I’ve had people say they looked on google for a personal relationship manager and JibberJobber didn’t come up… “why is that?” they ask.
Without going into the technicalities of how search works (Google owns the entire space, and makes changes at will that can (do) bring a company to their knees), let’s go into what it means to have a personal relationship manager.
In the olden days, the late 1900’s, someone figured out that salespeople could use a software system to help them manage and organize relationships with prospects and customers. This system would help them stay focused on what they needed to do to close more deals (and make more money). The system would allow them to search for their contacts, get reminders of when they needed to follow-up with them, etc.
A few weeks into my job search, in 2006, I realized that I, as a job seeker, needed a similar system. I was applying to a lot of companies and it was really frustrating trying to keep track of that with a spreadsheet. I was finally starting to “network,” and meeting new people just added to the level of complexity. A job seeker should be one of the busiest salespeople around… and they really need an industrial strength system to help them keep track of everything, especially when they need to (or have an opportunity to) follow-up.
This need eventually became JibberJobber, and for more than eight years, as we’ve continued to work on the system and learn about your needs, I’ve come to realize that JibberJobber is not a job search organizer. It is much more than that. It is a system to help you manage and organize any of your relationships. I use JibberJobber to:
- organize and manage my jobs (I do contract work, speaking, selling stuff, etc.), and I need to follow-up and keep track of where those opportunities are, as well as push reminders in front of me. This is what a job seeker needs, and is exactly what a contractor/freelancer needs.
- organize my personal stuff, like rotating the tires on the car, making house or car or credit card payments, keeping track of the garage door and appliance repairman numbers, dates of service, costs, and maintenance coming up.
- keep track of personal relationships, including family and extended family, and things like birthdays, important dates to them, important conversations, etc.
I’m not keeping track of EVERYTHING in JibberJobber. Very personal things are not getting logged (use a journal (book) for that)… mundane or normal conversations are not getting logged, unless there is an important follow-up date I need to be aware of.
JibberJobber starts as a job search organizer for a lot of people, but then becomes a tool to help them with their life management.
No, of course you don’t NEED something like this… but it sure helps take the stress off of trying to remember everything.
Not in a job search? As long as you are alive, I bet you could benefit from a JibberJobber account. It can easily be your own personal relationship manager!