Not only are jobs scarce these days, but those that do exist are highly competitive. Whether you are just entering the workforce and trying to land your first job, or whether you want to continue to successfully climb the ladder, successful job search networking can give you a leg up on your competitors.
This article explores 12 tips designed to help you become a more effective networker.
Our office was small, 5 desks. We always wear office casual. Our interview style is casual. We ask a lot of tough questions, but we try our best to put candidates at ease.
A candidate was making some rather crude remarks about former coworkers. He shoveled up some really inappropriate dirt on some characters he knew. Finally he was told, “Saying things like that in an interview is going to keep everyone from wanting to have anything to do with you.”
He replied, “But this isn’t an interview.”
His mistake
You are in an interview anytime you talk with someone who can help you get a job. Use your interview manners when you talk to friends, acquaintances, recruiters, people in Human Resources and when you talk to a company President. Your friend who knows a manager in another company is interviewing you when you ask him to submit your resume. A recruiter is always interviewing people.
Some interviewers, like recruiters, require more in-depth information than others. Give it to them, but don’t show hatred. Don’t viciously gossip.
That doesn’t mean you should hide things, it means you should get over them. Let them go. Forgive. Forget. At the very least stop bringing horrible things up.
A way to measure what to say
The measure of what you should say now, is what you imagine yourself saying about the situation in 5 or 10 years.
When you are looking for a job in 5 or 10 years you will not say much about the SOB’s at your last job. They won’t be worth the time. You may have to say why you left, but it will only take 20 seconds.
When you paint someone with a hateful brush, you expose your hate. Your hatred, loathing or disgust is never pretty. Those who see it will always wonder when you will say the same things about them. A rabid vicious dog is never welcome in any neighborhood. So, why would someone want you, a vengeful, spiteful, nasty mouthed person, working on their team?
Get on with your life. Forgive, forget. Concentrate on the good things you do. Remember, you are always in an interview.
Something to do today
Think about the negatives that come out of your mouth in an interview. Figure out a way to clinically describe bad things that happened without emotion. Figure out how to do it in 20 seconds.
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Later: Whistle while you work
Hustle while you wait
The $5 call girl
Where to fish
Seeing office politics is not easy. Seeing the final disastrous result of office politics is easy. You can train yourself to see invisible office politics before they kill you. Let me give you an example of being trained to see what is already there.
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. (Albert von Szent-Gyorgi)
I took my Boy Scouts out into the woods. We went to look for animal signs. The boys couldn’t see a thing. Nothing. Then one spotted a bird. They all saw it. Another heard a woodpecker. Suddenly they could all hear it and they also noticed the trees with woodpecker holes in them. I pointed out a rabbit run. The leaves were broken up into littler pieces than the surrounding leaves and there was also a tunnel under some bushes. They started seeing rabbit runs. We walked down the road and I saw some deer tracks. They looked and found the path that the deer were using. It was just like a rabbit run, only bigger. As their eyes were trained, they saw more and more. Once they concentrated on looking for things out of the ordinary, they got good at spotting animal signs.
Training yourself to see office politics is difficult. Often you see the person who gets what they want, and not the people who enable it. Look at the interactions where you are. Who really makes decisions?
Choosing a guide is a great idea. Don’t choose the loudest person. Choose the most effective person. Who seems to get what they want? Invite them to lunch or just find a moment to be alone with them. Ask how they do it. Sincere interest is a form of flattery that is almost impossible to resist. You will quickly find out what you need.
Warning! As you are finding out who the gatekeepers and roadblocks are, learn to keep your mouth shut. Getting experts to trust you with their secrets depends on your keeping their confidence safe. Ask questions. Don’t spill the dirt. Funny thing about gossip, effective people shun it. They like helping people understand how a department really works, but they shut down and hurt gossips.
You can have a training program you don’t have to pay for. If you are worthy of their trust, the people who know will train you. They will want you for an ally.
Something to do today
Take a few days and become an observer. Ask questions. Find out the lay of the land. Who are the people who benefit from the power brokers? Who really are the power brokers?
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Later: Job ad red herring
Resume red herring
Interview red herring
Internal referrals are the fast track to a job.
