Accelerate Your Search™ Now

Recently, a former client called to share an experience and ask what I thought.  He was interviewing candidates for a newly created position in his division and called one of his top candidates to clarify some data as he prepared to check references on each candidate.

The candidate had only listed the LinkedIn Public Profile address for each of his references and when called for detailed contact information the candidate responded with “I suggest you go to LinkedIn read all my great recommendations, then if you feel you still need to talk to my references Send InMail and find out if they have time to talk to you, or check with your trusted connections and see you can introduce you to my references.  I look forward to reviewing your offer soon …”, then the call ended was a pleasant good-bye.

Somewhat taken aback by the response from the candidate, my former client had paused to ask himself several questions.   Was he behind the times in how LinkedIn was being used?  Was this candidate just a poor match for the job and the organization with this approach?  Should he invest time in checking the references of this candidate?

What do you think?

How does this differ from your approach?

If you read the last post, you have answered the important questions.  If not to do so go to the last post and answer the questions.

It’s time to be clear about what networking is REALLY all about. To do that first let’s look at what networking is NOT.

It is not about asking people you don’t know, don’t want to know, and don’t care about for a JOB!

It is not about being slick and sleazy to get someone to take your résumé to their Boss, HR Manager or someone else in their company or finding the name and number of the one person you can “sell” to get a job.

It is not about going to meetings with a goal of grabbing a bunch of business cards so you have more people to “Tweet”, add to your LinkedIn contact list, or promise to email leads from your favorite job board, or call to talk about yourself, how great you are and your job search woes.

It is not about expecting someone to help you find a job or a new client!

It is not about showing up to an event, listening to a speaker, eating and drinking, dropping a business card in the basket for a free gift, then leaving.

Okay, if networking is not about these things, what is networking REALLY about – it is about building relationships!

That is not rocket science and you have heard it before reading it here.  Why is this so tough?  First, when you are without a job, you may feel needy or unsure of your value.  If you are new to networking or rebuilding a network, you may be asking “why would someone want to build a relationship with me”, “how can I help”, “I have no extra money”, or “what can I offer”, etc.  STOP IT!

People build relationships, offer referrals, leads, share “insider information” and help people they know, people they like and people they trust.  Think about the first day of school, you were in a room full of other kids, most of whom you did not know.  You did not yet know if you liked them, and did not know if you could trust them.

By the end of the school year, you had some type of relationship with each student in your class.  You might define those relationships as the person in my first grade class, the “kid in the back of the room-name unknown”, the “know-it-all” in my first grade class, my classmate (someone, you knew, liked, trusted but not a best buddy), your buddies, your friends, your best friend, the people you have known since first grade and stay in touch with or still have a relationship.  You had different relationships with each member of the class. Those long term relationships with people who know you, like you, and trust you are “your network”.

Networking is about building long term relationships with people who know you, like you, and trust you.  Those people become your connectors, people who can attest to who you are, what you do and people who are your advocates and business partners.  Those people are “your network”.

Networking is about building long term relationships with people who know you, like you, and trust you and building long term relationships with people you know, you like you, you trust.  Your network allows you to be an advocate for others and allows others to an advocate for you.

Networking is about getting to know people and helping people, and connecting people in your network with each other. The beauty of doing so is that those in your network will get to know you, like you, trust you and help you connect with others.

How many people are in your network?

How many people in your network are you an advocate?

How many people have you helped this week?

Yes!  No?  Did you quickly answer yes or no?

If you belong to a professional or trade associations, clubs or community organizations, your professional network is robust and you stay connected to your network, I bet you said yes. 

If you said NO, you may have been working hard with little or no time to network.  If you had a long commute, worked long hours, worked “head down, tail up”, were engrossed in family, and day to day life without much time to nurture your professional network, you may need to rebuild your network.  Or the truth is maybe you don’t like networking and are just gripped with fear about reaching out to build a network.

Either way, building, rebuilding, and nurturing a network does not need to take tons of time, money or energy.  It does require doing some basics each week and if you are beginning or rebuilding a network it will take preparation, reflection time and some time to determine what is the best way for you to network and where to network. 

There are no “magic bullets” nor is there a “one size fits all” method that works for everyone.  There are basics everyone needs to master.

