by Donna Burt

Created on: October 25, 2008   Last Updated: May 23, 2011

As America faces the highest percentages of unemployment since the Great Depression, being a good or marketable employee is one of the most important factors in hanging on. Having spent over half a lifetime in the mortgage industry, it was a rude awakening when I found myself in the unemployment lines. Having an antiquated belief that experience would prevail in the massive cutbacks and layoffs; a time came when that wasn't enough, and my job became a determination to discover what was.

Experiencing first-hand the cattle call interviews and realizing the competition was the "best of the best" in the industry was a true awakening. If knowledge and experience were not enough to hold on to a job, what was? A year and one half later, and just starting a new job, the answer was quick in coming. Employers were looking for good employees. Whereas experience had its' place, I realized a good employee is one who makes it easier for everyone else. One that does not take the precious commodity of a job for granted. One that's enthusiasm motivates everyone else.

In the industry, there is a saying where the first five minutes determine confidence; it is the last encounter a customer will remember. With this in mind, job stability is foremost about providing customer service. It is not enough the product you have is the most competitive in the industry, if a customer feels they are not being taken care of, the business is lost. In my industry, a customer is anyone involved in the transaction. In any of them are dissatisfied, the end result is costly. With an industry that involves repeat or referral business, losing it over lack of a returned phone call or not meeting a deadline, I have discovered, results in the unemployment line.

With a renewed dedication in providing customer service over product, the result has been a 10% increase in production in less than a month. Whereas experience gains the confidence needed, how the customer is treated provides revenue that pays salaries. If an employee does not acknowledge this and continues to take things for granted, productivity drops and jobs are the first to go.

As I smile every morning thankful I have a job, so should those I encounter when it is my turn to be the customer. Next time you hand someone a cup of coffee or take down their information for an appointment, remember, it's not always about how much you know, but rather how the customer felt when they left.

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