I heard one just last week.
Now, first some requisite clarification and honesty: The gentleman was sincere in his efforts to help those out of work, and he clearly was an expert in his field, so comparing him to Farley (or Foley) is admittedly unfair. He also was far more grounded than any "Dilbert" character, and I actually liked his presentation for the most part. The only problem stemmed from his failure at the first rule of any presentation: He didn't know his audience.
I won't disclose the man's name or the session I attended, but suffice it to say it was a local networking event that was designed to help people learn more about landing jobs with the federal government. His presentation was well thought out, well delivered, and actually contained more than a few nuggets of useful information. In that sense, his session was rewarding.
What bothered me was the fact that the man was speaking to us about how to land a federal position when he himself had been with the government for nearly a decade and had transferred to a government job after retiring from the military.
Do not misunderstand me here. The fellow was a veteran who was - and is - clearly entitled to rewards in exchange for his sacrifices and service. No one I know - or would care to be associated with, for that matter - would seek to deny him the benefits to which he is clearly entitled (and priority consideration for employment should certainly qualify).
But here's the problem: For this fellow to be telling a room full of civilians how to land a federal job when his status as a veteran undoubtedly helped him with his transition does next to nothing to help people without that background achieve the same goal. Put another way, if we aren't veterans and don't hold the requisite clearances as part of our background, then moving from a civilian position into a federal one will be anything but as easy or smooth as it was for him.
The instructor told us - and I'm paraphrasing his words here - that his transition from soldier to government employee "took several months of weathering the application process." I can name several acquaintances off the top of my head who have tried to land jobs with the government or with federal contractors for years but who were never able to make the jump because they weren't veterans and lacked prior security clearances. In a sense, the clearance is much like the proverbial Catch-22 recent graduates face when it comes to experience: You can't a job without it, but you can't get it until you get a job. Looking back, the instructor's presentation reminded me of Steve Martin's famous "How to Live Like a Millionaire" routine where he starts by telling the audience, "First, go get a million dollars."
A suggestion? If you're ever presenting to any group, make a point of knowing the perspective of your audience. Speaking to a group of civilians if you're a military veteran about your transition to federal employment is a lot like having a senior executive discuss the importance of quality with front-line employees - whose paychecks may be significantly smaller - by mentioning what it's like to shop at Nordstrom or Whole Foods. (Side note: I actually heard a senior vice president use this very example under just these conditions. Suffice it to say his talk probably did more harm than good in terms of inspiring people to focus on quality work...) You'll lose your audience from the word "go."
And unlike a fictitious speaker living in a van down by the river, chances are your audience won't find much to laugh about.
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