Category Archives: Networking

Tracking elk and finding hidden unadvertised jobs

Posted on May 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

It is impossible for an orange tiger with black stripes to hide in green grass, yet it does.  You can’t fill a job unless you let people know about it, yet it happens all the time.

I walked 50 miles in a wilderness area.  I found lots of elk, fox, coyote, deer and bear.  I didn’t see any of them.  Not one.  But, I found them.  I heard them and saw their tracks and scat.  They were there.  If I wanted to go hunting, I would know right where to go to find them.

There are also jobs you can’t see. At times it is as obvious as tracks in the mud even if there are no job ads.  There is an announcement of a new division moving to your area.  A newspaper mentions the company is expanding.  You may see a new building being built. These things should alert you that a company needs to hire people.

More subtle indicators are that you hear of someone being fired, or that they are looking for a new job.  In all likelihood, someone will replace them.  That is a job opening.

Every city has at least one business newspaper.  Little old Harrisburg, PA has 3 or 4.  In that business news they highlight the expansion plans of businesses.  There is a section about appointments and promotions.  When someone is promoted, they had to come out of another job.  Call them up and congratulate them.  Ask them how they got the promotion and wait for them to tell you what job they left behind.

75% of all jobs are filled without ever placing an ad or posting an internal job notice.  Keep your eyes open for where an opening will be.  If you get the job before the ad appears, there is no competition.

Something to do today

Go to your biggest local library and to the local college or university library.  Ask to see all the business daily, weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines for your area.  See if you can find job tracks in them.

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Humility and job suicide, there is a difference

What’s wrong with the box?

How to wait for the next interview

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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What the smartest guy in the room does

Posted on May 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

A stupid person can make only certain, limited types of errors; the mistakes open to a clever fellow are far broader. But to the one who knows how smart he is compared to everyone else, the possibilities for true idiocy are boundless.  (Steven Brust)

The smartest guy in the room

Frank was a legend. Phil was a legend in his own mind.

Phil gave off an odor of conceit.  He would condescend to help others.  He had very important things to do. He promoted himself all the time. We got tired of hearing him talk about another project he finished.  That boy could talk, as long as the subject was himself.

Frank entered a room of 20 people and the collective IQ doubled.  He listened.  Frank tended to migrate towards the leaders and managers.  They also migrated towards him.  He talked and mingled happily with the rest of us.  He was friendly and helpful.  Frank used persuasion and experience to sway others.  He also told his bosses in private, on paper and in emails of what he had suggested, whom he helped and what he accomplished.  In other words he reported back on everything to his leaders.  He got credit where it counted.

Frank even got credit for helping me, a peon.  He kept track.  He let his boss know how many hours he spent helping others.  He kept track of the projects he assisted.  He reported it.

Phil bragged, strutted and annoyed.  Frank helped, improved, reported and got credit.

Are you Phil or Frank?  Or are you just afraid to let people know how much you do?  A lot of people know a Phil.  They don’t want to be a self centered, conceited, bragging laughing stock.  So they hide what they do.  They don’t become a Frank.  Frank was well respected by all.  He helped and accomplished, and got credit for it where it counts.

Report back to your boss.  Keep a job journal.  Know and show what you do.

Something to do today

Give your manager a report each week of all the things you get done.  He may not really know how useful you are.

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Top articles from the archives while I take some Scouts into the woods

Humility and job suicide, there is a difference

What’s wrong with the box?

How to wait for the next interview

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Posted in Attitude, Networking, talent

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New job search tools in LinkedIn

Posted on April 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

LinkedIn has some tools you may not have seen or used.

First thing to do is to link to me on LinkedIn.  bryan@dilts.us

Then read this article.  Note that there are 7 pages to go through on the right hand column.

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The single most important trick I use to get myself to make phone calls

Posted on March 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

My telephone weighs 470 kilograms if I do not pick it up and make a call out by 8:30 in the morning.    I get nervous.  I can’t pick it up.  I make my living calling people and sometimes I just can’t do it.

So I use a rubber band to help pick it up.  I put the rubber band around my wrist.  Every time I start to think about being nervous I snap it hard against my wrist.  If I pause before picking up the phone, I snap it and pick up the phone.  If I feel nervous, I snap it and pick up the phone and dial somebody, anybody.  The real trick is that I interrupt my thought patterns.  I have a mechanism to deal with nervousness.  The little snap of pain also trains me that nervousness is unpleasant.  More important than the pain. is that I interrupt my negative thoughts.  I start concentrating on the positive, and do something positive.

