I’d like to pick your brain

March 20, 2012 By

Really? Does that even sound nice? Your mother might tell you that’s something nice people don’t say at the dinner table. It’s also something you shouldn’t say when asking for a networking meeting.

Four other things you shouldn’t do:

  • Don’t assume you know anything about the person.
  • Don’t focus the conversation on you and your needs.
  • Don’t tell your sad story.
  • Don’t push your resume at them.

If you want to network your way to a job, you want to do it indirectly. Grabbing a coffee with an old friend and attacking it too hard makes you the pariah you hate being in the first place. Here’s a better way to approach it:

Ask gently to get together. You might say, “I’m in transition and I would like your advice.” Or “I’m sourcing job leads and I want to learn more about your job position.” Or, “I really admire you. I’d like to learn more about your career.” Make the conversation all about the other person. If you allow the other person to talk, you’ll win a friend and advocate.

Be ready with lots of questions. Do your homework and learn a little about the company. Ask about what’s going on in their industry segment. Ask about the person’s job: how long have they had it, how did they get the job, and what education and experience do they have. Finally, ask about their company: what’s the culture, do they like their boss, and to what department do they report.

You are looking for insider information. You want to find out the names of job titles that might be suitable for you. You want to know how the company is structured and how large your future department might be. You want to know who the hiring managers are, and whether they are great to work for. In short, you are looking for everything the job description doesn’t tell you.

Focus the conversation on the other person. As you do, imagine yourself in their role, in their company, in their industry. When you do occasionally turn the conversation back to you, ask: “Do you think my background might fit?” Listen carefully and ask: “What do you think is the best way to apply to your company?”

At the end of the conversation, tell the person clearly and simply what you are looking for – in 30 seconds or less. Answer their questions—if they are interested. Ask if you can send your resume by email. (Be ready to hand over one ONLY if they ask for it.)

Follow up with a thank-you email the same day. If there is a hot job in their company, send a second email with your resume. Make your cover message friendly, short and refer to your relationship. If you are lucky, this will be forwarded by your friend to HR or the hiring manager. When they do, it’s an implied endorsement.

Done right, you’ve gotten savvy about a job position, about a company, about a market segment. Even if it’s not the perfect fit for you. You got smarter.

And you got a clue.

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2 Coffees, 3 Lunches

March 14, 2012 By

After some time of wallowing in the grief of a job loss, it’s time to pull on your big girl/big boy pants and move on. It’s time to reach out to people you already know and ask for help. How you do this makes all the difference.

You don’t want to approach this too directly. People really want to help, but they don’t believe they can. So, when you reach out to people it’s to “catch up,” “reconnect,” and “ask for advice.” Literally anyone can be the key resource in your job hunt. In my job hunt, it took just 2 coffees and 3 lunches to find the perfect job lead.

The point of this reaching out is to get friends, family and new acquaintances thinking about you and watching for signs in the marketplace that jobs are about to open up. The goal is to apply for an unadvertised job—a job in the so-called Hidden Market. Why?

Because employers, like everyone else, want to do things the easy way. If they have a handful of candidates referred by employees and friends of the company, that’s way easier than advertising a job and having to deal with hundreds—and  sometimes thousands—of job applicants.

Your chances of getting an interview are 10 to 100 times higher if your resume is hand carried or forwarded by email with even the slightest recommendation. The person delivering the resume need only say, “Here’s a sharp guy I met at a party Saturday night.” Suddenly, you’re in. You are being considered for a position because you were recommended to someone you don’t know by someone you just met. Crazy.  And crazy effective.

Where do you start to network? If you’re like most American workers, you’ve been keeping your head down, working like a dog the last few years. You haven’t made time to go to association meetings. Your LinkedIn profile is lame. You have had no contact with former coworkers and supervisors. Heck, you don’t even have time for relatives!

Here’s how you start. Make a list of five people you know quite well—one from high school, one former coworker, one fellow soccer or PTA parent, one neighbor, and one cousin. No kidding. All these people know that you are a person of your word, that you keep promises and don’t have two heads. That’s all it takes to start.

Invite each one to lunch or coffee. While you are talking, each of these people is going to give you ideas and names of other people to talk to. If each one only mentions three ideas (and they will likely give you 7-10) you will now have 15 more people to contact! That’s how easy networking is!

The huge side benefit: all this socializing is fun. You are meeting new people, sharing ideas and helping others.  You’re rekindling old friendships and enjoying yourself. Isn’t that more appealing than staring at a computer screen with the same old job offerings day after day?

You might say, “How do I know which leads to follow?” That’s the magic. You have no idea where these conversations will lead, but each one takes you closer to a job that’s right for you. Of course, if you go into these conversations with purpose, you’re going to get to the goal faster.  More about that later.

