Guy Kawasaki, of Alltop fame, says it best when talking about Twitter: “Nobodies are the new somebodies.” Albeit a different medium, I think that philosophy applies here. LinkedIn is the premier on-line professional networking site. And, just as you would network at a live event, the goal should be to get to know those you don’t already know. Moreover, following Kawasaki’s logic, don’t try to predetermine who can help you…those second and third degrees of separation with the most random of persons can take you places you never expected to go!

It’s essential to connect with likeminded people. A massive number of connections with non-networking types nets you “garbage in, garbage out.” Personally, I have used OpenNetworker to grow my network from under 2,000 connections to over 15,000 in just over a year. More importantly, 15,000 connections who want to network. This has been instrumental in helping me get the word out on what I do and the pain I address (more on this in a second). I don’t decide who needs to hear my message – I let the audience…my connections…decide what has value. They then make the introductions and connections accordingly.

Can you do this with a small, closely knit network? Sure. But, chances are that your immediate network already knows your accomplishments. Your closest network would hire you if they could. But what about those “nobodies” who could just be the “somebody” that lead you to your new job? You owe it to yourself to connect with them sooner rather than later.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think!

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Winning Hearts and Minds - The closer you work with fellow volunteers, the better they will get to know you. And, let’s face it, people help and hire those they like. Give people the opportunity to get to know you – not your tails of unemployment. Like we discussed last week, remember not to dwell on the fact you are looking for a job. You want everyone to think of you in terms of the great addition you would be versus the person who is always talking about being unemployed.

Words and Deeds – The interview process is a two-way street. You size up a future employer just as they do the same to you. Both sides are trying to figure out if the other “walks the talk.” By working side-by-side with someone in a volunteer capacity, you get to see if someone’s work ethic is in line with yours. Moreover, make sure you are gravitating towards those that give 110%. Good people always know good people.

Do What You Know – When volunteering, most people think in terms of what the Not for Profit does as a function: soup kitchens need help in the kitchen, Big Brothers/Big Sisters need adults to sponsor kids, etc. But shift your mindset to what you do best. If you are in accounting, volunteer your time to help with the books. A sales professional would be a great fundraiser or trainer of other fundraisers. You will not only be showcasing what you do, but your value-add to the organization will be even greater. Not to mention, you increase the likelihood of interacting with Board Members – who might have a connection or two. Talk about the "hidden" job market.

It Doesn't Always Have to Be a NFP - The key here is to get you out using and contributing your skill set. When you list yourself as a "consultant" or "freelance" on your resume, no one is going to ask what you were paid. The closest you will get is "what's your bill rate?" The bottom line is that you can contribute your expertise wherever you like and you are only limited by those who won't take you up on your offer. This is also a great way to develop some new skills and subject matter expertise that you might be lacking - volunteer to work on a project to get some OJT.

If you have been thinking of retreating from your volunteer commitments in order to focus more time on your search – Don’t. Get more involved, make more connections and leverage your skills set in doing so. It is a win-win for everyone involved. Not only might you find a job in the process but you will do some great work to feel good about in the interim.

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Have you heard this lately in your job search? “We have decided to move forward with another candidate…Our search has been put on hold…We think you are a great fit for our company, but just not the right one for this position….Let’s keep in touch.”  I know how frustrating the job search can be and these statements usually take the wind right out of you.  Today we are going to talk about a few techniques to turn this into something positive – sometimes immediately!

Every time you make a connection in your interviews,  think about it in terms of building your network.  All too often, we look at the process from a static, linear perspective: submit information, get the interview(s) and either get the job or not.  I will grant you that not getting the job is frustrating.  But, how you handle losing the battle can result in you winning the war.

A huge part of the interview process is establishing rapport – winning hearts and minds.  Instead of seeing another door closing when you do not get the job, look at it as another door opening.  You have worked hard to make a new connection - professionally, sometimes even personally, bonding with the people in the company where you interviewed.  Shouldn’t you capitalize on it?  Here are some pointers on how to do so:

• They know you are looking – ask for help networking.  If you have just impressed them enough to have multiple interviews, they should give you high marks and gladly refer you.
• Keep in touch.  Create a system to reach out to each and every person you talk to throughout your job search.  This is no different than a sales campaign.  And the person who isn’t buying today may be ready to purchase (hire) tomorrow.