When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them. (Confucius)

I should have told my daughter how to use a rubber band to change her thought pattern when she and her friend were talking about their fear of needles.  It might have helped her channel her thoughts so she wouldn’t cry before the needle touched her.  Irrational fear or just nervousness can ruin an hour, a day, or a lifetime.  Control the negative by finding something to interrupt the negative thoughts and think about the positive.

You really are what you think about.  If you need to think about something else, figure out a way to do it. I use a rubber band to help pick up the phone.  What do you use to get over nervousness?

Something to do today

Research ways to interrupt your thought patterns and channel them positively.  There are a lot of great books on the subject.  The classics are The New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, or Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  Read it. Absorb it.

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Later: Fledging falcons on the DEP building

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Posted in Attitude, Networking, Perseverance, Time management

How you can accidentally make job search success impossible

Posted on March 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

This story relates directly to your job search, phone calls, interviews, writing your resume, and getting a job offer.

Complete panic, worry, and unhealthy fear were created by my 17 year old daughter as she graduated from high school. In an hour she was going to get her wisdom teeth removed. She’d kill me if I use her name, so let’s call her Gina.

Gina and a friend spent a few days swapping stories about cowardice in the face of needles. They talked about it often enough to amplify their concerns. So Gina was panicked about getting the IV before they put her under. The thought of getting near a needle is horrible to her now. Her friend was bragging about cowering against a wall while she was restrained two years ago to get an inoculation. Gina was fantasizing about how badly she would react when the needle gets close.

Gina came back from the oral surgeon alive.  She had tears streaming down her face before the needle even touched her. She had three holes in her arm because they didn’t get it right. I think part of the problem was hers. Competent nurses became incompetent when faced with her dread and complete lack of faith.

People who need to leave their job are often the same way. They focus on visions of starvation and divorce for months and years before they leave.  All the horrors stories they have ever heard play through their mind over and over.  The will to better themselves is frozen and then shattered by fear.

Even worse than mere fear, you can attract all your worst dreams to you.  As you concentrate on horrible possibilities, you will be drawn to those situations.  The characteristics you concentrate on, will be in your new company.

I don’t know the exact mechanism, but most people get the job they think about the most.  If they concentrate on finding a great job, they usually find at least a good one.  If they concentrate on avoiding horrible, mean spirited, lying, deceitful people in their new company, the usually join below average or horrible companies.  They get the coworkers they dreaded. They are trapped in job after job in companies of despair.

Instead of spending your time talking to someone unemployed who lost their job in November of 2011, talk to someone who just got a new job. Talk to people who have made great job choices. Reminisce with folks who did things right.

Look for a job while you are still employed.  Find out about the company you are moving to.  Talk to your new coworkers before you take the job.  There is a lot less danger than you have been worrying about.

If you concentrate on the positive, you will find the good in every experience.  If you concentrate on the negative, you won’t have a good experience, no matter how good the experience is. You can make good things possible or impossible.

Something to do today

Make a list of the people who tell horrible war stories about job changes.  Stay away from them.  Stay away from everyone who teaches you fear and panic.

Buy The New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, or Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  Read it. Absorb it.

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Later: The rubber band solution for nervousness

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Posted in Attitude, Focus, Interviews, Negotiating, Networking, Resumes

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2 ways to exploit the good old boys network

Posted on March 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

My partner Karen was pointedly told, “We can’t use you as a recruiter.”  She went to the head of HR and said, “I was just told you can’t use me anymore.  Is that true?”  The answer was, “Of course we can still use you.  You bring us our best people.”

Karen was part of the good old boy network in several banks and other companies.  She knew who to call.  They knew they should call her when they have a particular problem.  Karen exploits them, and they exploit Karen. Actually, it is a case of mutual trust.

How to exploit the network

There are two ways to exploit the network.

1. Become part of it.

2. Get a couple of powerful players to trust you so you can use them.

By the way, number two is number one on a minor scale.

The way to exploit the network is to become part of it.  It isn’t a matter of becoming the chief string puller.  You need to discover two or three influencers and take them to lunch, help them out or get their help.  The manager 2 levels above you relies on the advice of a host of people.  Who does he rely on in cases you care about?  Which people have been able to shoot down your favorite projects?  Is there someone who always seems to be able to get a budget for little projects?  Those are people who are significant players in the good old boy network.  They can get things done. They have “juice.”

