Did the question ever cross your mind – what everybody says about you? Does it bother you, intrigue you or are you indifferent? Whatever be the case, you are not alone. Lots of people think about this in one way or the other. On a normal day we brush it off saying we don’t really care – why bother about it? I do my job, I do it well, earn my money and grow my career. So why bother what people think about me?’ Yet, considering this is something people don’t openly seek, I believe there is value in this information if we capture it correctly and learn to use it well. What everybody says about you plays a tacit role in the opportunities that come your way. Many a decision that is made in your favor or against it by your superiors outside of your knowledge is influenced by this. So why not at least start to know whats been affecting you all along while you were blissfully unaware of it
No doubt it takes some courage to start this journey. Its not for the easily offended or people who get upset at the smallest negative thing said about them. You need be willing to take feedback with an objective and overarching view. We recently ran a poll (and thanks to many of you who participated in it) to know how people feel about this. The poll was completely anonymous and below are the results:
Options: 1) Who Cares, IDGAF 2) Apprehensive, you’d rather not know 3) You don’t know but you guess it should be fine 4) You are inquisitive and would like to know how people perceive you in society 5) Other
You will notice that the largest bucket (about 40%) is inquisitive and wants to know what others think about them and only a little over 10% felt they would rather stay away from this information. Interestingly of the 33% who answered ‘Who Cares, IDGAF’, about 65% said they would be interested in trying out a solution for this if one existed. So even those who don’t care, do care. In other words, IDGAF but I still want to know!
Here are the responses on “If there was a way for you to find out what others thought about you, would you be interested in trying it?”
With the ubiquitous increase in information in society, every decision today is influenced by an increasing number of data points. For example, going to a restaurant in the 90s or earlier part of the century, would be deciding the nearest tried and tested place which serves good food. Today, its a choice between multiple available cuisines, supported by customer reviews, pricing, location, parking availability etc etc. The choice has become much more complex with increased data points in consideration. Taking an analogy, today if someone had to choose a person for a new job or opportunity, below are the sources of information they would look up:
- A Resume / Profile
- Facebook, Instagram and other social pages
Do you notice something here? All the content in the above sources is written by the person himself who is being considered for the job. Nothing comes from others who know that person! Most people in the course of their life have built a reputation. People know you for different things. Things that are known only to the people who know you and not to the others that don’t. Now unless you are a celebrity, the number of people who know you are limited to a few hundreds or maybe a thousand. There are millions of people out there any of whom could be the next person you work with or someone you reach out to for an employment opportunity.
If you’ve built a great reputation already with the people who know you, why start from scratch again at your new job or your new city. Influence them with a preview to your reputation before someone meets you for the first time. Reputation need not only be in the form of awards or accredited recognition that exist in the market today and are available to the select few. A reputation is for everyone and its your job to make a good one of it!
This is where WeSay (What Everybody Says About You) can come to your help. A solution that helps you tell the world what kind of person others think you are. A solution to help you know what kind of person you are interacting with whenever you start to interact with a new person. Imagine if we could create a reputation platform for all people and not just the famous ones – wouldn’t it speed up things or at least help us correct certain incorrect first impressions by knowing what others already thought of them.
Download the app invite your friends and tell them what good things you see in them. You have the power to influence the reputation of your friends and vice-versa. Go out and say it on WeSay – What Everybody Says About You!