I e-mailed Heather Hamilton and Seth Godin (neither of them knew me) and asked them how they would respond to “the question.” Note I’m still keeping silent on the input/comments, although I found some gems from these guys in their very short entries. I hope you do too. The question:
Yikes! You just lost your job! You’ve been so busy at *work* that you don’t feel your network is as strong as you would like it to be! What are you going to do with (and to) your network in the next 6 weeks as you begin an aggresive job search campaign? And, outside of your network, what job search tactics will you employ? Or your best networking tips related to job searches.
Here’s Heather’s reply:
Use every resource you have available to you, including corporate job sites, job boards and blogs. Contrary to recent reports, people do get hired via job boards and career sites. Start working your existing network to build it out (shame on you if you don’t already have a LinkedIn account). Call everyone you know and ask who they can introduce you to at your top companies and within your industry. Once that is exhausted, realize that you have done yourself a huge disservice by not having built out your network earlier and never let this happen to you again.
This whole scenario runs counter to what I coach people to do. This hypothetical person isn’t a good listener : )
Use every resource you have available to you, including corporate job sites, job boards and blogs. Contrary to recent reports, people do get hired via job boards and career sites. Start working your existing network to build it out (shame on you if you don’t already have a LinkedIn account). Call everyone you know and ask who they can introduce you to at your top companies and within your industry. Once that is exhausted, realize that you have done yourself a huge disservice by not having built out your network earlier and never let this happen to you again.So my question for Heather is, what exactly do you coach people to do?
Here’s Seth’s reply:
Given where you are, the best way to network over the next six weeks is to do NOTHING but help other people. Volunteer at a non profit, pitch in at a startup, create a blog pointing to great companies and great ideas. Help other people 60 hours a week for no other reason other than you’ve got some time and it’s the right thing to do.
Ask for nothing.
Do as much as you can.
That’s how you build a network.
Well, the bad news is that the best time to network was last year and the worst time is right now.Thanks to Heather and Seth. They both have great blogs that you should consider checking out. Click here to see 5 questions that Heather poses to other recruiters (and their comments)… great info on “the state of things” like cover letters, interview questions, etc. Seth is just a dang good read. For some reason this is one of my fav’s.
Good question…I tell them that the best time to build out a network is before you need to. It’s similar to what Seth says (easy for me to say, I know). You establish the network by AT LEAST giving as much as you get. By the time you need to execute a job search, you are pretty much in getting mode. Wouldn’t it be nice for some of your network to “owe” you a favor by the time you need their help?
It’s kind of like when I put together my emergency preparedness kit. I knew it was really important but I put it off for a long time because the circumstances under which I would need it were unpleasant to think about.
You are much more valuable as a network connection to people while you are employed (because you have easy access to fellow employees and you have a corporate brand attached to your name).
You know, if you are well networked, you’ll get headhunter calls. I always recommend that people take those calls even if they are happily employed and consider those headhunters as part of their network (hey, refer people to them if you can…they WILL remember you). Think about how much you can speed up your search by re-engaging a headhunter who has a whole range of job opportunities to expose you to and already knows you.
And that’s what I have to say about that : )
Oh, and also, how cool is Seth Godin?
Seth Godin is too cool. Thanks for the follow-up thoughts… !