Holiday Parties and Networking

I saw this article and I wanted to share it with you all. I really like it when a fellow professional agrees with me. Click here Please note the first and third bullets. I always say that when you're in a job search you need to, "Be yourself and be prepared."


The final bullet point especially hits the mark. Ivan Mister is the author of this post and he's laid out his points in a simple and easy to do way. Just before Thanksgiving I posted "Football, Turkey & Networking..." that took on the subject from a different perspective.  Take the opportunity to network over the holidays and treat it like a business event. Make connections and follow up.

It's networking so remember to S-E-L-L

Smile, Engage, Listen, LinkedIn

Always smile it make you look confident and intelligent. Engage with the folks at the party or gathering. No one remembers a wall flower. Listen to them and make mental note. It's okay to ask for and offer to exchange business cards. This makes it easy to follow up using LinkedIn. So SELL yourself this holiday season and maybe you'll have a new job for Christmas.

Technology & Job Search

It was 1995 and I was living in San Diego, California and I got a phone call from a recruiter. Remember those days... the phone would ring and the person on the other side of the call would ask if your were open to other opportunities. This call was for a job at a start-up Internet company in Champaign, Illinois. The company was Spyglass and they were commercializing a product named Mosaic for a thing called the World Wide Web.  The company was planning an IPO and they were looking for someone with my skills and abilities.

Most people who accessed the Internet then used dial-up and AOL was the big boy on the block. Of course there weren’t jobs posted in the Web and  résumés’ were sent to prospective employers via the US Mail. There was no LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter and The Cloud was a white puffy thing in the sky.

There is only one thing that has remained the same in Job Search over the decade and a half since 1995. Back then only 20% of jobs were advertised and today... only 20% of jobs are advertised. I realize that the laws of “supply and demand” were completely reversed back in 1995 as opposed to today. Still, back then, people found jobs as a result of networking. I guess that the percentage was smaller then. In 2002, one study posted that 60.7% of jobs were found through networking. Today, I’ve heard of numbers upward of 85% and some believe that is conservative.

So has technology helped or hurt the job seeker? I would suggest that it is a lot easier to sit at your computer and search for jobs via the Internet. However, tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and a host of other social networking sites have presented a variety of ways to feel productive.

I had one client tell me that he went back and counted 1500 applications he posted over the year he was out. After attending one of my classes and changing his focus, he started networking and he has had eight interviews in the last three week. What was his hit rate responding to on-line postings? Zero! (0:1500... no wonder he hugged me when he told me this news!) Yet, like Zamir situation, using LinkedIn and similar tools can help the job seeker or anyone be more effective at networking... and getting interviews.

I discovered another tool a few months back called Xtranormal that has helped me help job seekers better prepare for networking and job search. I’ve been told that knowing what to say to people is the hardest thing about networking. So here are three examples to help... and if these avatars can do it so can you.

• How to answer the question, “Tell me about yourself?”
• How to ask for a network meeting over the phone?
• How to get new contacts by asking three questions?

Here is another way that technology has improved our lives. Cute, funny, clever maybe, but I’ll tell you one thing... back in 1995 if anyone would have told you that you could learn how to find a job from an avatar, you would have thought them goofy.

Happy Networking.

Facebook: You looking at me?

I posed this question today during a breakout session... Does the benefits of Facebook and all its power, reach and opportunities out weigh the risks of viruses, scams, and loss of privacy?

In a group of 40 or more job seekers, most were 50 plus in age, we had a spirited debate about the pros and cons of using Facebook as a tool for people in transition doing a serious job search. The title of the breakout session was: "FACEBOOK: You lookin' at me?"

What do you think? How do you use Facebook? Do you use it for marketing yourself? Would you use Facebook for job searching? What about companies vetting candidates, checking out Facebook pages for insight into their candidates; is it fair? Tell me what you think?

What do people see as the risks of using Facebook as social media while conducting a job search, building a business or marketing themselves or their business?


Maybe it's more simple than that... maybe social media is far too open to risk anything as important as finding and landing your next job. Maybe all the noise Facebook presents in terms of people's rants, inane commentary on the world or their lives, makes Facebook not an appropriate professional networking or marketing tool. Is LinkedIn the only professional social networking environment to utilize?

I'd really appreciate any thoughts, suggestions or comments you have on the subject.  Remember that networking is not easy to do well, but it is essential in moving forward in your career.

New Year's Goals

It’s New Year’s time. Get those dusty old goals out and and polish them for the new year. While your friends are making New Year’s resolutions you can be setting goals and achieving success. How many people make New Year’s resolutions on January 1 and give them up by January 30th? Why? There are at least two reason for this. First, some people are not the structured goal setting type. Second, some folks only work with part of a plan to succeed.

In the first case, you may prefer to stay open to new information and be flexible when making decisions. Rigorous goal setting may be outside your mode or abilities. It doesn’t mean that you do not set goals, you have goals and attain those goals in a different way. In Myers-Briggs terminology you deal with the outside world as a “P” or perceptive person. The “P” folks out there prefer a, “...spontaneous way of life, and like to understand and adapt to the world rather than organize it.” That’s okay.

The second case presents others who set goals but forget to realize and keep in mind the benefits of achieving the goal. Or they don’t break down the big goal into smaller bites and set time lines. Or they don’t write down the goal and communicate it to people who might help.

