Category Archives: Career Search

Why we hate networking for jobs: confessions of a networking convert

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Call centre

This is a guest post form one my favorite authors, Rebecca Farser-Thill. I decided to host it because it speaks not only to college students, to whom she gives a kick in the ass, it also speaks to jobseekers of all ages. I’m also hosting it because it’s one article that made my morning coffee go cold–a great sign of compelling writing.

Networking for jobs. When I mention the phrase to my Bates students, their noses wrinkle, their lips grow taut, and the tip of a tongue sometimes protrudes ever so slightly from their mouths. Disgust. That’s what they’re demonstrating. Pure disgust.
Ooo, there’s a balloon at the call center! That makes this job much more appealing. (Photo credit: Walt Jabsco)

I get it. I used to be an active member of United Anti-Networking Individualists. It’s a faith that effectively thwarts the creation of a fulfilling career, given that over 80% of jobs are unadvertised. My fellow worshipers and I were left with the plum jobs that everyone knows about, like these from a recent Monster search: Call Center Manager (the only thing worse than having people hang up on you is managing the people who get hung up on); Product Support Supervisor (you get to field calls from people who want to return faulty items; they should be fun to talk with); and Data Entry Clerk (entering client bills all day, every day – be sure to sign up for glasses and carpal tunnel surgery in advance!)

The thing is, I joined the dark side. I now – gasp – proselytize for job networking.

Yes, it’s true. As part of my mission, I offer you the top reasons we hate networking for jobs. And why we’re completely wrong. Based on psychological science, no less.

1. I Don’t Want to Bug People

Leave The Kids At Home And Turn Off The Damn P...Think people will react like this when you contact them? (Photo credit: Cayusa)

Let’s pause for a second and consider what happens when you contact someone with a networking request. You’re essentially saying to that person, hey, you’re in a great position in life and I’d like to emulate you, or at least get closer to emulating you, and I was wondering if I might ask you to talk about yourself for fifteen minutes or so, and share some of the awesome contacts that I’m envious you have made? Ah, yes, I see why this is “bugging people.” Not!

Number one:  People love to talk about themselves. That’s the cardinal rule of human psychology.

Number two: People love to be praised and to feel like they’re doing well on the social hierarchy. The second rule of human psychology.

So, “bugging people”? Uh, not so much.

2. I Want To Be Self-Sufficient

Ah, yes. The Western ideal run amock. I can do it myself! That’s what you think, right? Then why do humans fall apart when they’re socially excluded, suffering from depression and sometimes resorting to extreme aggression? Psychologists Baumeister and Leary claim that our “need to belong” drives much human behavior. In other words, we need one another to survive, both physically and psychologically. You’re going against your basic nature if you assert otherwise. When you’re in need (and when you’re out of work, you are in need) that’s the time to go with your evolutionary instincts, not fight against them. 

3. I Have the Wrong Personality For Networking

OK, you’re onto something here. Psychologists Wolff and Kim found that people who are extraverted and high in openness to experience are more likely to network for jobs than people with introverted, closed personalities. That said, personality does not dictate all of our behavior. We may have to go “against type” in order to network, but we’re required to go against type everyday for a variety of reasons.

I mean, for a true introvert, holding a spontaneous conversation can be excruciating. But introverts manage to do this all the time (thankfully). You’re not being asked to change who you are in order to begin networking for jobs; just to channel a different way of relating to the world. And only for a short while. Besides, if you are an introvert looking for a career, you’re probably drawn to career paths that other introverts love. Meaning you get to network with other introverts. That’s hella comforting (speaking from my introverted self).

4. I Don’t Have a Network

Isolated House - CasolareYou live here? (Photo credit: Aesum)

Oh wow, you’re a hermetic isolate who lives in a cave? I always wanted to meet someone like you (it’s very hard to do, seeing as how people like you never emerge from your dwellings). What, you’re not? You actually live in the real world? Then, hate to break it to you, you have a network. A network isn’t some fancy-schmancy secret club of Ivy League graduates who sit around drinking scotch while their chauffeurs polish the Mercedes. A network is just people. Plain ol’ people. If you ever talk to anybody, then you have a network. Period.