Try out your first few coffees and lunches on people you know best. After you get the process down, go for people who are well-connected and who are even more likely to help you. But do it.

My clients resist this idea like crazy. I beg them to get out and talk to people. When they do, they always get fired up. Try it this week. Meet with just two people you know and see how it lifts your spirits. So, what’s the most powerful question you can ask yourself to get motivated?

Who do I know who might help me?

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Wallowing in the Grief of a Job Loss

March 7, 2012 By

When my job loss first happened, I went silent for an hour or so.  Then I told my husband. Then, I called a close friend. Talking about it made me cry. It helped me source the anger I was feeling.

After telling my story to five or six close friends over the next week, I realized that the themes in my story were becoming more apparent:

  • I was angry that I had no chance to improve or change the situation.
  • I felt wrongly accused and judged.
  • I felt less-than, because I was singled out.
  • I was angry with myself because I had become so dependent on this   job for both my financial and emotional pay.

Each person I talked to brought me closer to the truth and to healing. Each person had a different perspective that made it all easier to understand. Here are some of the ideas they brought to me that helped:

“Everything happens for a reason.” Hearing this isn’t a lot of comfort. Weeks later, however, I realized that this job loss freed my time and schedule to take on some new exciting things. These volunteer activities are beginning to create some business opportunities. A job loss does open up time and energy.

“If you don’t get fired once in a while, you’re probably not doing a great job.” – Perhaps it’s OK to bring new ideas into the organization and occasionally push the organization in a little different direction. Perhaps your style or ideas just didn’t fit their model.

“You are the same person you were before this. They haven’t taken anything away from you.” Now, that was something to contemplate. Why did I feel so bereft when I had all my experience, talent and abilities, just as before? Probably because I was counting on that income, in the future. The job loss forced me to change and change quickly. It’s uncomfortable to be forced into a change.

“It’s not about talent or performance or effort, it’s about alignment.” I realized that I was a little “off” in my attitude and speech. I realized I really wanted to be in a place where I would be appreciated. A cactus can’t thrive in a swamp. It’s about finding the place that is a better match for you, your skills, your values, and your experience.

So, during the first few weeks after a job loss, I invite you to talk, talk, talk. As you bring your pain into dialogue, you are going to find friends and family who not only support you, but who can help you interpret what has happened and give you the keys to move forward.

Journaling is powerful, too. Give yourself permission to wallow a bit in your loss and grief. Write furiously about your loss. Write the thoughts you are afraid to say out loud. When you see the ideas on paper, you will likely see that you are dramatizing a bit. Then, print them out and burn them.

Wallow a bit in order to get over it all. When you are tired of your own story of woe, you know you are ready to put that energy into job seeking.

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Would You Like 3 Job Offers at Once?

September 13, 2011 By

Many of my clients receive 2, 3 or even 4 job offers in a 10-day period, after 4-8 weeks of serious job seeking. How could that possibly happen in this job market?

Well, it’s actually very simple. It’s a matter of campaigning for a job, creating momentum, and then bringing it all to a crescendo at the end—a beautiful finale that gives you choices and leverage to negotiate your best deal.

Here are some tips to make this happen in your job search:

[Read more...]

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Lack of Focus Will Kill Job Search

August 15, 2011 By

Professional career coaches agree that focus is critical in your job search. I am really proud and pleased to be quoted several times in this MSN CareerBuilder article:

“I’ll Take Anything”: Three Words That Will Kill Your Job Search,

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2720-Job-Search-Ill-take-anything-Three-words-that-will-kill-your-job-search/?pf=true

 

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When NOT to Give Your Resume

July 15, 2011 By

One of my clients told me he was planning on meeting a former coworker for lunch. This could be a good chance to network into a new company, complete with a recommendation from a current employee.

“Should I give him my resume? I don’t feel it’s ready yet.”

The answer: NO! Where is it written that people can demand a resume, even if you feel you’re not yet ready? What if you are seeking a career change, but don’t yet know how to frame your experience? What if you have NO IDEA what to apply for? It’s better in these circumstances to hold back, focus on your research, refine the resume, and send it along a week or two later, when YOU are ready. Of course, you might miss out on a great job opportunity. Then again, you might have missed out because your resume wasn’t up to par, anyway.

[Read more...]

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Getting Your Heart Set on a Job

May 13, 2011 By

Time and time again, I see job seekers who find the “perfect” job for them. Then, they lose the opportunity and feel they have to start all over again. They direct all their efforts toward that one job. Their hearts are set on it. Then, the job posting closes, they don’t get a call, and they lose before the race begins. To avoid this deflating feeling, you need to have many job prospects in play. For my clients, I recommend at least five. Here are some ideas, just in case you are “starting over” your job search after a disappointment:

1. Consider other jobs at the same company. It’s likely that the company has more than one open position if they are hiring. Apply for several others that fit your skills.

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