Finding your next job will not come from an online job board, the classifieds, or even employment agencies—it’s by talking to the people around you. Your network of friends, family members, neighbors and acquaintances is the most valuable job search resource you have.

Have your 30-second commercial ready to go.  Not being prepared is one of many mistakes that are made during the holidays.  Often job seekers shut down, they let down their guard, and simply fail to seize the last days of the year.  Yet, it’s the prime time to network and perfect your 30-second elevator speech.

Many will take a hiatus from interview preparation and job searching and focus instead on the holidays. This could help give you an edge over others.  Companies are hiring. People who are still out there looking have a greater opportunity to stand out.

Networking is nothing more than getting to know people. Whether you realize it or not, you’re already networking every day and everywhere you go. You are networking when you strike up a conversation with the person next to you in line, introduce yourself to other parents at your child’s school, meet a friend of a friend, catch up with a former co-worker, or stop to chat with your neighbor. Everyone you meet can help you move your job search forward.

Tapping the hidden job market may take more planning than searching online, but it’s much more effective. Adopting a networking lifestyle—a lifestyle of connecting and helping others in good times and bad—will help you find the right job, make valuable connections in your chosen field, and stay focused and motivated during your job search.

Networking is the best way to find a job because:

• People do business primarily with people they know and like. Resumes and cover letters alone are often too impersonal to convince employers to hire you.
• Job listings tend to draw piles of applicants, which puts you in intense competition with many others. Networking makes you a recommended member of a much smaller pool.
• The job you want may not be advertised at all. Networking leads to information and job leads, often before a formal job description is created or a job announced.

If you’re nervous about making contact—either because you’re uncomfortable asking for favors or you’re embarrassed about your employment situation—try to keep the following things in mind:

• It feels good to help others. Most people will gladly assist you if they can.
• People like to give advice and be recognized for their expertise.
• Almost everyone knows what it’s like to be out of work or looking for a job. They’ll sympathize with your situation.
• Unemployment can be isolating and stressful. By connecting with others, you’re sure to get some much needed encouragement, fellowship, and moral support.

All the connections in the world won’t help you find a job if no one knows about your situation. Tell them you are looking for a job. Be specific about what kind of work you’re looking for and ask them if they have any information or know anyone in a relevant field. Don’t assume that certain people won’t be able to help. You may be surprised by who they know.

Figure out what you want before you start networking

Networking is most effective when you have specific employer targets and career goals. It’s hard to get leads with a generic “Let me know if you hear of anything” request. You may think that you’ll have better job luck if you leave yourself open to all the possibilities, but the reality is this “openness” creates a black hole that sucks all of the networking potential out of the connection.

A generic networking request for a job is worse than no request at all, because you can lose that networking contact and opportunity. Asking for specific information, leads, or an interview is much more focused and easier for the networking source. If you’re having trouble focusing your job search, you can turn to close friends and family members for help, but avoid contacting more distant people in your network until you’ve set clear goals.

Networking is a give-and-take process that involves making connections, sharing information, and asking questions. It’s a way of relating to others, not a technique for getting a job or a favor. You don’t have to hand out your business cards at the neighborhood holiday party, the gym or even on Christmas Eve with your family.  All you have to do is reach out.

• Be authentic. Be you—the real you—that should be your goal. Hiding who you are or suppressing your true interests and goals will only hurt you in the long run. Pursuing what you want and not what you think others will like, will always be more fulfilling and ultimately more successful. 
• Be considerate. If you’re reconnecting with an old friend or colleague, take the time to get through the catching-up phase before you blurt out your need. On the other hand, if this person is a busy professional you don’t know well, be respectful of his or her time and come straight out with your request.
• Ask for advice, not a job. Don’t ask for a job, a request comes with a lot of pressure. You want your contacts to become allies in your job search, not make them feel ambushed, so ask for information or insight instead. If they’re able to hire you or refer you to someone who can, they will. If not, you haven’t put them in the uncomfortable position of turning you down or telling you they can’t help.
• Be specific in your request. Before you go off and reconnect with everyone you’ve ever known, get your act together and do a little homework. Be prepared to articulate what you’re looking for. Is it a reference? An insider’s take on the industry? A referral? An introduction to someone in the field? Also make sure to provide an update on your qualifications and recent professional experience.

Don’t be a hit-and-run networker: connecting, getting what you want, and then disappearing, never to be heard from until the next time you need something. Invest in your network by following up and providing feedback to those who were kind of enough to offer their help. Thank them for their referral and assistance. Let them know whether you got the interview or the job. Or use the opportunity to report on the lack of success or the need for additional help.

Always remember that successful networking is a two-way street. Your ultimate goal is to cultivate mutually beneficial relationships. That means giving as well as receiving. Send a thank-you note, ask them about their family, email an article you think they might be interested in, and check in periodically to see how they’re doing. By nurturing the relationship through your job search and beyond, you’ll establish a strong network of people you can count on for ideas, advice, feedback, and support.

It’s going to be a challenging holiday season for a lot of folks out there. So you know what? Spread some cheer, make others feel happy.

     It was a good interview, but what does it take to close the deal? 

     It is very important that the employer knows you are genuinely interested in the job.  Be persistent; stay in touch.

    Be appreciative.  After the interview, let the interviewer know how much you appreciated the opportunity to interview and restate your interest.  The thank you note is a great medium to convey this message.  Make sure you highlight specific skills, personal characteristics, and behaviors that will connect you to the position and make you stand out from other candidates.

     It is important that you separate yourself from the other candidates.  Relate compelling stories during the interview that demonstrate your ability to do the job.  In follow up contacts, reinforce the characteristics that will set you apart from other candidates.

   If you are not remembered, you won’t be hired.  Yet, it is important to remember that whatever you say and do must be appropriate to the organization.

