Yesterday: Tell a few friends that you’re looking for a new gig and “if you hear of anything, let me know.” Call a few recruiters and they hook you up with interviews. Submit a few résumés with the goal of picking the best offer and negotiating the salary as high as you can go. Spend a few hours here and there poking around.
During network meetings, come in ready to talk all about yourself, rattle off your background and accomplishments, and hope they hear something that they find interesting. I call this the “deck-of-cards routine” …toss cards out one at a time until the listener says, “Stop.”
A few errors were tolerated, as hiring managers had a hard time finding the “perfect” candidate.
Today: Networking needs to be more focused, done with professionalism and purpose and with great follow-up. Be strategic in your application, insuring you address the buyer’s needs (hiring managers, interviewers). Recruiters should be aware of your profile; you need to be “findable” on LinkedIn. And remember, there are no salary discussions until you get an offer.
When networking, have a clear job search goal, be prepared to listen more than you talk, and treasure the information and insights they give you. Follow up over and over, especially with gratitude.
Prior to interviews, do massive amounts of research and be ready to talk about how your skills and experience make you the best candidate for their position.
Most importantly, tolerance for mistakes is lower than it has ever been. As it should be! There is no room for common mistakes that candidates make over and over again. You have no idea why you are not getting the interviews or the offers after interviews. And, you just keep looking and feeling frustrated. The job-seeking world has changed around you but you have not.
Tomorrow: All employers will be using some form of technology to narrow down the best candidates based on word search and comparisons of your skills and experiences with their job description. Yes, networking will help get you in the pool, but that will only get you so far. Due to the increasing cost risk of “mis-hiring,” companies will conduct more phone or face-to-face screenings and they’ll check you out online via various sources and more. All of your facts and figures will be checked out for accuracy.
Your interview is a performance! You will be expected to be fully prepared, have a 30-60-90-day game plan for the position you are applying for, and be ready to demonstrate the skills you claim to have (language, Excel, technology, sales role-play, etc.).
You need to be ready for the Future. But, let’s start with Today.
Re-invent your job seeking process and do it now. If you’re in job-search mode now, stop. Re-boot! And go to https://www.danamanciagli.com to Cut the Crap, Get a Job!
