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Only One Person

“I’m only one person! What can I possibly do?”

We hear that question a lot, don’t we, as our friends, colleagues, and social media contacts survey the scene in Washington.

I’ve said it myself, many times. I’m only one person, and a cloutless one at that. I mean, I vote. I occasionally donate to a cause or a candidate. But beyond that? Well, I am definitely not an activist.

And … I learned a lesson this past week. It’s worth sharing with you.

You might remember I’d connected with a loose online group launched by the Age Equity Alliance. The idea was to call attention to companies trafficking in stereotypes of older workers and encourage them to change their ways. And specifically, to use LinkedIn to combat ageism on LinkedIn.

The recruiting firm Robert Half gave us an opportunity for action with their job posting for an administrative assistant. The company was looking for “Mid-level experience as an Executive Assistant (not a 30-year EA veteran).”

Seems like another way to say, “If you’re over 50, you need not apply,” doesn’t it? And since most administrative assistants are women, it may not be surprising that women in particular found this off-putting.

I wrote a post about it on LinkedIn. And I tagged the recruiting firm when I wrote: “Isn’t every company looking for a cute young thing for the Executive Assistant role? Robert Half should know better than to put an age limit on a position. Or maybe all bets are off now that *inclusion* is under fire in Washington.”

That was me, being Only One Person. (Also being a little bit of a smart aleck.)

OMG! Did I hit a nerve!

Last time I looked at LinkedIn, my post had 42,861 impressions. That means more than 40,000 pairs of eyeballs had seen what I wrote.

There were 79 comments, although in fairness, probably 30 of them were from me. No matter the platform, I always try to respond when someone comments on my posts.

Three LinkedIn users reposted my post, sharing it with their own connections.

And, perhaps most importantly, Robert Half added a comment to my post.

“This job posting violates Robert Half’s long-standing anti-discrimination policy and we took immediate action to remove it as soon as we became aware,” they wrote. “We have taken steps to make sure that this does not occur again. The company encourages all applicants to apply for any position for which they have the requisite skills and experience.”

Yes, it may be formulaic. But the very idea that they felt compelled to answer the criticism seems important. And I expect they have taken steps to make sure they don’t face that firestorm of disapproval again.

We can all take a lesson from this experience.

“I’m only one person, what can I do?”

We can team up with others, that’s what we can do. I wasn’t the only individual who posted about this badly worded job listing from a gigantic, established recruiting firm. Maybe it was only a handful of us, but together we had enough reach to make a difference.

Communicate clearly and crisply. Notice that my LinkedIn post was brief and to the point. It was also conversational—it invited you to stop scrolling.

It’s hard enough to capture attention on a social networking site. A long, detailed dialectic might well lose their attention before they’ve absorbed our main message.

A point of view attracts interest. I post on LinkedIn once or twice a week, typically sharing some bit of expertise about business communication. I used to do more of that, but it didn’t seem effective as a marketing strategy. Some folks build their whole business from LinkedIn connections—I wasn’t one of them.

As a rule, my posts generate a handful of reactions, a few comments, and maybe a couple hundred people see the post.

Nothing prepared me for the explosion of interest in this one. I shouldn’t have been surprised though. My post expressed a clear point of view, and people responded to that with similarly pointed remarks. The energy from expressing a POV is magnetic online as it is in speaking.

Not everyone appreciates our point of view. Overwhelmingly, commenters were on my side on this one. They objected to the job posting that seemed to be telling women over 50 to go away.

But there was that one guy who took issue, got a little snotty, and accused me of just trying to get attention on LinkedIn with my post. I don’t mind attention of course, but the goal here was to make a point. And we made it.

Finally, engagement matters. As I said, I always try to respond when someone comments on my posts anywhere. Sometimes a “like” is enough, but I often reply with a comment of my own and sometimes the dialogue goes beyond that.

It’s called “social networking” for a reason—it’s most effective and most fun when we engage fully.

Are your wheels turning?

Job opportunities for people of all ages may not be an issue that gets you jazzed up. But I’ll bet there’s something you care about. An environmental problem maybe, or a social justice issue, or a purely political one.

Whatever it is, I hope you’re inspired to put yourself and your opinion out there and see what kind of energy you can generate.