What to do about the numbers?

We have a good-natured competition going on at Harper's Career Stimulus Program. Our Director--or I should say our Dean -- Nancy Wajler has decided to up the number of her contacts in LinkedIn. One of Nancy’s strengths is competition and this is a perfect area to compete in. Very easy to measure and compare the number of our connections.

Whether you have 150 LinkedIn connections or 250 or 500 or over 600 like Nancy, the next questions is, what do you do with them once you get them? Nancy is a LION a “LinkedIn Open Networker.” She sees value in networking or connecting with everyone knowing that at sometime those connections can be utilized to help someone or to connect to someone else who can help her or someone she is connected to.

While I’m not truly a LION, I have many connections, and I will connect with most everyone as long as I know how I may help them and they know how I they can be of assistance to me. If I’ve never met a person asking to connect to me,  I’ll invite them to a 15 to 30 minute meeting or a phone conversation if they are not local. There I find out about them and they learn about me. After all, networking is about relationships.

Sales professionals have an old adage that goes something like this, “Sales is a numbers game.” When I meet a new client, one of the first things I ask them to do is develop a list of contacts. I suggest they start with a list of 150 names. Often I receive a groan of protest, “I don’t know that many people!” they tell me. Some of my clients are on LinkedIn and they say, “Can I start with my LinkedIn contacts?” What’s the difference? LinkedIn has demonstrated to people the power of connecting. Being connected to people gives you a means to finding a solution to a problem.

Lets say you need to talk to (network with) 15 people in order to meet with one hiring manager or decision maker. Now let’s say you need to talk to at least 10 decision makers in order to get one job offer.  The more people you’re connected to the better your chances of landing the next job. But wait!!!! It’s not just about being connected: you need to talk to these folks. Call them up and ask for a meeting so that you can describe what you have to offer them.  So you can ask them who else they know who you can talk to.

It’s an interesting statistic that if you have less than 100 connections on LinkedIn that less than 3% of LinkedIn can find you on LinkedIn. However, if you have over 500 connections more than 90% of LinkedIn members can find you. Like the old saying, there are strength in numbers. Whether you’re a LION or an Alley Cat, the number of people you’re connected with will aid your success in job search or in business. Professional and Social Networking is about helping people find what they need. Connect, Ask, Talk, Succeed!

Job Search Goal Setting & Project Management

I’ve been working on a goal-setting presentation geared to job seekers for the last couple of weeks. Midway through my preparations, I realized that if someone were to approach a job search as a project in need of management, rather than just applying for as many jobs as possible in an ad hoc manner, they would be far more successful. In other words, the job seeker needs to approach their job search as a Project Manager would approach a critical project.

I stopped and thought “Wow, a stalled job search has all the issues and problems of a project that is behind schedule and in danger of failure.” The elements of any project are:

• Mission statement, with goals and objectives
• Clearly defined requirements
• Selecting people for the project team
• A breakdown of work
• Schedule with milestones and realistic deadline
• Listed risks and opportunities
• A written plan with mitigations for risks
• Accountability or status meetings
• Cost control and resource management

No wonder so many job seekers drown in all the work to be done. It’s daunting, especially if you see yourself alone, with no one to share the burden of job hunting. But you’re not alone, there are people, resources, groups and organizations there to support you in your job search.

Some people hire a coach to help them better manage their job search. Others have outplacement resources and others utilize job clubs, accountability groups and support ministries to reach their goal.

So the quick lessons are: a good Project Manager would not take over a critical project with a helter skelter attitude and expect to be successful. And no Project Manager would attempt to accomplish a project all by themselves. You should have a plan and shouldn’t think that you have to find your next job all by yourself either.