But wait, I feel my psychic skills abuzzing; your rebuttal is ringing in my ears:

5. No One In My Network Knows Anything About My Field

This may be true. Maybe your network is full of people with careers you detest, or with backgrounds you’d rather not admit. But who’s in their network? And in those people’s networks?

Here’s a tale from my anti-networking days:  I attended a career seminar at Cornell, back when I was plotting my great escape from grad school. To prove the power of networking, the career counselor made us each pair up with a random person in the room and see if we couldn’t comb their network for someone related to what we wanted to do (and they ours). My partner got an immediate bingo from me; my dad worked in his prospective field. I, on the other hand, came up with peanuts from him. Peanuts.

There, I thought, proof that networking is a joke.

Flickr friendsNone of your friends knows anything useful? Bummer… (Photo credit: Meer)

The counselor then went around the room, making everyone announce the connections they’d made. And they all had made connections. Except for me. (LOSER!)

When I professed my failure, the counselor kept hounding my partner and I, refusing to let the subject drop. You really have nothing to offer her? You can’t get anything from him?Nope, we said, nothing.

As the seminar concluded, I went over to my partner and offered my email address, so that he could get in touch with my dad. As I handed it to him, I noticed a word on his Izod shirt (this clothing choice alone offers insight into why we had nothing in common). “Falmouth,” I said, reading the word on his shirt. “As in Maine?”

“My Grandma lives there. Has her whole life.”

“That’s where I’m planning to move in a few months. To Falmouth, or nearby. And I don’t know a single soul there.”

The career counselor leaped over, like a possessed little jackal. “A-ha! I told you! Networking works!”

I glared at her, desperate to cling to my ideology. But as I talked to the grandma on the phone the next day, getting tips on where to live and where not to; the local publications in which to search for jobs; and the contact info of her niece who worked in social services, I couldn’t help but question my anti-networking faith. Could networking be this powerful? And this easy? But still:

6. I Hate Using People

Here’s the biggie, especially for you Millennials. Although you’ve come of age in the era of social networking, you’re loathe to “use” those networks for personal gain. They’re about self-expression and connection, right? Not about the trading of favors.

First, re-read Point #1 above.

Then stop and consider how you feel when you have a service you can offer to someone else. In the case of networking for jobs, it may be information about a certain career path, a connection to someone at your company, or the link to a friend or relative working in a particular industry. We humans are altruistic beings at heart, so when we give, we experience enhanced psychological well-being and decreased feelings of stress. We also earn social support from our actions.

As writer Elizabeth Scott says, “When people make altruistic personal sacrifices, they end up reaping what they sow in the form of favors from others. These individuals earn the reputation as altruistic people and end up receiving favors from others who they may not have even directly helped.”

So, in essence, when you’re asking others to help you, you’re giving them the opportunity to experience more well-being, less stress, and the likelihood of returned favors in their future. Oh yes, this sounds like “using” somebody alright. Whatever you say.

Final Thoughts

Chances are I haven’t made you a convert to networking for jobs just yet. It takes time. I know. But when you decide you’re ready to fail Career Avoidance 101, a great start is to accept networking into your life.

I’m not only a Nutty for Networking  member. I’m its President.

So what did I miss? What deters you from networking for jobs?

The importance of informational interviews by Danielle April Boucher

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danielleI prefer to call them  informational meetings, but that’s beside the point. I mention informational meetings in my Roadmap for Job Search Success workshop as a great source for gathering information, gaining leads, and perhaps hitting the jackpot. By this, I mean being there when the company may be in the process of looking for someone like you.

I digress, because what I want to do is share a blog post by someone who I think is a great writer and promising PR pro. She shares in her post below some sage advice on the importance of informational interviews (I prefer informational meetings).