• Get to know the people with whom you interview.  This personal connection will get your calls, emails and requests answered quicker.
• Pay it forward.  Find out what you can do for them.  Helping someone first is the quickest way to endear you to them.  They will seek you out to return the favor!

Not getting the offer – particularly after several rounds of interviews – is frustrating, no doubt.  But you have worked hard to make it that far.  In this economy, getting to the first round of interviews is tough enough.  So, when you do make a connection treat it like gold.  Managed well, this network can drive your job search for you.

* * * * * * * * *

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-          I have never seen a December in the search business that wasn’t extremely busy – good economy or bad.  Many companies are trying to get positions filled before year’s end because of budgets or potentially losing the headcount.  The latter is of particular concern right now, given the state of the economy and new job creation. 

 -          During December, there are multiple opportunities to network through holiday parties.  The amount of people you can reach out and touch is two to three times that of any other time of the year.  Why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?

-          Think of your job search as a sales and marketing campaign.  You should be creating “buzz” about your product – you!  You have worked hard building up this “buzz” – so why stop now?  Again, think about all the people gathering and networking (social or otherwise) this month.  Don’t you want to remain top of mind?

-          People are conditioned to connecting and re-connecting over the holidays.  Combine this with a more charitable sprit and your networking efforts are made much easier.  As many push their workloads off until the New Year, making introductions, renewing connections and touching base is much easier.  Why wait until after January 1, when everyone is battling a pile of December’s procrastination on their desk?

-          For those companies who aren’t going to hire until January 2012, staying top of mind right now is even more important.  Simply put, who has a better chance of landing the job – the person who has been in touch, networking and establishing rapport over December –or- the person who makes their first contact via email on January 2?

ExecuNet cited that executive level searches are taking upwards of 10 months in this market and the average job search is 2.5 – 3 weeks per 10K in annualized salary. Networking and relationship building are crucial to shaving months off this average for yourself. So, this is no time to rest!  Keep building on that momentum you have worked to build in 2011 for your job search.  If one of your resolutions for 2012 is to make a career move, there is no better time to get a leg up on the competition. 

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Your List – Start here. Take everyone you have spoken to or interacted with during your job search. From that trusted advisor and mentor who you touch base with weekly down to the recruiter who rubbed you the wrong way and you barely spoke to once. By the way, if you don’t have a list of everyone you have connected with this is a prime time to create one. This is your network. Some pieces may be stronger than others, but every interaction is an opportunity to strengthen that relationship and build new ones.

Pick up the Phone – This is about being interactive and dynamic. Email is static. Grab the phone and call the people on your list. You can make 1000 excuses why not to do it (my industry likes email, I don’t know some of these people that well, I don’t have their number, etc..). In order – if everyone is emailing, it’s easier to stand out via phone. If you don’t know the person well, what better way to get to know them better? Don’t have the number – Google the company and call the main switchboard.

Bottom line, you will get infinitely more out of a conversation and you can steer it more than a one dimensional email. Plus, you are going to be offering to help them – why wouldn’t they want to hear from you? If you get voicemail, you can send a short email following up…but make sure you lead with a call – it will make all the difference.

The Call - I’m not a fan of scripts, but here is the gist of what you should say in your call. Adjust the verbiage to fit your audience:

"Hi _________, it’s _________. You have been great about helping me in my job search and I simply wanted to return the favor. I’m wondering how I might be able to help you? What’s on your plate right now that you could use some help with resource-wise?"

Short and sweet.

Calling a peer or potential hiring contact? Maybe they are working on a project and need help locating some resources? This gives you a reason to call other people inside, or outside, your network…growing your network, demonstrating you are “plugged in” and calling for a reason other than looking to get something for yourself.

Calling a recruiter or someone in HR? Offer to help them with candidates for searches they are conducting. While I’ve never been in HR, I can tell you from my years as a headhunter that I knew the people who would always help me network and they were my first call. So, if you aren’t getting a call back from the search firms or internal recruiters as you would like – this is the easiest way to fix that. Create a reason for why they will always want to call you first.

