Linked In Networking

Creating and using your network on Linked In is a snap! With over 200 million members on LinkedIn (as of January 2013), Linked In is an essential part of your job search process.

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Job hunting is like fishing. What is on YOUR hook?

Last year I went on a sport fishing trip in Mazatlan. Although I was sure I had developed a case of Ichthyophobia (fear of fish) from my last very unsuccessful fishing ‘incident,’ I was hoping for a successful experience provided by professional fishermen. I was amazed by the number of parallels I saw between job searching and fishing.

The early bird gets the worm.

Since fish wake up pretty early in the morning, we staggered onboard with coffee in hand at dawn. If the with were up early, we had to be up early.

1. Follow a schedule which matches that of the industry you want to enter. Your current job is to diligently promote yourself during ‘working’ hours to a paying job!

Carlos the deckhand took some time to understand our expectations and what a successful trip looked like for us so that he could deliver the best experience unique to our needs. What kind of fish did we want to catch and what did we want to do with said fish once it was caught.

1. Know what success looks like when you start your search.

Previously I had thought fishing consisted of throwing a line or two in the water and seeing what happened. Sometimes you were lucky and sometimes you weren’t. Regardless, a lot of cheap beer was consumed.

Wrong. Sport fishing is like hunting. You have to research where the fish are running. Talk to other boat captains. See where they had luck yesterday. What types of fish were out there? What type of bait were they biting?

1. Do your research. Understand the market needs associated with your desired position or industry. Reach out to your contacts. Do they know of an open position? What companies are hiring? What skills and type of experience are they looking for? Develop a trusted network and build your knowledge base.

We stood on the fly bridge perpetually scanning the horizon for marlin fins. There’s one! There’s one! Carlos excitedly announced. Captain Mimo moved the boat in to position as Carlos grabbed one of the poles and violently jerked the line in hopes of attracting the marlin.

Opportunity on the horizon.

1. Put yourself in a position for success and go for every opportunity.

FISH ON!

The marlin was hooked and jumped clear out of the water in an attempt to break free from the hook. And he succeeded. Carlos pulled in the line and replaced it with another lure with fresh bait.

1. Have you ever reached the last stage of interviews for the ‘perfect job’ only to find out that they went for someone else? That’s OK. Reassess. Analyze what went wrong, what you could do better next time and try, try again.

How many poles do you have in the water?

We continued to troll along at 7 knots. We had 10 bites and did hear FISH ON! again, resulting in a beautiful 125lb marlin jumping clear out of the water behind us with beautiful blue streaks along its side. Carlos quickly instructed everyone to help pull in the other 4 lines and after a long fight we brought it on board. Finally. Success!

1. It might take a while, but if you keep trolling along at a high speed, put yourself in the right position and stand at the ready to hook it when it does come along, you will find an opportunity to meet success.

Simple steps to conduct an effective job search.

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DISCOVER IF YOUR JOB REFERRAL IS REALLY A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

 

Your friend has graciously told you, their unemployed friend, that their company is hiring and they can get you in the door. Great news! Or is it? A personal referral is the best way to make sure that your resume makes its way to the top of the pile. The company will also view a good or bad hire (you) from a personal referral as a direct reflection on the person that referred you. A job referral gives you a coveted opportunity and should be treated with the utmost care. It means that you have the ability and responsibility to know what you are getting in to.

After you thank your friend profusely (positive reinforcement is key because even if this doesn’t work out you want them to keep you in mind for another opportunity in the future) set up a time to talk to them over the phone or in person about the opportunity in detail. This prep work will help you during the interview process, but more importantly it will help make sure that you will be happy working at the company after you are hired.

Peek through this door of opportunity. Do you like what you see?

1. What do you like about working for this company?
2. What don’t you like about working here and what would you change?
3. What is the work/life balance like?
4. What are the other employees like in the department I would be working? What is the turnover like at the company?
5. Do you know who would be my boss if I was hired? How does the boss manage their team?
6. Is there room for professional development and advancement?
7. What type of training, if any, is provided?
8. How would I be evaluated?
9. What is the compensation package like? Pay, benefits, 401k? Are there any other perks?
10. How would you differentiate this company from your major competitors?

Intimately understanding what type of company you are applying for will put you leagues ahead of the competition. Make sure this step does happen, but don’t let it hold you up from passing your resume and cover letter to your friend to put in the hot little hands of the company’s hiring manager. Positions move fast and you don’t want to miss out on a golden referred opportunity!

Would you add any other questions to this list?

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PIMP YOUR NICHE IN 3 STEPS

LOOKING FOR AN AVERAGE WORKER TO DO AN AVERAGE JOB.

NO NEED TO STAND OUT AS A PERFORMER.

WILL PAY THE LEGAL MINIMUM.

CALL 1-800-EVERYMAN FOR INFO

If your answer to the question “What job are you looking for?” is “Anything that pays the bills.” It is time to adjust your brand and your mindset. Find your niche and do it better than anyone else.