Posted by Danielle April Boucher
Here is my follow-up post on Informational Interviews. You can find the first one on how to do informational interview here.
Thus far I have done 7 informational interviews and have met a significant number of different PR professionals from my area and have learned from first-hand experience. Completing 7 info interviews might seem like a lot, but once you get into the groove of contacting people you get good at it; it becomes easy and natural. I found that I wasn’t able to meet some people face to face and so I did some Skype and phone interviews as well.
Each type had its own feel, but because I was prepared and they were willing to help me, they all went smoothly. The key is making sure the info interviews are helping you and not stressing you out. So while I recommend that all graduating students do some, 7 might not be feasible for everyone. That being said, I have gathered some interesting insights from a variety of people from different areas of the PR industry. Because I believe in helping my peers and because I want to give my readers some value, I will share what these PR professionals so generously shared with me about the skills you need in PR and the advice they have for grads.
Essential Skills for PR 
(Other than writing and communication) 
  1. Business savvy. You need to understand your business, your organization’s priorities and how PR functions within the overall profitability of the business. This means not getting distracted by personal motives or caught up in the PR side without considering the business side.
  2. Data management. One of the interviewees told me “The person who has data wins.” In PR, evaluation is everything, so data is essential. The data points to what is working, what is not, why you do certain things and why you don’t do others. When analyzed properly, data is valuable information that can be leveraged to justify what you do, how you do it, and most importantly why it works!
  3. Perceptive abilities. In PR your job should not just be coming up with ideas, but seeing holes in plan where others may miss. The ability to anticipate reactions, needs, disasters and gaps where others can’t is what will separate you from others. This is why knowing who your stakeholders are key!
Advice for PR Students and Grads 

  • Volunteer work is a great way to build your portfolio and skills.
  • Finding a mentor is a great way to learn about your career goals.
  • Join professional organizations to make networking easier.
  • Network and build valuable connections whether it is in-person or via social media.
  • Keep in contact with people you meet; following-up is essential (this means following up with the people you do informational interview with).
  • Stay open to opportunities – say yes and always follow through.
  • Dress the part. No matter what you should look respectable; it shows that you care and that you pay attention to the little details.
  • Make a plan of your goals and be specific. Writing them down makes you more accountable to yourself.
  • Do something every day that will bring you closer to your goals. This will build your momentum and create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  • You don’t get, if you don’t ask – this requires you to reach out and be proactive in seeking out opportunities.
  • Know what you are asking for (i.e. meeting or job) and know what your give is. When asking for something, make sure you can return the value in some way.

Finally, the great thing I learned from doing informational interviews is how to be confident when meeting people. I feel so much more comfortable in interview settings now and with cold calling people too. I also learned some great advice as shared here!

I hope this helped and if you have advice to share, please comment below. And let me know, how do you feel about informational interviews?

10 excellent reasons to read other people’s LinkedIn profiles

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businesswomanPeople often ask me how they should write their LinkedIn profile. Among other things, I tell them to cruise around LinkedIn and look at tons of profiles to see which ones they like best. And then, without copying, emulate them. As the saying goes, “Imitation is the best form of flattery.”

  1. Notice their photos. Are they tie-and-jacket professional or casual professional?
  2. What about their title? Do they have a branding title–you know the ones that make you say, “WOW”? Or does it make you yawn?
  3. See what keywords they’re using for SEO (search engine optimization). Are their keywords strong enough to catapult them to the top?
  4. What kind of story do they tell in their Summary?
  5. What accomplishments do they tout in their Experience section?

My colleague Laura Smith-Proulx writes about 5 Reasons You Should Research Your Job-Seeking Competition on LinkedIn, in which she advises her clients to study their competition, not only to get an idea of how to begin and craft their profile. Her message is that you must become a student of examining your competition in order to really succeed in the job hunt.

In her article she asks you to look at five points as part of their strategy.

  1. Gaining insights applicable to your own career path.
  2. Forming new networking or career advisory relationships.
  3. Discovering which companies hire experts in your field.
  4. Learning how your skills stack up in the job market.
  5. Getting a close-up view of how to tune your Profile for internal SEO.

Laura goes beyond perusing others’ profiles to gather ideas for content. To build a powerful LinkedIn profile and then use it as Laura suggests, you’ll need to spend time and energy, which is what all the pundits say. Read Laura’s article.

How mature workers can help young workers

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questionsAfter reading an excellent article, Dodge Discomfort, by Rebecca Fraser-Thill, it occurred to me that our role as mature workers is to mentor younger workers who are trying to find their way in life. This is a good thing because helping others is rewarding and right.

The hard cold fact is that unemployment is hitting the jobseeker at both ends of the spectrum; the young adults who are entering the workforce and the mature worker who is trying to stay in the game.