    Hiring managers take notice of creative measures.   Following are some examples which illustrate how this creativity resulted in job offers.

    Following one interview, a candidate sent the hiring manager a pair of well worn boots with a note explaining that these boots represent the effort that he would put into the job if hired.  Within a week he called the hiring manager and asked if he could pick up his boots because he still needed them.  The company hired him when he came in to pick up the boots.

     Another client attempted several phone and email contacts.  Following the interview the client decided to visit the hiring manager in person.  He asked a very straightforward question, “Are you going to hire me?”  The hiring manager responded, “When can you start?”  My client responded, “I brought my lunch.”  He started the same day and is currently in a key management position.

     One candidate made a positive impression on a hiring manager by preparing a professional report in response to a case study question that she had been asked in the interview.  Although she had effectively answered the question in the interview, her extra effort and the thoughtful and professional response impressed the hiring manager and led to a job offer.

     Having good references can separate you from the competition, but why wait for the employer to contact your references.  Let your references know that you had an interview and ask if they would be willing to call the hiring manager and make a recommendation on your behalf.  This is especially effective if your reference is well-known and knows the hiring manager.  If you know someone inside the organization who is highly respected, ask that person if they would be willing to recommend you to the hiring manager.

     Positive actions influence employers and get results. Persistence, professionalism, and creativity will set you apart from the competition. Be proactive, and improve your chances for landing the job.

Among the soft skills that respondents rated highly were: ‘people management’, with 31% citing this as the most important, ‘time management’, with 23%, and ‘problem solving’, which was the first choice for 18% of the respondents. However, 90% believed that business pressures currently limit the time they have available to develop these skills.
So, considering that there will never be more time in our days and money is tight, one option to consider is e-learning. 

What are the Benefits of e-Learning?
 Convenience and portability
 Courses are accessible on your schedule
 Online learning does not require physical attendance
 Learning is self-paced (not too slow, not too fast)
 You’re unbound by time - courses are available 24/7
 You’re unbound by place - study at home, work, or on the road as long as you have internet access
 Read materials online or download them for reading later
 Travel time and associated costs (parking, fuel, vehicle maintenance) are reduced or eliminated

So, it might be good to review the biggest mistakes people make in networking.

1. ASKING FOR A JOB.

This is counter intuitive, but asking a contact if there is something available in her organization is almost always a dead end. “No, but send me your resume and I’ll ask around.” Too often that is the end of the story. You might want to end up with your resume being shopped around, but don’t start there.

Ask for help, but not a job. “How did you go about your job search?” “You changed industries. How hard was that?” “I’m looking at (kind of position). Do you think my resume supports that?” Get your contact to see and care about the person behind the resume.

2. NOT HAVING A TARGET.

Most people you contact will want to help. The question they will ask is some version of “What are you looking for?” Your answer is not your previous job title. There was only one of those. Examine your skills. If you were a production manager, you know inventory and that opens possibilities: distribution, warehouse management, logistics or transportation. If you practiced relationship selling, you know customer service and sales management. Don’t network until you can make a clear, logical and concise statement that causes people to say “I’m getting the picture.”

3. ONLY TARGETING POWERFUL PEOPLE.

If you can get to them, good for you. But they can be hard to reach and they are prone to delegate your request. Work toward them through others. Remember, you are not asking for a job. You want information on business changes, pending retirements, new customers or products or locations. Mine church contacts, service clubs, neighbors, former associates, your references and volunteer organizations.

4. ASKING ONLY ONCE.

 It’s not networking until it is at least to the third power. The string might go like this: (1.) phone contact (2.) e-mail or paper thank- you note (3.) resume sent by hard mail or electronics (4.) brief follow-up report on advice the contact gave (5.) coffee or lunch. You have to stay on their radar screens.

5.  FEELING THAT YOU ARE A PEST.

Get over it. You will be pleasantly surprised at how helpful people will be. Prepare for the contact. Plan and rehearse your message. Be concise.

6. NOT USING GOLDEN REFERENCES. 

 Have a strategy for not only getting to people, but also for creating a productive environment. Let’s say you want to talk to someone involved with a particular company or industry, but you don’t know that person well, or at all. Find a mutual contact, someone much closer to the target person. Explain your need. Get the person’s approval to use her or his name. And afterward, thank them both.

7. BEING PUT OFF BY PEOPLE WHO DON’T READILY RESPOND.

You’ve got one job: getting a job. They have hundreds. Why would you be surprised that they are triaging and prioritizing calls? Most people will respond, eventually. Let their guilt complex work for you. Change your tactics. Call early or late in the day when there is a better chance of their being available. Be tactfully persistent.

8. THINKING OF NETWORKING ONLY IN TERMS OF UNCOVERING POSITIONS.

Congratulations. You have an interview scheduled. This is a good time to network into that organization. Do you know someone who works there? Someone who knows someone who does? Use your networking skills to supplement what you learned from the Web site or printed material.

But a word of caution: Be subtle. Don’t try to come off as an expert on their organization.

9. NOT TRACKING YOUR EFFORTS.

If you are going to create a buzz and leverage your contacts, you will be communicating with a lot of people. Keep track. Develop a feel for when to make the follow-up call. It could be a spreadsheet, a binder, or a journal. The important thing is to track who, what, and when.

10. WASTING GOOD NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES BY STARTING BEFORE YOU ARE READY.

Think through who you are and what kind of work you would really like to do. Evaluate your skills and think creatively about how and where they might be used. Tone your resume. Pick two or three people that relate well to you and start with them.

That’s off-Broadway and spring training. Now you’re ready!

Seating is limited, so please RSVP to Mary Hericks at 608-782 -1430 if you would like to attend.