There is more that goes into goals than just making a resolution. Goals need to be written down, shared, committed to a time line and tied to a benefit. Plus, each step or mini goal needs to be recognized, appreciated, and celebrated when it’s met. Often goals are made and written down, but then our daily activity doesn’t fit into meeting our goal.

Like my friend and chiropractor tells me, things work better when they are in alignment. That holds true for our physical body and our lives. This is the case for those of us who are more spontaneous in our goals and for those of us who find comfort in planning out the detailed steps in achieving our goals.

It’s New Years; may this year be happy, prosperous and successful for you.

Networking at Parties and in Social Settings

   Ever been at a party or a wedding reception and you meet someone new? One of the first questions is “What do you do?” Isn’t that great when  you have a cool job that you love. We loving answering that question when we have a great job where we feel some level of excellence in. But what if you’re “between jobs” and someone asks you that question. For example, lets say Jim has recently lost his job and he meets Bill at the bar during a wedding reception.  The conversation  might go something like this.

Bill: Hi, my name is Bill (offering a hand to shake).

Jim: Hey Bill, I’m Jim. How do you know the happy couple?

Bill: Oh, the groom and I work together. You?

Jim: The bride and my wife went to college together.

Bill: So, what do  you do Jim? 

Jim: Oh my gosh, look at the time, I need to find my wife.

   Obviously Jim didn’t realize that this was a great opportunity to network and build his contact list. Bill just told Jim that he is currently working with the groom. Bill is employed, but Jim has no idea what Bill does. He doesn’t know if Bill’s company is looking for a person with his skills and abilities. Why did Jim shy away and not tell Bill that he was recently let go and that he was looking for new opportunities? There are lots of reasons that range from embarrassment to anger to thinking no one give a darn. Regardless of the reason, Jim missed one heck of an opportunity to network. So how would that conversation go?

Bill: Hi, my name is Bill (offering a hand to shake).

Jim: Hey Bill, I’m Jim. How do you know the happy couple?

Bill: Oh, the groom and I work together. You?

Jim: The bride and my wife went to college together. (Starts thinking, how can I bring up my job search?)

Bill: So, what do  you do Jim? 

Jim: Well Bill, I’m in transition now and I’m looking for an opportunity where I could work with a team to bring products to market. What do you do?

Bill: I’m the Marketing Manager for XYZ company’s Widget product line. Tell me more about what you did at your last company.

Jim: Gee Bill, I’d love to but I don’t want to take you away from the festivities. How about I set up a meeting with you so I can go over my skills and accomplishments with you and see if you know of anything where they can use someone like me?  Do you have a card? When’s a good time to call?

   Bill and Jim just met and Bill’s only goal is to make the contact and nothing more. If Jim goes on to pull Bill aside and learn more about his skills and abilities he should go with the flow. But, only if Jim want to continue the conversation. If Bill talks to two or three new contacts at this one party and then follows up with them at a later time, he’s made a great first impression. Additionally, he has also told folks that he was looking for a job without dying of shame. Bill may have just met a new boss or co-worker. 


   So be prepared with what to say at a party or social event. Smile and make good eye contact when you shake hands. And look for opportunities to share with people that you are conducting a vigorous job search.


   Good hunting!

Transition & Social Networking

   If networking is an active and dynamic process of building mutually beneficial relationships, social networking is a means to growing, maintaining and add to those relationships in an effective and simplified manner. This is true for everyone and even more so for the person in transition.

   Social media tools are meant to aid in your job search and get you through transition more quickly, but they are not meant to waste time, brain power or energy. Warning: Don’t allow your valuable time to be twittered away! That goes for Facebook, LinkedIn and the Internet as a whole. Social networking can be a critical part of your job hunting or marketing strategy. Regardless of which tools you use – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, you need to:

• Connect with other people
• Build relationships 
• Get exposure and provide help to others

   In the spirit of full disclosure, I was not so quick to jump on the Twitter bandwagon and I was reluctant to get a Facebook account. However, I found Facebook invaluable keeping up to date with family and friends when I was travelling 90% of the time. Yet, as a professional tool I was adverse until my clients started finding me and asking to connect on Facebook in addition to LinkedIn.

   On the other hand, I’ve been using LinkedIn for years and know it is a professional tool that works well. What I have learned about Twitter like Facebook: people started connecting to me once I was out there; in fact, Twitters’ whole model is designed to save time and energy. I recommend The Twitter Job Search Guide: Find a Job and Advance Your Career in Just 15 Minutes a Day by Susan Britton Whitcomb, Chandlee Bryan & Deb Dib.

   I have a friend and colleague Bruce Bixler  @brucebixler49 or http://www.linkedin.com/in/brucebixler49 who is an expert in using social media for fun and profit. Besides Bruce there are many, many opportunities to attend workshops and webinars that are free or very reasonable.

   Networking is here to stay and hopefully you will continue to network after you’ve landed your next job. Likewise, you’ll want to continue to use social media as a way to save time as you stay connected while on the job.

   If you don’t use Facebook or Twitter I suggest you start looking into their benefits and how they can keep you up to date in your industry as well as posted on important data and breaking news concerning your job search. Get an account and start using the tools and soon you’ll be connected to people you need to know.