As a 49 year-old male, I vaguely remember the challenges of finding a job and keeping it, which admittedly I didn’t do that well. How many pizza delivery jobs I had escapes me. Stints as a car salesperson taught me a valuable lesson–I sucked at selling cars. I ventured into teaching but didn’t like instructing sex- and party-driven kids as much as adults who have more direction. I didn’t come into my own until I got a job as a marketing communications writer; and even then I was not content. As the saying goes, things happen for a reason.

So when I was laid off, I took the opportunity to explore other job possibility. Now I tell people in my Roadmap to Job Search Success workshop that losing my job in marketing was one of the hardest things I had to endure, but also the best thing to happen to me. There’s a quote from Alexandra Graham Bell I show my participants:

“When one door closes, another opens, but we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

matureworker

Mature workers have suffered the trials and tribulations, of which Rebecca speaks, many times over. We have second-guessed ourselves and turned to self-medication to deaden our anxieties. We don’t have to be told how it was for us; but it’s nice to be reminded by a psychologist like Rebecca.

It’s now our job–or purpose–to support the younger workers, some of whom are our children. It’s our job to tell them, “Wake up and stop complaining.” And when they tell us we don’t know what we’re talking about, we need to kick them in the ass by telling a little story about what life is about. Life is about real loss and trauma. It’s about losing parents and friends and, God forbid, children. It’s about losing a job or two.

While we’re here to remind them of what’s real, we’re also responsible for guiding them on a tough journey, the toughest we’ve experienced in decades. Mature workers must lead by example and show–not tell–younger workers that they can endure the tough times that will seem like hiccups in the road when they reach our age.

Finally, young adults need to experience discomfort, leave their comfort zone. The best people to ask about life in the workforce, and in general, are us, the mature worker. When Rebecca writes about disregarding what young workers’ parents say and follow their dreams, there should be a disclaimer that says, “Your parents know more than you think. Follow their advice now, or learn it later in life.”

We’re not as clueless as young workers might think.

My thoughts on the death of LinkedIn Answers

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answersBy now you probably know LinkedIn’s Question/Answer feature (Simply called Answers) is deceased, extinct, departed, an afterthought, gonzo. (See related article that offers alternatives.)

This means millions of LinkedIn members have no opportunity to ask questions—which I’ve done quite often—and answer questions, which I’ve done more than I’d like to admit.

I’m not the only one who’s disappointed with LinkedIn’s choice, Jason Alba, author of greatly regarded I’m on LinkedIn–Now What???, commented on the imminent removal of LinkedIn Answers:

“Answers was, for years, the only tool to help me accomplish my three purposes (share my brand, grow my network, nurture individual relationships).”

I caught the Answer bug back in March of 2009, three years after I joined LinkedIn. Those were hours of obsessively searching for questions to answer about professional networking, résumés, job search, career, using LinkedIn, staffing, and many more categories. Eventually I settled on Job Search as my category of choice.

To the chagrin of my family, I spent hours in my large chair typing away, always making sure I provided sincere and thoughtful answers. Come to think of it, I stopped criticizing their stupid television shows, so I guess my family didn’t mind.

Did I mention I eventually became the leader of “Best Answers” in the Job Search category? I don’t talk about it a lot, mainly because I don’t want to come across as a braggart and also because I’m not sure what value “Best Answers” hold. But, yeah, I was kicking ass in that category.

Answering questions not only gave me hours of mental stimulation; it drew the attention of jobseekers who commented that they appreciated my advice. I also connected with other career pundits who saw my answers and agreed with them. Thinking back to those times, I would agree that my network took form and began to blossom.

There were many times when I had an urgent question and knew I’d have 10 answers from the LinkedIn hawks within the hour. They were always scanning Answers. I received a ton of great answers  One question I remember asking about how to reword my profile’s title garnered a stellar answer. I took the advice from the person who received “Best Answer” from me and ran with it.

Did I always get quality answers? Not always. Some answers, in fact, were useless and driven by individuals’ agendas. These answers left me thinking, “Is this person answering a different question?” What always killed me was when a person would answer a question with one sentence or even one word.

The one-sentence answers were usually from people who tried to earn”This Week’s Top Experts” (TWTE) record by giving the most answers for the week. I estimate the average TWTE shamefully answered 600 questions a week–that’s 200 shy of what penned since I began answering questions. Do these people work?