Networking is about talking, connecting, meeting, and helping people.  If you this terrifies you, know you are not alone.  But if you know you need to network and you had decided to network, you must overcome the fear or at least find ways to deal with the fear until you overcome it to network successfully.

Do your homework and get prepared to network.  Decide why you want to network, what you have of value to offer those you meet, and how you can help those you meet. 

Why is it important for you to build or rebuild your network?

What value do you offer your network?

How are you willing to help those in your network?

“Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble.” ~ French Proverb

Hope you had a great two weeks!

The quote above is one I shared this week with a super person.  A talented professional, highly skilled and in very unique position, yet stuck.

Being stuck happens.  Getting angry happens.  However it is always a choice that keeps you stuck or angry.

I know.  I did it many years ago and the cost was very high.  Staying angry and staying stuck for a long time about the end of a job was a BIG WASTE.   I wasted energy, time, my talent, it impacted my health and it hurt others.

Any time you are attempting to sort out events or things that made you angry use caution.  You may not have access to all the information or the facts, even when you think you do.  It is easy to “fill in the blanks” and “tell yourself a story”.

Be careful about the story you tell yourself as you fill in the blanks and “Write injuries in sand…” especially about the people and events that cause you injury.  Wind, rain, and many other factors can and do move sand around easily!

Think of a sandcastle at the beach.  One minute it adorns the landscape, then a wave comes in and it is gone.

In business, organizations can and do make decisions for thousands of reasons, and sometimes those decisions are poorly planned, communicated, or executed.  The outcome of some decisions will be  dramatic and immediate and then the  outcome of other decisions may take months or years to be seen or may have little or no impact at all.

When an organization decides to make a change, to reduce staff, change job functions or duties of staff, layoff staff, or terminate one or many ~ PEOPLE are impacted.  Each person in the organization decides what they will do with the change.

Some professionals see the end of a job is a powerful force that moves them forward at once to the next great adventure.  Others see the blow is dramatic, career ending and the end of a job stops them in their tracks.

In lieu of a viewing the situation as a business decision and moving on, some professionals become focused on the hurt or emotion they feel.  They write the “hurt” of losing a job in marble and review the “hurt” over and over.

They focus on the “hurt”.  They etch the “hurt” in marble and then they carry the big piece of marble around with them to help tell the story.    They tell themselves the “bad” the story over and over.  Then they freely share the “story” and “negative energy” with all who will listen.

Do you write messages in sand or marble?   Does it matter?

Volcanic eruptions are not everyday career bumps.  Would you be ready if you woke up one day to learn that a long dormant volcano in Iceland has erupted and you job was gone?  Would it feel like the end of the world?  There was a time in my life and career, that I thought so.  Today, I know better. 

An unexpected career bump can cause as much of an economic crisis to you, your family, your plans, goals, and retirement, as the grounding of flights has to the British and European economy.  The experts estimated the grounding of flights would be £520 million ($800 million) impact to the airline industry alone by April 18.   In our global economy, this event has impacted air travel, the Boston Marathon, the price of flowers and vegetables and much more.   Was this a totally unexpected event?    

It is my view the signs were there that something was up with the volcano.  Day to day most of the world does not have what is up with a volcano in Iceland on the radar screen.  However, both recent events and the fact that Iceland is known for its glaciers and volcanic landscape provide information that this was not a totally unexpected event.  

Could this volcano continue sending ash into the air for 14 or more months or longer?  It happened before.  Like geophysicists who monitor what’s up with the Earth; top talent monitors what’s up in their business, operation and career, and they understand what the impact could be if an event caused a 14-month change to their revenue stream, aka their paycheck.

Knowing what is going on, requires an awareness and willingness to see the signs that tell you things are up in business that can impact you and your job.   For most, focus on career comes after all the other stuff is done.  What would happen to your career if it was derailed for 14 months? 

As with the volcano eruption, if you ignore or unaware of the signs around you; you get surprised!  Being aware and having a plan can help you avoid or lessen the impact of a sudden event that could derail or destroy your career. 

You can leverage your talent and be ready.  What if you walk in one day and receive a pink slip due to a 5% reduction of the workforce?  What if your job is changed to a new title or function that required you to do something that you don’t want to do for the next five, or more years even for the same money and the same earnings potential you have now?

Your career need not die, or change in a direction you will be unhappy with.  Nor should your bank account be destroyed by a business change, new boss, or some other event on the scale of volcanic eruption.     