One more time: invite the folks in the network to lunch one at a time.  Do it after you have had a chance to compliment them about some project they got funded or finished on time.  Tell them you want to talk to them about how they did it.  Ask them to help you understand who influences projects like that. And if they don’t accept your invitation, be prepared to talk with them for a few more minutes about what THEY care about.  The invitation and the conversation are important, not the lunch.

Or you can help them out.  If they have a project, ask if you can help.  Volunteer to do research outside of work hours.  Do what you can. You can even ask them for help or an opinion on one of your projects.

Under capitalism, man exploits man.  Under communism it’s just the opposite. (John Kenneth Galbraith)

The way to exploit the good old boy network is to become a minor or major part of it. You can’t always do it, but it is worth trying.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to knife anyone in the back.  You have to be able to get things done.

Something to do today

Figure out who the “good old boys” are.  Ask them to help you with particular projects that will succeed.  Give them credit for their help.  Get a reputation for winning.

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What the master of the good old boy network does

Posted on March 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

I wrote an ad for a perfect job networking guru a few years ago.

“I need to hire someone who knows how companies work.  He has to quickly figure out what really motivates people.  He has to walk into a room of executives and figure out which ones are the real decision makers, not just the ones with titles.  If he can’t figure out who the influencers and elephants are during a one hour group meeting, I don’t want him.”

That was one of the most difficult recruiting assignments I ever worked on.  That describes the perfect executive and the perfect salesperson.  The perfect team leader and assembly line worker can do the same thing. It really describes the master of the good old boy network.

The good old boy network is really a bunch of people, men and women, who have learned to trust each other.  They know what motivates the other people in the network.  They know the hidden agendas as well as the stated goals.  Some people want to be executives with a home life.  Others want to get away from their family as much as possible.  One guy wants money and another wants fame, a third just wants more people reporting to him.  Then there is the guy who wants most to be an influencer.

This ad hoc network offends many people.  It exists in most companies, even small ones. It is a major part of every industry and government. It is the groupings of people who rely on each other to really get things done.  The good old boy network is reality.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about some ways to exploit those good old boys.

Something to do today

The first step towards exploiting the good old boys is to recognize who they are. Get in the habit of asking people who put off a decision they should be able to make, “Who should we run this by before a final decision is made?”

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Later: Exploit the good old boys

The money question

3 kinds of death

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4 ways quitting with extreme prejudice hurts careers every day

Posted on March 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Jack’s temporary assignment at the salt mine was coming to a close after a great 9 month term. He was only scheduled for 3 months, but he had done so well it was extended several times.  He was getting antsy.  Two days before his scheduled last day, he stalked into his bosses office, threw his ID badge on the desk and said, “Take this job and shove it.  If I’m not appreciated, I’m not going to take your bull**** any more.” He stalked out.

The client called me and told me what happened.  Jack did not return my calls.  Guess what?  Soon I had another assignment.  He would have been able to do it.  It was closer to his home.  I never called him.  He burned a bridge he didn’t need to.

When you build bridges you can keep crossing them. (Rick Pitino)

No matter how much you hate your current situation, quit gracefully.  Burnt bridges only prove that your eyes once watered from the smoke.  You may destroy an opportunity down the road by throwing gasoline and a lighted match at your old boss.  Let me give you some more real life examples.

  • Your old boss gets a job at the same company you went to. He is never again your boss. When they are reviewing internal resumes from several teams for a promotion, he mentions what you did upon leaving your old job. A confidential note is put in your employee file.  For some reason you stop getting pay raises.
  • A coworker who stayed hears about how you yelled at the boss, formatted your had drive and destroyed all your customer entries in the database.  He eventually changes jobs.  You apply for a job where he now works five years later.  He hears about it and warns his company.  You were the top candidate but don’t get the job.
  • You apply for a job.  The new hiring manager worked with your old boss 20 years ago.  Your old boss is not on the reference list, but the hiring manager calls him anyway.  They are friends.  The company policy that they will only disclose your hire date, termination date and salary is ignored.  The hiring manager can’t tell you what really happened because he has to protect his friend. You lose and never know why.
  • The recruiter has a great job.  He is excited to present you. The next day he says, “You just aren’t a fit.”  He won’t elaborate.  You are crestfallen.  You never find out that he placed five people in your old company.  When he was checking references he called someone who wasn’t on your list.  He was warned about you.