Some LinkedIn members complained about the quality of answers saying that you weren’t necessarily an expert because you earned “Best Answer” status. I could see their point. Some answers didn’t warrant a “Best Answer.”

In all, Answers was a nice feature that will be missed by me and others. One of my connections, Darrel DiZoglio, said Answers generated business for him because his answers prompted people to contact him for his résumé services. (He was the leader of the Résumé category and there was a snowball’s chance in hell of catching him. He’s also one of the best at his trade.)

You are right if you guessed I posted a question about how people would feel when Answers goes away. The question garnered 14 answers and although it was hard to award a “Best Answer,” I gave it to someone who answered sincerely and thoughtfully.

10 things you must do to absolutely, positively, without a doubt get your dream job

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bad-money-adviceReally?! Do you really think there are 10 sure things you must do to get a job, absolutely? Furthermore, do you believe one person, any person, can give you the answers you need to land your coveted job?

This topic came to mind when someone responded to a blog post I wrote on how job search experts should not force their beliefs on jobseekers, how people hunting for a job must consider different points of view, how there are no absolute answers. Said person wrote:

“…I tell students that there is no such thing as one correct way to compose a resume, prepare for an interview, conduct a job search, etc. That is why I am not a fan of articles with headlines that are strongly worded like, ‘Ten Words That Will Kill Your Resume.'”

I, nor do the many people I admire, would never purport to have all the answers needed to help you land a job. For if we had all the answers, we’d be very rich people. Filthy rich.

All we can do is offer some suggestions that you can weigh and act upon…or not. All we can do is provide support and hope. All we can do is give you a kick in the ass when you need it. All we can do is hope that if we’re ever in your position, you’ll return the favor.

But to make this post not a total bust, let me give you one bit of advice that I’ve offered my career center customers: never, ever give up the good fight. When you do that, you significantly limit your possibilities of landing a rewarding job. Maybe one will land in your lap, but it won’t be one that will make you happy.

When you give up hope, others will abandon hope for you.

Continue to read the articles that offer sage advice, and act on that advice; but don’t, as my colleague says, fall for the articles that guarantee job search success. If an article has the title I contrived, run the opposite way.

Heed your inner voice in the job search

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inner voiceIf you’re like me, there have been times when you spoke without thinking and said some incredibly stupid things. Worse yet, you might have blurted words that had negative consequences. At times like this, your outer voice took over like a hurricane leaving devastation in its wake.

If only you had heeded your inner voice, the voice that tells you to stop and think before you talk or write something you’ll regret. The voice that is rational and will usually save you from embarrassment and, ergo, negative consequences.

A customer of mine recent told me during a Salary Negotiation workshop that he was offered a job during the last of four interviews. But when he was told the salary for the job would be $12.00 an hour, half of what he made at his last job, he screamed, “Are you (expletive) kidding me?” Needless to say the interview and all possibility of getting the job went up in smoke.

He asked me if he had said the right thing? The rest of the group shook their heads; I simply said, “no.”

Jobseekers need to be cognizant of their inner voice and not let their outer voice speak for them. Another of my customers was asked an illegal question during a phone interview. “How old are you?” she was asked.

She promptly swore obscenities and hung up on the recruiter who was probably screening her and was in no way indicative of the people for whom she might work. She was clearly listening to her outer voice which told her, “Illegal question, illegal question,” and she acted impulsively.

Instead she might have said:

“I’m 49; however, I’ve been consistently acknowledged for my productivity. In fact, I’ve out worked my younger colleagues and covered other shifts when they needed weekends off. Because my kids are self-sufficient, I require no time off. You should also consider my job experience, as well as life experience, which younger workers don’t have.”

The outer voice is apt to reveal its ugly head when jobseekers are frustrated and despondent over the job search, such as when they’re networking and asked about their current situation. A listener understands her partner’s anger, but hearing him speak negatively is off-putting. The networker has most likely lost his contact because his outer voice defied him, truly revealing his feelings.

What would you like to do in the job search? You’d like to listen to your outer voice, which encourages you to express your negative thoughts.

There will always be those who are prisoners to their outer voice. They will talk without consulting their inner voice and will pay the price. These are folks who are often trying to dig themselves out of a whole that is insurmountable. Although they proudly spoke their “mind,” it’s not usually worth the trouble they land in.