Nature and business can be unpredictable.  Predicting volcanic eruption is not my area of expertise, career management is, and working with top talent to manage the career they want is not hard.  The tools are not complex nor are you dealing with factors as unpredictable as figuring out if a volcano will ground planes and changes lives forever. 

Top talent does not overlook, fail to monitor and study trends, or “see” what changes are in the environment.  Top talent does possible scenario planning. 

Scientists strive to understand what does and could happen when the Earth’s plates move.  Do you do this for your career?

For so many people, what’s up in the business, industry and the impact on their job is out of sight and out of mind.  They are clueless as to the signs of what is going on around them.  Even for top talent, it is easy to put your head down, go to work, focus on the day to day operation and never look up. 

The impact of “head down, tail up” working and never looking at the “radar screen” all too often results in being surprised by an unexpected event.  It also results in the misdirected view that your career path and your earnings are unpredictable and out of your ability to influence. 

What can you do to avoid this?  Understand your business, industry, and your job. Have an ongoing plan to accelerate your career and continually move it forward. 

Do these  five basics 1) stay aware of changing trends, 2) maintain contact with your network, 3) make your goals known, 4) have a plan to achieve your goals, and 5) update your résumé every 90 days. 

Simply executing on these basics will blunt the impact of an unseen or unpredictable event that might happen.   Top talent does not get caught “flat footed” time and time again.

What’s going on around you?  Have you allowed your busy life to take the place of staying focused on your career goals? 

Top talent does not stay on top by becoming overly focused on the day to day operations, and short term goals at the expense of long term goals, and the bigger view.  You know it is easy to waste time on meaningless stuff and stop doing the basics. 

Fix it now, before the eruption. Have a plan, execution the basics of the plan, review your progress, and as needed update to the plan.

What are you doing to accelerate your search or your career?  What will you do this week to lessen the impact to your career when a volcano does erupt?

Are you still attempting to learn the rules of the road on LinkedIn?

On Friday, Andrea J. Stenberg shared a great story in her post,  “LinkedIn Invitations – Why hitting I Don’t Know This Person is a bad idea”. It is a post worth reading and thinking about before you select the “I don’t know this person”.

The rules on of connecting on LinkedIn and the rules of connecting via other social media sites are important and can make or break you in business.  Do you know the “rules of engagement”?

Almost weekly, I see people fail to connect at networking events, social gatherings, or business meetings because they don’t know the rules, don’t understand the nuances of connecting with others or simply don’t think about the consequences of their actions.  Do you need to brush up on these skills?

Play to your strengths, learn the rules and help others learn what you know.   You’ll be surprised at the benefits and the connections you’ll make.

You thought your search was over.  You have targeted the company and position you most wanted.  You received a conditional offer pending the results of a background check and a drug screen.

WOW! You’re feeling great.  Then the call, it is bad news.  They are rescinding the offer after reviewing the background check.  The nice voice saying good luck with you job search sounds like it is miles away!

Just like that!  What happened?  What do you do next?

Preparation is a key factor in your job search.  Just as you prepare your résumé, cover letters and your references, and do your research on the companies for which you want to work.  You need to be prepared and know what a background investigation will discover.

Are you prepared? What action will you take this week to be sure your offer does not disappear?

“What you have to give is enough – if you give it with all your heart.”~ Chieko N. Okazaki

The quote above was shared with me by one of my mentors and I wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy it.

Every week, sometimes hundreds of times a week, I hear the questions Should I … or Do I need to … followed by: post my resume online, go back to school, retire, take less money, do a different job, change industries, change careers, quit my job, fire my boss, network with others, network online, and the list could go on and on.  Are you asking these questions?

What do you think my most common reply would be if you asked me one of these questions?  My reply would likely be to ask you the question – “What’s important to you?”

Yes, I know by the look on your face, you might be annoyed by my responding to your question with a question.  However usually that is the best place to start if you are asking yourself or someone else these types of questions about your job search or career transition.

First of all, may I remind you that unless, you lost your last job due to misconduct, or lack of your willingness to correct your work performance to meet your employer’s employment requirements, or your lack of willingness or ability to acquire a specific skill or skills your employer required, you were successful in your prior job.   Your experience, skills, knowledge and abilities are probably solid enough for you to be highly marketable and successful again in today’s job market.

