. We are the authors of our own circumstances, but so often we don’t know that we have that power.”

@Barney – you are right that Positivity follows Positivity in life.

@Facundo – Loved Lewis’s post and your comment on it.

@Miriam – Thanks for your comments, I will be reading the boys Mr. Tickle this evening.
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

This letter needs to be used when empowering people to say what they really mean!
There are no PINK ELEPHANTS with Mister Topsy-Turvy!
Greetings,
Little Miss-Understood
http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Greg, What a cool post! and I agree with Facondo, both of yesterdays posts complement each other really well… Friday must be creativity day on Bloggertone I think sometimes PMA is misunderstood. I am a realist but also a huge believer in positivity, in many respects, its a choosing of where you intend to invest your focus and indeed your energies. Just because someone chooses not to focus on the negative does not mean they are ignoring it. There is a greater need for PMA now than has been for a long time.
Anonymous

Little Miss-Understood
Thanks for the words and greetings.
Hope you are well:)
Anonymous

Thanks for your comment Niall. Much appreciated.
http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

I love it, the sublimal language is really well done. More people could do with using his topsy turvy way of being positive. Totally agree with Miriam this would make a great video blog too.
Anonymous

I am still trying to source my Topsy Turvy outfit for the video blog..LOL. Glad you liked the post.
http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

I can recommend someone who can teach you how to make a new one from scratch!! lol.
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http://www.wchingya.com wchingya

ha.. you really had me at your pre-post: WARNING. That’s the ironic of being a human, ah.. we all remember the story of the forbidden fruit right? Of course I read all the way till the end even though I have very little knowledge of our feathery friends. I’m with McLaughlin here, scrolling through for an eagle.

I considered myself more of a Robin, but hopefully in future to be a Wren: to grab hold of the opportunities and finish the job with wisdom, remained objective in all circumstances.

@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Robins are great birds, they are focused and get things done, even if a little timid. They are survivors to the last
Thanks for reading and the comment Greg.
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Yes indeed!
However, it’s not often we see hawks in the garden, just as well, or I would be out of entertainment
A hawk has a keen eye and the speed and stamina needed to survive in harsh conditions.
Fair play, and thanks for reading and commenting
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

LOL – sorry tweet tweet!
Thanks for reading and sharing the joke – gave me a spring giggle thanks Lewis
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

There are mostly many many finches, but they have been practically wiped out with disease. However, they persevere and always make a comeback.
Thank for reading and sharing Niall
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Wong Ching Ya
thanks for the comment and sharing your insights.
The eagle is not generally found in the garden, prefers open spaces from a height, similar to the hawk
So you like to soar from above, and eye your prey with intent? Good for you.
Meanwhile the other garden birds can only envy the robin and the wren, small but ferocious
http://www.ivanodonoghue.com/ Ivan O’Donoghue

I’m a turkey vulture:
http://9gag.com/gag/9643
http://www.wchingya.com wchingya

ha.. dare not to think about prey just yet, but it’s the highest-flying bird: observant, can see things in great distance. I love to see the whole picture and not trapped within my limited knowledge.

Thank you Elaine, this is one very encouraging post – a breath of fresh air. I really missed seeing birds around, perhaps I need to go out more.
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Yes, Its always good to back away and look at the macro view, take it all in. It reminds of when i play Sudoku, rather than get bogged down in one box, look at the whole grid for clues. I love your comment about limited knowledge – it is good to know our limitations, and be open to learning
Thanks for your very kind words, glad you enjoyed the post
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Ivan, that is class!!!
I love the last pic – even a vulture can think he is awesome
There’s hope for us all
Thanks for reading, and commenting
http://bettercloser.com Bill Rice

Wonderful post and analogy. I thought I was a “graceful Robin,” but Ivan may have convinced me that I’m a turkey vulture too
http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

I love the analogy Elaine. I can relate to all of them from differents times of my business life bar the first one.
http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Excellent post Elaine. What a nice way to describe different personality types in business – could visualise each one perfectly. I would like to think I’m a robin, but I know that I have elements of all the others as well!
http://www.stress-solutions4life.com/ Catherine Connors

Wonderful post Elaine, I love the title. Well done.
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Hi Bill,
thanks for the comment. Don’t mind Ivan, I am sure you are as graceful as you need to be
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Hi Mairead,
Thanks for the comment 0 I am sure we all visit our business “garden” with a different bird hat on at different stages of development. I hope yours is going very well
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Thank you Barney, and thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed the post. There’s a few birds in all of us I am convinced. We display different habits and tendencies at different times, as long as we keep in touch with our core, we are on a good track (or birdhouse)!
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Thank you Catherine for your lovely comment, so pleased you enjoyed the piece (tweet tweet)
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

I have tonnes of flowerbeds, they require work also
But rather a large garden to maintain than a large house. Amazing how we choose what we like and what we don’t like – like the various tasks within our businesses. I enjoy organising and meeting but dislike accounts.
Maybe I need to outsource my grass mowing
http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Hi Jeff. Thanks for the comment. This post was not trying to tell people how to achieve their aims – more to help them understand that it is normal to get down, feel like giving up etc because we all do at some point.

How we combat the naysayers and build our businesses is unique to each person based on their challenges. For some, as people have commented, it’s about putting in place small, achievable goals.. for others, it’s getting support from outside the business… there is no text book answer (or someone would have written it at this point ).

Thanks again for reading.
http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Cheers for the comment. Keep the faith and best of luck with the product.
http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Good pointer Niall. Works for me too
http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Hi Jeremy. Agree 100% – a succinct comment that makes the point well. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.TheFranchiseKingBlog.com The Franchise King

Thank you, Barney!
http://www.winkslondon.com/ John

Its really a great post.Thanks for sharing your suggestion & ideas with us.Some interesting thoughts on the subject. Looking forward to see what else you post in the future.

Bloggertone

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