Introvert tip – top 3 innate strengths for public speaking – guest writer, Patricia Weber

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Public Speaking2Because I am a workshop facilitator and responsible for disseminating job search advice, I must be cognizant of how I deliver my workshops, not simply the content.

One of my favorite connections on LinkedIn and followers on Twitter, Pat Weber, has written a great article on how introverts can be effective public speakers because of their innate strengths. I have included it below in its entirety.

This communication tip is written by Patricia Weber for the readers of Communication Weekly.  Visit Weber’s website www.prostrategies.com.

The recent post,How to overcome the fear of public speaking, had me thinking about how introverts could take advantage of who we are naturally and begin to see themselves in another light.

Public speaking for anyone in business is one of the best ways to attract clients in your community. Workshops and presentations are ways to deliver your message that reaches many people at one time. When you hone your message what you will find for example is, if you get into one Rotary, other Rotary groups will add you to their speaker of the week agenda. When I left my company “job” in 1990 I didn’t realize introverts were hindered to use one of the best marketing tools available – public speaking. Hone your message to where it delivers valuable content, and then, people become interested in tracking you down to talk with them about what you really do. It’s client attraction at it’s best.

If you want to, you can eventually be a paid speaker. But let’s take public speaking for introverts and consider top three innate strengths we have for a solid foundation to make it work easily. Whether you are giving a company presentation,  or delivering a sales presentation or even found yourself in the enviable position of being asked to speak in front of a professional organization. Certainly we have more strengths but let’s start right here.

If you already believe introverts must be poor at public speaking because they lack the social skills, consider at least two things: first, as an introvert you already have many natural tendencies to be well-received on the platform and second, more demanding audiences today want to see evidence of this from the speakers they listen to.

#1 – Analytical tendencies are needed to prepare and present.

Know your audience, know your topic, be creative. Research of the audience and topic is naturally satisfying to introverts. Just as planning uses the front of the brain, introverts will find up front preparation adds to the success of a well-received presentation. When you are researching your topic, you’ll also be kick starting your creativity. Relax and savor your planning tendency. Audiences love prepared speakers just as they love the people who can speak eloquently extemporaneously. You can do this!

#2 – Listeners want you to say something important.

Audiences don’t want to hear small talk; they want to hear what is relevant for them. Yes; we might as introverts want to learn how to insert some humor, since it is something that bridges even the most serious, or dry topic, to where the listener wants to hear your message. Encourage participation to build the rapport between you and even just a few participants. And handling just those few potential difficult participants, well that is a must. But in the end, if you want a presentation score of 10 and a paycheck as a paid public speaker, our advantage of innately speaking only what is important, gets us 80% there.

#3 Be the observer, not the participant.

Introverts observe and listen before commenting. Speaking in public allows you the chance to observe, listen and then make a conscious decision of how to continue or which direction to go with a well-planned presentation. Just what are you observing for? How engaged is your audience? Are they taking notes, nodding their heads, asking questions? These are behaviors easy enough to – dare I say – do at the same time as you are speaking! With your intuition highly tuned, give yourself permission to observe the reaction of the audience to know if and when to make a presentation adjustment.
These are just a few introvert natural strengths; many extroverts have to learn these very characteristics. This means we already have a solid foundation for public speaking. Do we have to learn some other pieces? Of course; but that’s no different than anyone else needing to learn what they don’t have.

What do you think about bringing your strengths to the party of speaking in public? Are you willing? Because you are ready.

About Patricia Weber

Patricia Weber, www.prostrategies.com, leads and inspires the sales reluctant to discover their courage for that breakthrough for ultimate success. She is an internationally recognized expert on radio and in print as a Business Coach for Introverts.

Weber is a Coachville graduate, a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner and a two-time award winner of Peninsula Women’s Networker of the Year (only the second member in its 28 years to receive this award twice.)

– See more at: http://communicationweekly.com/2013/01/introvert-tip-top-3-innate-strengths-for-public-speaking-patricia-weber/#respond

No one said networking is easy; be smart and make the effort

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I read an entry on the Personal Branding Blog  which stated, “According to ABC News, 80% of today’s jobs are landed through networking.” This percentage of networkers represents smart jobseekers who understand that looking for and finding work takes…work.

