INTERVIEW: Networking from Scratch
I’ve been sharing this interview a lot lately with my coaching clients. It’s a conversation I had with a senior professional who found himself in a new city, with no network and unemployed. Michael had to build a trusted network from scratch – and quickly. In this interview, he explains exactly how he developed a strong network in short order that landed him an outstanding job…all without ever asking for a job! His advice – priceless.
Enter your information below and I’ll email you the interview – it’s yours to keep!
Listen to the interview and please share your thoughts and networking advice for others below. I’d love to hear what you think!
2008 – 2010 (c) Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved
Tips to Make Sure Your References Close the Deal for You
Two years ago, if a client told me that the company they were interviewing with was getting ready to check references, I would have thought, “Great! It sounds like an offer is not far behind.” But now, with unemployment at almost 10%, the job search landscape is far different and more competitive than ever. As a result, many companies are checking the references of multiple candidates in order to help make their final decision. So, getting it right with your references is extremely important. Here are a few tips:
- Be Proactive: Don’t assume the reference and reference checker will connect. Find out who will be calling your reference and let your reference know. I would suggest taking the steps to help schedule it. Not only will this help make certain it happens, but your reference will be in a better state of mind and more prepared for the call. You want them focused on selling you, not multitasking by driving, checking emails, etc..
- Prepare Your Reference: Schedule a call with your reference to review your background and the position you are interviewing for. Send them a copy of your resume. You want them understanding why this is a great job for you. They need to both think and speak in terms of why your past accomplishments are an indicator of what you are going to do for your future employer. It is all about being specific, quantifying and qualifying why you are the best hire – period.
- You are Only Good at What You Check: Follow up with your reference afterwards to find to how the call went. Were there any stumbling points? Any red flags they think you might need to address or be aware of? This way you know if there are any points you need to go back and re-address or affirm with your future employer.
There reference check is so much more than verifying employment. By taking these steps, you will not only properly prepare your reference, but you might discover you need to replace one of the people on your list. Remember, knowing they are checking references doesn’t mean you have the job, but it does mean you are a finalist. This is the last leg of your journey, so it’s time to pull out all the stops. Make sure your references tip the scales in your favor!
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Connecting with the Hiring Manager – No Recruiters, HR or Gate Keepers
LinkedIn is, without a doubt, one of the greatest tools for job seekers in finding potential employers. But, if you view it as your primary way of connecting with potential contacts versus a robust resource for information, you could be making your search more difficult than it needs to be. Let me explain what I mean as I walk you through this “how to” session.
I want you to think of LinkedIn like your personal White Pages. The more first degree connections you have, the larger your phonebook. I’ve written before about my philosophy that out of quantity, quality is born. The tool I highly recommend to all my clients for building a vast 1st level of likeminded networkers is OpenNetworker. After signing up with them, you will see your connections grow exponentially…as well as your ability to find the people with whom you want an audience. In my case, simply by signing up, my connections went from around 1000 about 18 months ago (which took me almost 4 years to build) to over 10,000 as of this blog…connecting me to over 17,000,000 LinkedIn users.
What I am going to walk you through today is only one of the techniques I teach in my Bootcamp. Adopting this approach, I want to show you how you can get in front of more hiring managers and take control of what they are hearing and seeing about you:
1. Getting Started – Here are the basics that you need:
• The name of the company,
• The role (you can select more than one, if you are uncertain) to which you would be reporting. You are looking for decision makers here – not HR or recruiters. In the video, I walk through this step-by-step (there is more information on this below).
2. Searching on LinkedIn – Using this criteria, conduct a search on LinkedIn to find the right point of contact – who you would be reporting to in your ideal role. Write down their full name. If you are on the fence about who your ideal contact is, take down all the possible options you can find in LinkedIn.
Tip: I recommend starting your search as broad as possible. Run it by company only, and then start adding in criteria like location, title or keywords. It’s always better to cast a wide net to begin with and then narrow your search.
3. Googling the Email Format – Since you are going to be reaching out to this contact on your own, we are going to move from LinkedIn to Google. If you think you might have a good contact to use instead of making your own introduction, that’s fine. But, I recommend using my “Litmus Test” in the tip below before relying on someone else to get you in the door. You need to know exactly how good an advocate they are going to be.
Tip: When trying to decide whether you should use a connection for an introduction or go it alone, use this easy litmus test. Ask your connection if they are willing to make a call to the contact you are trying to reach. If they are reluctant to do so and only offer to email – or worse yet, put your resume in front of someone in HR – politely thank them and go it alone. Someone with a solid relationship that bears weight won’t hesitate to pick up the phone. Anything else is simply an introduction with no teeth and a missed opportunity to make a meaningful first impression.
Using Google, add the “@” sign in front of the URL of the company in the search box. In the video, I use the example of Applied Robotics. You can see below what that search looks like.
You may need to dig through a page or two of search results to find the format. I also share some secrets on uncovering hard-to-find email format in the video walking you through this technique. If you enter your name and email below, I will send you a link to the short video that includes more tips and walks you through this process step-by-step.
Once you have found the format, use the contact name you found through LinkedIn and apply the format to it. You can then reach out directly to this potential hiring manager without being concerned about HR, recruiters or any other gate keepers.
As always, share your comments below. I always want to hear that you think!
Questions about My Recent Announcement…
On Tuesday, I announced that I would be closing the doors on my Job Search 2.0 Bootcamp System forever next week. I received a number of questions with similar themes. I hope you don’t mind, but instead of putting together individual responses I decided to make a short recording tackling the questions that came in. This way, everyone can benefit.
Click here to listen to my answers to your questions.
If you have a question about the program that wasn’t answered in the recording, feel free to leave a comment below and I will make sure to respond ASAP!
