Today I spent the day in the hospital waiting while my husband, Bill, had outpatient surgery. Since I am not good at waiting, I packed plenty of work, books, my phone, and my laptop to keep me company while I waited.

Interconnected

I certainly wasn’t alone. The easily accessible wifi connected me with my e-mail and my Facebook status let my network know where I was and what was going on. I talked to clients via e-mail, talked to friends on Facebook and Twitter, and two colleagues on Skype.

I designed and wrote a resume, researching information online to build the resume.

There were massive storms in the area and so I checked radar to see how soon the storm would hit. I called my son, Dan to make sure he was there to watch Teddy. Phones are pretty old school, even cell phones, but not very long ago, you didn’t even have that option in a hospital.

I listened to another family coach in a relative using Garmin GPS. Other people were using laptops too and phones, interconnected. I could watch the boards in the hospital that changed as the patient moved from pre-op, to operating, room to recovery, to their room. Before I knew it, the doctor had come out to let me know Bill was fine and the operation was successful.

How comfortable are you with technology?

Technology isn’t going away but every day I deal with job seekers who either have no computer skills or don’t have the basic programs like Microsoft Word on their computers. I understand that it is hard to invest in technology when you have just lost your job but you need to develop a plan.

The Basics of Interconnectivity

If you can’t afford your own laptop or netbook, then find a friend, neighbor, family member, or the public library to access the web and your e-mail.

If you don’t have e-mail, you need to set up a Google mail (gmail.com) account at the very least. Your e-mail should be accessible from any computer, not just the one you have at home.

Why Microsoft Word? It is the most commonly used program by corporations, offices, manufacturers, and businesses in the world. Notepad doesn’t cut it. And your computer does not automatically come with Word either. You need to build some knowledge of software by talking to people who have that knowledge so that you can have the right programs on your computer.

I can’t tell you how many clients say, “Oh Word must be on my computer.” or “Sure, I have it, isn’t that what Windows is?” NO! There are alternative programs but with so many resources available for job seekers, use the one that will get you the furthest.

These are the basics of interconnectivity. Everything I talked about using or experiencing while I was waiting at the hospital builds from there. If you want to stay viable in a rapidly changing technology-focused world, you need to embrace it and figure out how to make it work for you.