They understand that personal networking coupled with online networking will yield better results than spending the majority of their time on Monster.com, Indeed.com, Dice.com, CareerBuilder.com, and other job boards.

Smart jobseekers attend networking events consisting of jobseekers, business owners, professional associations, meet-ups, etc. However, networking events are not smart jobseekers’ only, or even major, source of networking. They also utilize their rich network of former colleagues, friends, relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, and others; or start the building process…and keep it going once they’ve landed a job.

Experts like Martin Yate, Knock ‘em Dead: Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World,  will tell you that companies want to promote from within first; only when there are no appropriate internal candidates will they rely on referrals from employees (who get a bonus for a successful  hire) and people who will approach them through informational meetings. The latter category of jobseekers (you) have the benefit of getting known before the job is “officially posted.”

“…employees who come to the company ‘known by us’ in some way are seen to be better hires and thought to get up to speed more quickly and stay with the company longer,” he writes. And this includes you. This is where relentless networking comes in, whether you contact someone at a company so they can get your résumé to a hiring manager, or you contact a hiring manager in your desired department to set up a “meeting.”

Pam Lassiter, The New Job Security, understands that networking can be daunting, particularly for Introvert types, but encourages jobseekers to do it, “Using your networking wisely is a muscle you can exercise and develop if you haven’t already. Outplacement and alumni career services surveys report that 65 to 85 percent of jobseekers find their jobs through networking….”

Some jobseekers misunderstand the purpose of networking. They think it’s all about them. They constantly ask without giving, which is the quickest way to drive away potential allies. People who have the true networking mindset realize that they should first help others, before thinking of themselves.

The bottom line is helping other jobseekers will help you. Paying it forward increases your odds of landing a job. And, there are plenty of great networkers who will help you, as they realize they’ll eventually get help from others. They are patient and determined.

Here’s what one of my customers, who recently got a job, told me about proper networking: “Have a conversation with people [as opposed to] giving them a 30 second commercial.  It’s not about “I need a job.”  Have a really good conversations with a few people at an event and listen to what their needs are.   Think of how you can really connect with them and support them vs. just getting a business card.

Networking only makes sense, so I’m perplexed as to why some jobseekers don’t embrace it. I know that personal networking means going outside one’s comfort zone, particularly if you’re an Introvert (as an Introvert, I know the feeling). Developing the attitude that “I just have to do it” will help you over the hump.

Announcing my Person of the Year for 2012

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JobseekersTime just announced its Person of the Year, Barack Obama. To some this is a time to celebrate, to others it might be cause for having a stiff drink.

Last year I declared my Person of the Year; and because I believe in tradition, I will again announce my Person of the Year. This may come as no surprise to many of you; I am going with the same “person.”

The Jobseeker.

Although the Jobseeker was not, like Barack Obama, “both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America,” he or she demonstrated dignity and professionalism, networked and paid it forward, wrote compelling marketing material resulting in interviews, and finally (after more than a year, in some cases), landed a job. Or maybe not.

There were many Jobseekers who demonstrated true heroism throughout the entire year, simply by the way they handled themselves. They:

  • Woke up every morning to put in a full day of hunting for work, leaving no stones upturned and considering every possibility.
  • Maintained that screw-the-economy-I-will-get-a-job attitude.
  • Knew that every day was a day when they might have run into a person who could hire them, or someone who knew a person who could hire them.
  • Took a break every once and awhile to recharge their batteries, but not too long of a break. A day or two at the most. They even networked during the holidays.
  • Followed their career plan of revising their résumé, creating a list of companies they research and contacted, building a LinkedIn profile that meets today’s standards, and other best practices.
  • Attended workshops and took advantage of job-search pundits’ advice, learning that things have changed in the past ten years, but, nonetheless, trudge on.
  • Accepted and embraced the Hidden Job Market, making penetrating it a priority in their job-search plan.
  • Attended interview after interview until they hit a home run with an employer smart enough to hire them. The Jobseeker will never give up, despite the challenges they encounter.
  • Never forgot the important things in life, like family and friends, and taking care of their health. They didn’t let the job search consume them.
  • Faced despondency or depression with courage and perseverance.

These are just a few of the reasons why The Jobseeker  is my Person of the Year. If you think of other reasons, let me know by commenting on this article. I think I should send my reasons to Time and demand a recount.