Here is a link to how to become a solid internal referral by using LinkedIn and a phone.
Posted in Networking, References, Resumes
Tagged get referred, internal referral, job hunting
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. (Jane Howard)
The secret of Bill Gates’ momma
When Bill Gates was trying to sell a PC operating system to IBM, his mother was on a charity board. The president of IBM was on the same board. Was there a possible connection? Sure. I doubt Bill Gates’ momma got the deal for him, but I’m sure it helped.
An unemployed salesman asked me, “Can you help me find a job. You know I’ve been looking for months. What can I do?”
I didn’t have a job for him, so I asked him about his job search. We talked about networking. It turns out he already was in touch with some very influential people. They even offered to introduce him to other leaders. He was afraid to take their help.
This salesman had convinced himself that, despite what these leaders thought, he just wasn’t worth their time. He didn’t feel comfortable networking at that level. He couldn’t see a reason why they would help him. Here is why they would help him: That is what President’s do. They help people succeed. They are focused on it. They spend all day thinking about helping others succeed. I put that salesman in a verbal headlock and got him to promise he would use the help he had already been offered.
Remember Bill Gates? He sold a PC operating system to IBM that he did not create or own. Bill Gates had gotten the right to sell it from the creator. He outsold a guy who owned a demonstrably better operating system. Bill Gates did it by using every string, every avenue and every potential aid he could find. Lots of people wanted him to succeed, not just his mother. He got everyone’s help he could.
Don’t be afraid to use every bit of help you can find to get your new job. Others wouldn’t help you if they didn’t believe in you. Now, believe in yourself.
Something to do today
Make a list of the most powerful and influential people you know. Ask for help. If they are in your current company, ask for help growing where you are. If they are out of your company, ask for help finding a new job. Go to the most powerful and influential first.
You are worth it.
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Next: “Safety First” and job ethics
People doing business in India have told me how difficult business there can be. Basic utilities like electricity and water are very unreliable. The legal system is subject to corruption. Government regulation depends on your relationship with the bureaucrats, not the rules. Business partners don’t want to offend you or lose face, so they agree to do things they can’t get done. Bringing you bad news is avoided at all cost. Labor costs are low, but people will switch jobs for the slightest increase in pay. And it goes on and on depending on the city, industry, neighborhood, and your ancestors.
Indian businessmen do incredibly well in the US because they have practice overcoming complex problems. You can learn how to prosper in your job search and job by applying the few basic principles they live by.
These job security, success, and business principles are applicable to accountants, help desk techs, managers, and CEO’s. They especially matter if you are in a job search. They will give you an incredible advantage in every company you apply at.
In India it is essential to have multiple layers of preparation. In America we get by without them. Americans also often wonder why they got laid off and how they will survive when laid off. Preparation, getting to know more people, and fearless execution will do more for your earning potential than anything else.
Something to do today
List where you only have one layer of protection. Then list how you can improve that.
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Next: Interview follow up – get help
Posted in Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, References
Tagged complex problems, job secure, job security
Need a job? Recruiters see every possible mistake, and some unusually successful ploys.
Here are 50 job hunting tips from good recruiters.
Google is one of the most outrageously priced stocks in the market today. They give away services that competitors charge an arm and a leg for, and they make a profit. Google is the best company in the world that is in the attention business. If you are looking for a job or a promotion, you are in the attention business too.
Google started out as a search engine. It was a simple catalog. Then the owners started selling simple ads, but in a different way. That difference changed the internet.
Go out and Google “jobs”. Everything you see on that first page is a response to your attention. There are a few ads at the top and to the right of your results. The results you see on the first page were also paid for by savvy marketers. Your interest and attention to “jobs” is a valuable commodity. Google is in the business of finding out what you will pay attention to, and serving it up with the least fuss and the most profitability. Google finds out what interests you and then shows you ads you really want to see. Their ads solve your problems.
Now the scary part. Can anyone find you? My query about “jobs” produced 3,420,000 hits this morning. Two years ago it was 91,900,000. Four years ago it was over a billion places (1,400,000,000) the word “jobs” was referenced. Even Google is getting more selective about the information they present to me. They sell more by presenting less information.
