The Marketplace

The field of play where all decisions are made.

Where is your success as a Free Agent job seeker determined? When I ask this question, the usual response is to ask a question in return for clarification. What exactly do I mean by " where?” Is it possible I mean "by whom?” Perhaps I’m fishing for someone to say, “I determine my (own) success.”

Without additional prompting, most people eventually answer that their success is determined by their employer, themselves, the economy, their education, the HR department, the level of competition, globalization and free trade, discrimination, and so on. It's all over the map. Generally, the responses focus on specifics and details. In economic terms, the micro vs. macro point of view.

Of course, in a general sense, all these answers are correct. Many things determine whether or not a job seeker will experience success. However, the “where” of my question is missing, and this achieves my objective. These micro answers indicate the job seeker's perspective—the trees, not the forest. Unrecognized is the field of play where all decisions are made.

The “where” I’m referencing is conceptual, not tangible. It’s a place and a thing combined. Still, we can’t directly see, hear, smell, touch, or taste it. There are rules and ways of behaving associated with it. And, like the thing itself, these rules are abstract and hard to pin down.

Most people accept the existence of this place/thing but find its essence hard to grasp because there’s no easy way to measure, value, or compare it other than results. It operates 24/7, nonstop. It’s ahead of, behind, and all around each of us. It’s where all business happens.

It’s the Marketplace.

Here’s how I present the concept directly to background-challenged job seekers one-on-one and in workshops, but the core message is universal and applicable to all of us.

To find out what it is and how it functions, you must enter the Marketplace and experience it directly. But here's the thing: most job seekers will plunge right in. Little, if any, thought is given to where and how things play out. There's no assessment taken from 30,000 feet. Instead, job seekers drop to three feet and cannot appreciate the lay of the land, finding themselves surrounded by nothing but grass, bushes, and trees.

Taking a micro view such as this creates a problem. Humans are programmed to see things in terms of polarity, as good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair. But the Marketplace operates differently. It doesn't care that we want to size it up or figure it out. It doesn’t matter that we want to take a class or watch YouTube videos about it. Our need to have someone tell us what it’s about and perhaps hold our hand as we enter it is of no concern to the Marketplace.

As a job seeker and eventual Free Agent seller of service, you must embrace the concept of the Marketplace and see yourself as a participant. You need to come to terms with the fact that the Marketplace has no emotions or opinions. You must understand it doesn’t care who’s on the field and who wins or loses—getting your head around the fact that the dispassionate Marketplace is where the game takes place and the game itself is essential.

If the first half of a successful job search comes from seeing yourself as a Free Agent, then accepting and understanding the concept of the Marketplace is the other half. Absorbing and integrating both concepts allows you, as the job seeker, to take to the field as an actual participant and not a reactive wannabe pretender. Instead of feeling trapped and hemmed in by all you don’t see or understand, you begin to experience freedom because you know you’re a Free Agent and you know you’re operating within the Marketplace.

Coming to this point of integration requires abandoning excuses and blame. Without them, you can better see yourself for what you are: a service seller operating within an open forum devoid of attributes like fairness, equality, and goodness. It’s not to say these things don’t exist, but you must be prepared to function without them.

As people, we’re incapable of total objectivity. Nevertheless, the Free Agent job seeker must work toward it, eliminating the constraints of assigning decision power to anyone or anything. Sure, you didn’t get the position because the owner’s brother-in-law was selected out of nowhere or the manager picked someone with the same cultural or ethnic background. You’re frustrated, angry, and resentful because it’s unfair and “not right.”

Let’s pretend for a moment that the Marketplace had a point of view. If so, it might say you don’t understand the rules of this specific game, that brothers-in-law are always picked over non-brothers-in-law, or that managers never pick candidates from outside their social group or ethnicity. If the Marketplace could communicate with you directly, it would tell you not to spend time and energy stewing on any of this. Instead, learn from this reality, take it in stride, and move on. Furthermore, it would remind you that your Job Search Objective (which I will cover in future posts) hasn’t yet been achieved and that any time or energy spent on these outcomes is wasted and fruitless. You would be told bluntly that the Marketplace couldn’t care less about your feelings. You’re merely a player who wins, loses, or draws.

All this is cold and harsh but true. As an independent Free Agent, focus on the side of the equation that you can manage. You have no control over the Marketplace. You can, however, exert influence as you participate. To do this, you must see things accurately and objectively. You must be open, willing, and teachable. The Marketplace provides everyone with a continual stream of lessons. Are you ready and willing to listen? Are you up to making the adjustments necessary to achieve your objective?

In my experience, of the two concepts, Free Agency and Marketplace, Marketplace is the concept that background-challenged individuals need help embracing. Background issues rarely exist in a vacuum. Frequently, they’re outward manifestations of inner baggage, emotional scar tissue, pain, grief, and fear. Thus, it’s too easy for someone with these constraints to lay blame, project frustration, wallow, and complain. If the Marketplace could speak to you, it would say:

I don't care because I can't care. I’m not capable or programmed to care. I set up the game, and I report the results. It’s your job to compete, bring your best game, advance from a win, and learn from a loss. You do with it what you will.

In the end, Free Agents accept the Marketplace for what it is. With this acceptance comes the possibility of achieving success quicker and more comprehensively than otherwise would be possible. Acceptance and adjustment lead to freedom, but at a price—responsibility. Overseeing your future is no small thing.

Onward!