Small businesses need talent, recognize an opportunity and be willing to listen carefully and consider all angles and factors

Life presents opportunities every day. We hear the knock on our door and rush to open it or ignore it, continuing with our day. Sometimes we don’t hear the knock unless we’re lucky enough to have someone point it out to us: “Hey, don’t you hear that knock on the door?”

The distractions in life can make it difficult to hear every knock, especially if the door is so far away that the noise in between blocks us. That is why it is important to train ourselves to hear the knock no matter what is in the way.

Years ago I was hitting the pavement pretty hard looking for a job after being laid off in the dot.com bust. I applied for several positions, eventually landing two hot offers. Both were formidable and I needed only to say, “yes” to one of them.

Feeling smug about my good fortune I was suddenly invited to interview with a Fortune 500 company that I had applied to earlier and forgotten about. I decided to tell them “No thanks, I am about to be off the job market.” Fortunately, I like to tell people what’s happening in my life.

I shared the news about this invitation with my then husband. He said, “Why not at least go to the interview? Don’t shut a door that is being presented to you before you even see what is on the other side.” Nine interviews later landed me a position–and the most important turning point in my professional life. Neither of those other offers would have given me the opportunities that opened up for me by accepting a leadership role with this Fortune 500 company. Life has been nothing short of a wild adventure since!

The dictionary defines opportunity “as a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something,” as in a chance for employment or promotion and also states when “opportunity knocks–a chance for success or advancement occurs.” Adventure is the word I would insert here instead of advancement, which sounds boring to me. Any chance at having an adventure is worth examining. Not that you have to go for every chance presented to you but what I am saying is at least look at every chance you are presented with!

How do you know an opportunity will or will not offer a chance for success, the possibility of a dream fulfilled or the adventure of a lifetime, if you don’t at least consider it? Maybe you’re someone that hears every knock and opens every door. But I run into folks on a daily basis that say “no” to a new opportunity without having all of the information about it. They don’t open the door even as I am saying, “Don’t you hear how loud that knock is?”

Buying Opportunities

Headhunters like me traffic in opportunities. Small businesses need talent skillsets to fill specific needs. We present and sell these opportunities every day.
We trade opportunities for a living. I recently presented an opportunity to someone who is very happy in her job and said to me, “I’m not looking to make a move.” I made a strong recommendation to at least check it out and she listened. After three interviews with the client and conversations with me, she is seriously considering this opportunity, which she now recognizes could open up her career and increase her marketability by over 30 percent in two years.