You may feel great for few hours when you trash your old boss and company. If you already have a new job, it may even seem perfectly safe.  These things have a way of coming back to haunt you.  When you burn a bridge behind you, you may create a ghost that follows you for years.

 

Something to do today

Next time you are out with your friends ask them about the most dramatic bridge burning exits they have heard of.

 

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Later: How to quit

The old boy network

Exploit the old boys

The money question

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Posted in Networking, Quitting or Fired, References

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How to get references on the company you may join

Posted on February 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s a funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it. (W. Somerset Maugham)

He came for the amazing opportunity at XYZ (the name is changed to protect the guilty). A year later he was gone. He quit. That happens a lot at XYZ. It seems like half the people who join the company are transplants.  It has been the case for at least 15 years.  They are hired from across the country and move to Harrisburg, PA.  It is one of the biggest companies in its market, a national powerhouse. But an unnatural percentage of its executives, computer experts, accounting gurus and even retail purchasers have been relocated here. Of course many love the place.  It is just that their first year turnover is huge and local people avoid the company.

I always warn people I place at XYZ of the reputation.  I help them find out if they are a fit before they join.  So, how can you avoid getting one of those short term, bad fit jobs?

Check the company references

Talk to 3 of their references.  They want to talk to your references, you can ask for theirs. You also need to find a few references on your own.  Finding references on a company will get you a clearer perspective on them and it is also a good networking tool that may get you a different job.

The best company references you can get are:

  •                         A talkative recruiter who knows the place
  •                         A happy ex-employee at another company
  •                         Someone doing your future job at a competitor
  •                         An HR person from another company
  •                         Someone you know who works in that department

I did not include a disgruntled ex-employee in the list.  They know why they quit, but usually not what the trends for the company are.  It’s okay to talk to disgruntled ex-employees, just filter their responses.  They may have an ax to grind.

How to find them

Connect through LinkedIn to the HR person and anyone you talk to at the company.  That way you will get networked into other people at the company now, and former employees.

Make a few phone calls.  You need to find out who the competitors are anyway. Make it a habit to search them out. Look for former employees at competitors.  They may have a better opening than the one you are looking at.  At the very least, you’ll be able to ask questions about the job you are considering.

Something to do today

Check references on the last 3 companies you interviewed with.  It is good practice.

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Later: Fake jury

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Posted in Interviews, Networking, References

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You should plan your career advancement like a 50 mile hike

Posted on February 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men. (Kin Hubbard)

Boys on a 50 mile hike

2 1/2 pounds of trail mix per boy each day for a total of 90 pounds.  3 packages of hamburger helper for one meal for 6 boys.  Oatmeal every day for breakfast for 6 days on the trail.  Coyotes, raccoons, elk and a 20 acre meadow of ripe blueberries. It was a great adventure.  By the end the boys learned they had taken way too much trail mix and hamburger helper.  They also stopped liking banana flavored oatmeal.  They planned, saw, did and learned things they would never have known about without that 50 mile hike. Later most of the boys did 70 and 100 mile hikes. On the later hikes they carried less weight and had even more fun.

Job hunting

If you want to constantly move up you have to stop looking at your job search as an occasional sprint.  It has to become a planned excursion.  It may become a safari.

Job hunting does not get any easier at the next level up. When you get better at what you do, it takes longer.  The number of jobs decrease and the number of good people looking for the great jobs increases as you move up.  Moving laterally isn’t hard.  Moving up is hard.  Getting a promotion is tough.  Beating the 20 other people who want to be raised to Executive Vice President or be the highest paid technician in the company is very hard.

It takes one month of job searching for every $15,000 of salary in today’s market. That’s how hard it is to advance.  That is how much harder it gets later.

If you start now and decide to LEARN while you search for a job, you’ll do better next time.  You need to study and try different ideas.  Find out what works for you and what flops.  Everyone is different.  There is no reason for you to do things exactly the same as someone else.

My boys started out with 2 mile, 10 mile and then 20 mile hikes.  They got better, but kept learning.  The 50 and 100 mile hikes were a lot of work, but not as painful as the 20 mile hikes.  Your job searches may get longer, but they don’t have to be as difficult as your current one if you keep on learning.

Something to do today

Go to your job journal.  List your employment dates so far.  Also list your promotions.  You will probably see a pattern.  If the new jobs or promotions stopped, was it really your idea or did you just stop advancing?  Write down how quickly you really can earn that next 3 raises, promotions or jobs.  You may want to set up a personal progress program.

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Later:                         Was that bear scat?

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions

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