Ask for Nothing – this is key to your success here. It’s not about immediate reciprocity. The benefits you will receive will become apparent in short order, like I shared in both examples…and more.

If they ask about your search, certainly tell them. If they ask if they can help, I’d simply ask who they know in (your field, industry, area of focus) that they hold in high regard with whom you can network. Reassure them that you are just looking to broaden your network and you aren’t going to hit them up for a job (listen to my interview with Michael Kerman – he does this beautifully). And, again, push to meet in person if physically possible. It’s all about getting face-to-face time with people. The phone is closer to that than email (which is why I am a big fan of it), but getting in front of someone is much more effective in working towards “know, like and trust.”

Going Viral and "Paying it Forward" - Finally, I’d like to leave you with this thought. Between my newsletter (41K readers), this blog (2K+ visitors daily) and the social networks I post on (2.7M+ potential readers), this could have an incredible, collective effect if every job seeker reading it took action. Imagine your reaching out jogging the memory of someone in your network to call an unemployed friend. Maybe it makes them think of you for a certain position. Maybe you are that friend for someone else’s call. Who knows? What I do know is that this “pay it forward” effect will only be more exponential in its impact if everyone takes this step together.

So, make your list, pick up the phone and start asking what you can do for your network. Then come back here and share your comments and results below – I’d love to hear from you (and so would everyone else!).

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Read the comments below from other job seekers who have benefited from the advice Michael had to share. Then, enter your information below and I'll email you the interview - it's yours to keep!

After you hit "submit," check your email for the link to the interview. I'll also take you to another page where you you will learn about 3 great, free webinars that can help with your job search - today!

If you believe there are hidden jobs, networking will help you uncover them. If you'd like to speed up your search by hearing about more jobs, networking is the way to do that. Start networking now, and you'll benefit for the rest of your career.

Most of us never learned networking skills, so we stand on the sidelines watching other people get jobs. If that's you, this list will put you in the game! You can start carefully. Please pick one item on the list and do it immediately.

2. Call two people you haven't talked to in a long time to catch up. They just might have some good information for you and at a minimum you'll be re-establishing the relationships. While you want to focus on building or re-building a relationship, it's certainly appropriate to let them know you're in job search. The job leads will follow. Actually talking to someone is so much faster and certainly more personal than trying to build a relationship via emails!

3. Call people you are talking to about your search to see how you can help them. Resolve to always ask this question, and people will know you're interested in them, not just their job leads.

5. Go to a meeting where there are people slightly senior to you, and start building relationships. These could be people who would hire you or those who will hear about positions you should know about. These are good people for you to know, so make a commitment to get to know at least two of them by calling them the next day to set up a time for a brief meeting.

6. Find someone who works in a company or industry or function you'd like to talk about. LinkedIn is a great way to find people. Use the People Search--Advanced link. Then give them a call. They just might be very willing to talk to you about the work they enjoy doing.

7. Find someone you're connected to on LinkedIn who would be at a hiring manager level for the kind of position you are looking for. These would be great people to call to see if they would talk to you for a few minutes to give you some of their thoughts on what they would do if they were in job search as you are.

And if you would like to have actual job search networking scripts to make these calls, get a free report: Hidden Job Market Networking Scripts. Start to break into the hidden job market right away.

Katherine Moody is Founder of Hidden Job Market Secrets. Her prior search experience includes time with Heidrick & Struggles and Deloitte & Touche. Katherine holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and an Executive MBA from the Peter Drucker Management Center, Claremont University.

A self-proclaimed “reluctant networker,” Katherine Moody is not only an expert on the topic, but secured her last three positions by doing what she knows best: networking. She is the author of several e-books including 21 Master Networking Secrets, I Hate Small Talk, and Taming the Wild Hiring Manager. Katherine’s passion is simple: showing other job seekers how to use the techniques she has perfected to help uncover the “hidden” job market and get back to work sooner.

Also, check out his "cocktail party" analogy.  It's something I've been saying for years and think it's a great gauge for determing your boundaries when using social media.

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Building on that experience, he has authored a book called "Finding the Restroom." In it, Michael shares his perspective as an executive in trasition, what works, what doesn't and how to achieve results. Listen in below as I talk to Michael about the book, what you can expect and his perspective on the changing employment market.

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