How important is a positive frame of reference? Can you get a promotion without a positive attitude? A positive attitude and a plan are two of the three elements you need to be successful in your career.
The other day I attended a keynote speech by Jonathan Salem Baskin who commented on the terminology: landing a job. He asked, “If landing means getting the job, then where were you before you got the job? Flying? Grounded?” Someone from the crowd called out, “Crashed.” Everyone laughed.
Let’s think about it; you can land a job, a pilot lands a plane, a fisherman lands a fish, Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon. Where else can you land?
But Jonathan Salem Baskin’s question is what I want to reflect on this week. Before you’ve gotten the new job or promotion, are you flying or grounded? If you don’t get the job or promotion does that mean you crashed? Or... is it time to move on to the next opportunity.
You need to be flying... period! Grounded is not a choice that will get you that job or promotion. You might not be flying at 30,000 feet, maybe you’re flying just a few hundred feet of the ground, but you’re not grounded. You’re moving forward. You have to be moving toward your goal to achieve it....
Once you take off for your goal, you’re going to see a number of targets. Some targets might be your goal and you’ll need to check them out. Some won’t be your end goal, but may be short term goals on the way to your final goal. There is good news today; there are more and more targets on the horizon as the economy gets better. There are more people to help you hit your targets. These folks are your networking contacts.
Don’t think for a moment that your grounded. If you haven’t fueled up, get the tools you need for a successful flight. If you don’t know what you need for your flight, think about taking on a coach, someone who can be objective and give you the straight scoop so you don’t crash.
The third thing one needs to achieve success in their career... consider a “product” that the target is looking for. We’ll talk about branding your “product” next time.
Lets begin with some interesting stats*:
- According to the Wall Street Journal, 90% of jobs are filled through networking on one sort or another.
- Historically, men have become more likely to learn about opportunities through networking than women.
- 26.7% of external hires made by organizations came from referrals, making it the number one external source of hiring
- 90% of recruiting firms do a Google search on candidates.
- 85% of hiring managers use social networking sites like LinkedIn to look for potential candidates who’ve been referred by other professionals.
I help job seekers find jobs through networking; by employing two different lists. A contact list and a target company list are both necessary in conducting a job search focused on the 80% of the jobs that are not advertised.
First, assemble a contact list of all the people you know. We’ll discuss this list in another blog posting. The second list that you’ll use is a list of target companies. This list involves a little imagination and research. If one of the people on your contact list is a librarian you’re a winner; if not, you’re about to add a new name to your contact list, because the library is a great place to get company names for your target company list.
Let’s say you are interested in a career in “high performance, high efficiency, home energy.” Ask your librarian how you find the companies in that market segment that are 25, 50 and 100 miles from your zip code. Maybe you are a truck driver want to know who are the 5 best trucking companies in your area to work for. Maybe you’re interested in a bigger paycheck, what are the best paying companies in your industry? Your librarian has that information right there, ready for you to use.
Of course you can use the Internet if you were traumatized when you were a child when you paid an overdue fee to a librarian. But, then you’ll have one less name on your contact list. Most librarians are nice, even if they insist on your speaking in a whisper.
Another way to find companies to put on your target company list is to do a keyword search with any of the job boards, like Monster or CareerBuilder. See what company names come up and then add any onto your list. Whenever anyone tells you about a job, put the company name on your list, even if you already have a contact at that company. You never know who can help and as someone wise once said, “Many hands make for light work.” What companies are in the news? If you like the company or are interested, put their name on the list.
You could have 25 to 50 names on your list of target companies, and that’s okay. Your list should have more than ten companies though. When you print out your list to show people, keep the printout to between 10 to 15 company names so that the reader isn’t overwhelmed. Then ask them if they have any contacts at any of these companies. If they don’t have any contacts at companies on your list, ask them if there are any companies that they could suggest for you to include on your list. This way your list is never stagnant but always growing and changing.
Good Hunting!
* According to career change challenge website
I always tell people the stat that only 20% of jobs are advertised and that leaves a hidden job market of 80%. Some people ask me how can that be true. Kevin Crews www.kevincrews.com explained this to a group of job seekers last Friday at Harper College.
Kevin said that if you look at the job requisition process it becomes very clear. In most companies the process follows a pattern similar to this:
- A manager recognises a need in their department or area
- The request to hire is written up and submitted to HR &/or Finance
- The request is reviewed and passed on for executive approval
- A job description is written and approved
- The hiring manager reviews the needed skills and expected responsibilities with a recruiter
- A job posting is created and presented as an internal opportunity and employee referrals
- The job opening is then posted on-line and or in the paper or with an external recruiter.
- Resumes are received by HR and screened
- Phone screening and interviews
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| The Career Strategist |
Steps one through six are where a large percentage of the “hidden” job market resides. These steps can take as little as a few days and as long as a few months before the formal interviewing process can happen. In some companies some of these steps are skipped and others where there are even more steps. It’s important to realize that during this process you have an opportunity to learn about the opportunity by networking with people who work there.
But why would people care to tell you about the position? That’s easy: companies pay referral bonuses to their employees, $500 to $5000 are typical, depending on the position and the company. So when you ask a contact if they’ll refer you; you’re asking, “Would you like to make $1500.00 extra by introducing me to the hiring manager?”
Now isn’t it a good thing that we stress the importance networking. Check out other entries in my Blog that cover how to of networking. Hint: use the search utility and search on the keyword networking. Good Hunting and call me if I can help you with your job search or career progression.