Therefore, if you will spend a little time to reflect on your skills, experience and what is important to you before you jump in to a full blown marketing campaign and job search you will know what is important to you and you will be better prepared to accelerate your success.  If you test the market and determine that you do need help or are missing a skill to do what is important to you, you will be prepared to take the best action.

Be careful about using unanswered questions or other conditions as your excuse for inaction.  Are you using the economy, or not defining what’s important to you as an excuse not to move your job search forward?  You must get out into the job market in a BIG WAY!

Excuses, whatever they are can be a deep dark pit!  A costly pit and a pit filled with fear.    A job search can be scary.  You may feel hesitant as you first start to market yourself.  You may fear rejection, and you may fear making mistakes.  I get that – and by the way, you will be rejected and you will make mistakes!

Job searching has a learn-as-you-go component to it, the market place changes, things change, business needs change, and you change over time.  Get busy, get over having to learn everything before you start your job search, and marketing yourself for your next job.

Be willing to learn-as-you-go, to change what you are doing, or to stop doing the things that are not working for you.  Market YOU.  Get out there with who you are, what you have to offer, what makes you unique and different in the marketplace.

Stop using “Should I” or “Do I need to” questions as excuses.  Clarify what is important to you, stop making excuses, and communicate your value to the marketplace.

Excuses stop you dead in your tracks.  Stop making excuses.  Know what is important to you; communicate what you can do and how you are different.   You do have enough to give.

Will you give it with all your heart?

In early December 2009,  Kristin Burnham, Staff Writer for CIO.com in the article 5 Ways to Get More from LinkedIn in 2010 provided tips on how to get more from LinkedIn in 2010.  She noted that using five features could help you gain more from LinkedIn.  Ms. Burnham recommended participating in Groups, finding and connecting via Events, using the Advanced People Search for seeking new connections, discovering relevant trends about companies of interest, and seeking Recommendations to enhance and validate your profile.

All these are solid tips and helpful suggestions, as I talk to those who use LinkedIn and get results I always ask “What do you do and what features to you use?”  I find that the specific features vary from person to person, however the common thread among those who get results is that each person has a specific strategy for using LinkedIn and how much time is spent using, connecting and researching via LinkedIn.

One savvy user,  who has landed four (4) interviews via LinkedIn connections since mid-November told me that it took him about 20 days to figure out the best ways to use LinkedIn.  Then he could connect with those who could hire him and make the most of all the company information available via LinkedIn.

He noted initially he spent a couple hours a day just learning what information was on the site, setting up his profile and inviting connections.  Then he decided on a plan with clear action steps.  Now he uses LinkedIn less than a couple hours a week with great results.

Do you have a plan for using LinkedIn?

What is working for you?

What results are you getting?

When it comes to using social media for business, yes your job search is business, it is important to periodically assess where you are, what you are doing and if your actions are achieving the results you want.

So often when I talk to top talent about social media they are in one of three camps.  Camp one views social media as threat, silly, and a waste of time. Camp two loves social media, uses tons of different social media sites and activities, they “poke”, “tweet”, “friend” hundreds a times a week without a care, thought, plan, or concern for the benefits or consequences to their brand or reputation.  Camp three views social media a big opportunity and realize the value of the tool.  This camp is looking for smart balanced approaches for using social media and managing its challenges.

Which camp are you in?

No matter which camp you are in you need to grow your social media literacy and realize it is a part of a fundamental shift in the way people interact and business gets done.  It is important for you to have a plan and regularly assess how you use (or don’t use) social media to do business, enhance or build relationships in all aspects of your life.

Here are a few tips smart “top talent” and  top organizations employee when using and planning to use social media:

1.    Listen before you talk.

2.    Invest in training and learn to use the technology.

3.    Know how to communicate and what you want to communicate before you engage in goofy social media schemes or online marketing.

4.    Create a plan and policies for using social media.

5.    Understand the appropriate tone, image and use for the various social media channels.

6.    Build real relationships and connections using authentic conversations.

7.    Use caution if you outsource you social media activities.

8.    Understand the benefits and the consequences of failing to have and follow a plan, current practices and policies for using social media.

9.     Routinely review what you do and the results you get from your using social media activities.

What else would you add to the list of tips?

How are you using social media now?

What are your results?