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Social value is your importance in society. It is an ambiguous and malleable concept that is both formed and maintained by perception. Perception is also a malleable concept which is the result of heuristics, and heuristically people do not know the value of an unknown object, and therefore rely on the verbal and non-verbal situational cues from others to form their perception of it.
Inference
An inference is a conclusion or assumption reached that is based solely on what one already knows. As a result of the situational cues previously mentioned, people who perceive you with a positive social value more readily notice your positive traits and virtues, and discount your faults and shortcomings. Equally, people who perceive you with a negative social value more readily notice your negative traits and faults, and discount your virtues.
There is a viewable gap between skilled and unskilled individuals, but what exactly defines ‘the greatest’ musician or rugby player, poker player, or financial analyst? Is it based solely on measureable results such as points? Rate of return? Experience? Productivity? Or, does it also involve intangible measurements such as personality, likability, marketing, luck, and individual tastes?
In the professional realm, skill in and of itself is often times ambiguous, and many times relies solely upon successful publicity and marketing to provide a definable hierarchy. Even then, this hierarchy is still based on perception.
A distinction must be made between perception modification and lying. It is one thing to optimistically portray your potential and positive characteristics to and socially engineer a key person who can help you obtain your goals. It is quite another thing to make material misstatements on your CL+CV and in the job interview to obtain a job that you otherwise are not qualified for.
That being said, by using social engineering, language patterning, negotiation and hypnosis tactics taught in the c14ism manual and in our table of contents, you can exploit heuristics and manipulate the ambiguous and malleable aspects of perception to frame, reframe, and ultimately control how people socially classify you, thus defining your social value.
Reframing your identity
The advantage of moving to a new location is that you have a chance to leave everything behind you – your image, reputation, faults and failures, etc – and start over from scratch. That is the beauty of starting over – you define and recreate yourself into who you want to be, you are no longer who your current situation and reputation defines you as.
To start over, your identity depends upon the congruency of your:
- Perception: communication, presentation, demeanor, …
- Cover story: believability, relevance, …
- Supporting evidence: friends, job, …
Perception modification
The people you meet in a bar, in your foreign language class, at your part-time job, and ultimately the employer interviewing you for your full-time job, when assessing you, tend to rely on different methods of gathering information. If these people do not perceive you as a person with whom they can introduce to their social circle or work with as a colleague, then they will not want to befriend you or help you. However, if they perceive you as a solid investment, then they will go out of their way to introduce you to their friends, or even help you find the full-time job you are looking for.
How do people determine your social value? By analyzing the congruency of your verbal and non-verbal communication, supporting evidence, and external sources.
External sources
- Direct source: The verbal and non-verbal information you divulge on your CV, in conversation, and on your internet profiles, etc. are obtaining information directly from you. This information gathering method is perhaps the least influential because it is coming directly from you about yourself, therefore naturally lends itself to overstatements. A person or ideology who states that you must believe his/her claims because s/he says they are true is a fallacy. Logically you would demand to see other forms of proof. His/her verbal and non-verbal communication must be congruent, and there must obviously be supporting documentation and social-proof to back up your claims before you take him/her seriously. Example: You, your linked-in webpage.
- Biased sources: A biased source is someone in your social circle with whom you have persuasion over. This source is slightly more influential than coming from you directly; however it is still obvious that the source has your best interest in mind. Examples: Your friends, your co-workers, your ex-bosses, your family, etc.
- Neutral sources: A neutral third party who has no apparent connection with you or the situation at hand constitutes a neutral source. Examples: Unrelated third parties, bystanders, psychologist administering your psychometric evaluation, etc.
- Accidental sources: The first three sources are perceived to be controlled by you, thus vulnerable to bias on your part. However if the person comes by information from these biased sources and it is perceived to be by accident, then s/he will put more weight on its authenticity. For example, a person will view your internet profile page with some caution knowing that you created it yourself, chose the photos, etc. However, if you give the person feels as though s/he stumbled upon your internet page by accident, then the information seems more reliable because they found it, and they believe that you don’t know they found it.
- Trusted sources: Trusted sources are the other side’s biased source. Examples: his/her friends, his/her co-workers, HR representative for the company you are applying to work for, etc.
- Observation: Perhaps the most influential source in terms of perception, the person physically observes you and your social status in the environment. Example: You are in the business district wearing a suit and tie having lunch with others who are in suits and ties.
Supporting Evidence
- Business cards: For networking purposes, having a professional looking business card not only provides added proof to your perception, but it is an easy way to get your information out there and working for you. However because you are in a foreign country, and do not yet have a job worthy of a business card, you need them more than they probably need you. Therefore instead of buying your own business cards and giving them away, you take the initiative, take their business card and information, and then contact them. And always be sure to carry a pen and a notepad. Regardless of who you meet and befriend, be sure to at least get their email address. That way when the time is right you can send them your CV.
- Internet profiles: Internet profiles such as Myspace and Facebook are a quick and cheap way to meet people. In fact, even before you arrive in the target country, you can set up your account and begin communicating with people. However, just like your CV+CL, the information you provide and its overall presentation could mean the difference between finding friends or not. An unprofessional or incongruent looking profile and photos will do more damage than good, so keep even your personal profiles professional. Networking sites allow you to search for people. So search through profiles of other people who work for companies and hold jobs similar to the one you are applying for to see how they set them up, and then adjust yours to blend in with them.
Internet networking websites also make you searchable by your university and company names so that you can connect with classmates and fellow employees. By listing yourself as an employee of a particular company you want to work for, you can then search through the entire database for employees that work for your target company and have internet profiles. This will give you names, email addresses, and mini-bios of people within the organization you never would have known existed, but now have ready access to.
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