 When you tell your friends, family, and former colleagues that you are looking for any type of job, you are also saying you are not good at any one particular thing. It will be hard for them to recommend you. “You should hire my friend. I don’t know what they are good at but I know they need a job in customer service.” Highlighting your skills will enhance your strengths and make you a more attractive candidate and you will replace frustration with confidence in your job search.

How to PIMP YOUR NICHE:

1. Discover your Niche

What can you do better than anyone else?

What are your specialties?

Give an example of a time that you really stood out amongst your peers. What skills did you exhibit?

Describe a time you received recognition at a job, volunteer work, or even school activity. The recognition can be in the form of verbal praise or an award. What skills were you demonstrating when you received this recognition?

Pull up ‘thank you’ or ‘good job’ emails from your (past or current) boss, professional development reviews, and notes from customers that state what a great job you did. List the skills you used resulting in these positive comments.

2. Define your Niche

Take your list of skills and ask yourself SO WHAT?!? Your new employer does not want to see or hear a laundry list of your skills. They want to know how you turn those skills in to results at work. http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2010/08/how-to-make-your-resume-sell.html

Why can you perform these skills better than anyone else (more specifically, better than the guy or gal interviewing right after you)?

What value did your accomplishments bring to a company or organization?

How have your past accomplishments affected company revenue? Has a client of the company you work(ed) at ever referred another client because of their interaction with you? How much was this revenue worth? Find out!

How have your past accomplishments reduced costs without impacting productivity? Were you acknowledged for your speed and accuracy? Were you 15% faster or given a work load 15% larger than your peers? Were you able to demonstrate leadership and help others become more efficient, improving the whole department?  Then you effectively managed 115% of the expected workload and established new efficiency measures to raise the productivity of the department.

Have you ever caught a mistake that could have cost the company money? That means that your diligent attention to detail saved the company $xxx.

3. Customize your Niche

Now that you have a list of your skills and accomplishments you are ready to insert this information in to your marketing material. You can refer to your accomplishments in your cover letters, resume, and your pitch. Make sure you have a good concise and memorable story to demonstrate each of your stellar skills if needed in the interview. MOST IMPORTANTLY, make sure you are customizing your skills to each and every position. Pimping your niche will only work if you customize your verbiage for each and every job application. http://blog.simplyhired.com/2011/06/five-pragmatic-things-you-can-do-to-make-sure-your-resume-gets-seen-by-hiring-managers.html

What have you done to customize your niche?

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Network Your Way to a New Job in 5 Easy Steps

Photo by LaneaRiley – Get Ready to Network!

Networking is all about making friends with people who can help you accomplish a goal. You are building strategic alliances not only for your current job search, but for the future of your professional career. The idea of networking can be a scary idea to any job seeker just getting back in to the game, but if you put a process in place it can be pretty darn easy.

1. Define your objective.

Before you start make sure you have your pitch

down. You should be able to easily convey your successful experience, what you are looking for, and how you can benefit a company in a memorable way.

2. Identify your network.

Make a list of your (former) colleagues, bosses, alumni group members, friends, and family. List them on your computer or on paper because it will be important to keep track of your network and how often you follow-up with them as you go through the process. Bear in mind that your network will grow exponentially as people in your network will refer you to others who may be able to help you land a new job opportunity.

3. Talk to people.

This is the fun part! Pick up the phone and start calling people on your network list! If you don’t have their phone number, email or message them but make the call when at all possible. For the more promising contacts, schedule a lunch or coffee so you can spend more time face to face. Remember, if you are passionate about what you want to do, people will be excited to listen and help. Share your Pitch and ask if they have a position at their company/know of an open position/know of someone who could refer you in to a position (whichever is appropriate). Try this out with some of your easiest (family and friends!) contacts first to warm up and practice. Feel free to ask these ‘easy’ contacts for feedback too!

4. Track your progress and prioritize.

Some people on your list will be more likely to help you than others simply because of the connections that they have. Make sure that you identify these HOT contacts. Your HOT contacts will be the people you keep in touch with the most. They ‘get it.’ This group includes people who are really are motivated to see you succeed and are willing to get your name on the street and back you up with a strong recommendation. Your COLD contacts will be people who you call and then find out that they cannot or will not help you with your next career step. You can take these people off of your list completely. The last group, your WARM contacts, is everyone else. These contacts would like to help and may be able to help you find a new opportunity. This group may not have as many resources to really get you a new job but maybe they can refer you to a HOT contact or give you a couple of ideas on where to go next.

5. Follow-up.

This one is such a biggie! By the time you get to Step 5 you are doing a pretty good job but Step 5 is the most important and most skipped step. To truly meet success, you must not only keep others accountable, but also keep yourself accountable with follow-up.

If a friend states that they can help you get in contact with someone who works for a company you are interested in, ask them when they can make the introduction. If they don’t follow through, you will need to follow-up to gently remind them to still make the intro. You may feel pushy, but don’t. This is your livelihood at stake so please take it seriously. As long as you keep it professional, your referral contacts should understand your need to follow-up.

If you tell someone you will send them a copy of your resume and cover letter to pass along on x date, DO IT! Write it down in your calendar so you don’t forget. One day late on your follow-up reflects poorly and is an easy way to lose a referral to a new job opportunity.

Have fun with the process!

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