Let’s cut down the competition. Google “biomechanical engineer” in quotes and you get 35,600 hits, and a lot of the ads disappear. Google your name inside quote marks. I get 5590 hits on “Bryan Dilts” because I am a blogger and businessman. Can anyone find you? Google is expert at finding what interests me and presenting the most important information in the first page. People can find me, can they find you?
Why you are in the attention business. To get a job, you have to get a hiring manager’s attention. You have to be at the top of his employee search. There is a huge amount of competition for his attention. He has to stop and look at you as a person. He has to call you, bring you in for an interview, and introduce you to the team. Then he has to decide to stake his career on hiring you. He has to pay a lot of attention to you. Are you doing what is necessary to be at the top of his search?
The next few days are about getting the attention of people who will hire you. Google is going to play a big part in the discussion, so go out and have some fun with it.
Something to do today
Cut a paragraph or phrase out of your resume and Google it. Do the same with a job ad. Have some fun.
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Tomorrow: The attention business – connectedness
You are not trying to get the job of “minion” or “muscle”. Don’t pretend that exploiting your life experience is wrong. It is not the same as shoving a gun in someone’s face and asking for their wallet.
The real reason most people don’t want to exploit their advantages is that they “want to stand on their own two feet”. It is a lovely macho phrase that means little. Our society, families and personal lives all rest on the shoulders of those who came before us. Admit that no matter what you do, others have helped you. Get on with using the advantages that parents, teachers, friends, clergy and God have given you.
Here are some excuses to fail and reasons to exploit a few of your advantages.
Acorns don’t fall far from the tree. Employers need reliable hires. Getting someone from a good family is a much better bet than hiring a complete stranger. If they can’t hire you, but they suggest someone else hire you, they get brownie points from that other person. They win as much as you do.
If your friends object to helping you get a job, they don’t trust you with THEIR reputation. If you are going to let them down, you are not a friend. If they trust you and you will follow through, helping is what builds friendships.
People always hire based on emotion. Always. Even if no one talks to you and they only give you a paper test, they hire on emotion. Paper tests are put together based on what people FEEL will give them the best employee. Your pay will be based on emotion – how well they FEEL you will do. Promotions are based on emotion – how do they FEEL you will do in the new job. Don’t be dishonest. Don’t be an actor. Tell the truth simply. The emotions behind the truth will help you Use them.
Actually it is called networking. In many companies senior partners and executives can be fired for not having lunch with enough different people. They are evaluated on lunch. Literally.
You are fine now and it is relevant to understand your resume. If it will substantially help you get the job, tell them. Talk to a couple of job experts and get their opinion. If it will help, exploit it.
Aaargh! They want to hire the person with the best attitude. They want the person who will work the hardest. They want someone who they can promote. They want someone who is excited. They want to hire the hungriest person. How can they tell that about you unless you keep asking them, “When will you decide?”, and, “When can I start?”
If the offer is very good, take it. Don’t argue. Otherwise, ask for more money. If you really are worth it, get the money. If they pay you more, you will be less likely to leave for another job because of more pay. They win too.
Hiring and training you does cost money. Companies that invest that money have already figured out how to profit from it. They will either give you a raise and promotion, or expect you to leave. They will make money. You won’t cost them a thing.
The leadership, teamwork, calmness under fire, discipline and fortitude veterans develop is uncommon. Bring it up.
Your life experience makes a difference. Whatever that experience is. You need to use it and exploit it.
Something To Do Today
Think about your job search. Just think. And then take notes about your conclusions.
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For 2 weeks: Zen and the art of getting a job
Monday: Measure and maul
Later: Making a silk purse
Why you aren’t paid what you are worth
A man dying of thirst
Perception
Character
Diamond in the rough
Cleat marks up your back
Posted in Attitude, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, References, Resumes, talent
Tagged ruthlessly exploit yourself
Do you want to become CIO? There are things you can do whether you are tech savvy from operations or a tech guru from the IT team. In either case, you have to overcome some pretty big obstacles.
This story has the obstacles and the solutions. And it isn’t a long read.
Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, talent, Training