I Didn't Know Either: A Tip About Research

I got a comment in response to the LinkedIn post of a few days ago in which the writer acknowledged he hadn't realized that you could 'Get Introduced' through LinkedIn.  I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn't know the option was there either until I tripped over it.  There are tools on many of the job search websites and professional connection sites designed to help make this process easier, but they can't do their job unless you know they're there.

That's why I encourage you to go to websites like LinkedIn and just explore.  Click on every link and see where it takes you.  When you find something that really helps, tweet about it or send me a comment and I'll do my best to share your discovery.

Keep Sleuthing and You Can Find Anyone

In the post I wrote about LinkedIn, I mentioned going to the website of the college I wanted to network into and creating a list of names that I then researched on LinkedIn.  There is so much information out there for all of us to play with. You can find information on company web sites and through professional associations.  Today, you can simply Google someone and see what comes up.  It still tickles me that google has become a verb!  It's an action!

For me, it's easiest to keep at it if I set it up as a challenge for myself.  I reframe it as a test of my sleuthing prowess.  Can I find a contact who can get me into...almost anywhere!

My father was a mechanical engineer who taught me that if you can't get an answer one way, you simply seek another. 

So try to view research as sleuthing.  Put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and dig into the internet to follow the clues to the people you really want to meet with.

Man With A Sign Gets A Job

I heard a story on the news today that's worth repeating.  They told of a man who'd lost his job over a year ago, ended up declaring bankruptcy, and was obviously pretty desperate for work.  He decided to take to the streets with a placard reading "Help me find a job" and he got a job.  While he said the placard gimmick helped him uncover the job, he acknowledged that it was his network that made the difference in landing the job!

It's Hard to Keep Getting Out There

I must admit that it's hard to keep putting myself out there.  I continue to network and truly enjoy meeting each new contact, once I'm sitting in the room with them.  It's the process of getting myself there that's hard.  I continue to 'strategically' volunteer.  In addition to the regular volunteer work I'm doing at one university, I just agreed to conduct some mock interviews at another university.  I know this volunteer work enables me to showcase my skills and strengthen my network, and I truly enjoy working with the students.  And there are days when it's just hard to keep putting myself out there.

An honest conversation about the process...

I was talking with my husband who is new to this process and he admitted that he'd rather play in his workshop or work in the yard than schedule network meetings.  I told him I fully understood his feelings and admitted that it's hard to keep getting myself out there.  Then I thought about the work I've done with clients and students and how good I feel about what I can contribute, how important my support has been to their success.  And I reminded him about the times he's really 'in the work' and how much he loves it. What I realized is that it's not about the work or working, it's about getting through the process to get back to the work.

Inspiration

I have been following the Job Search Ninja on Twitter (yes, I've been tweeting) and reading through a bunch of his blog posts.  I don't know when this guy gets to sleep based on the number of posts he puts out.  I really liked one of his recent posts entitled, "You Can Do Anything".  I do believe we all can accomplish great things with enough energy and determination.

My mantra...

I know I have a lot to offer and I will make a significant contribution to the team of the college or university Career Services Director who is lucky enough to hire me!  That's my mantra.

And so...

I'll keep at it. You should too.  I'll keep putting myself out there, knowing that it's this act, this process, that will get me to the work I so enjoy. 

Fully Explore Options to Get LinkedIn to the Max!

I'm LinkedIn

Like most of you reading this post I'm LinkedIn.  While I've been LinkedIn for quite a while, I didn't realize it's full potential until recently.  I've used LinkedIn to connect with colleagues and friends from past chapters of my life and as a vehicle to put my best professional foot forward.  I belong to a select number of groups and, as had been suggested at a LinkedIn workshop, have jumped into discussions to get myself known.  But the real potential of LinkedIn, to connect with people at target companies, became quite apparent with this recent experience.

FRUSTRATION...

I've been trying to connect with someone at a specific university for quite a while with little success.  I'd uncovered some network connections, sent the usual e-mail referencing the mutual colleague's name in the subject line and requested a meeting, a method that has proved to be very successful and has resulted in personal meetings in all but one instance.  In this case, it just wasn't working and I was very frustrated.  I kept seeing a great job posting at the university for which my skills and experience would be a good match, and while I'd applied to it on-line, in that I am transitioning from one arena to another, I knew a network connection would be critical to getting in the door. 

So here's what I did...

I did some searching on the university's website and developed as long a list as possible of people I wanted to connect with.  I then went back and started diligently searching on LinkedIn to see if anyone I knew, knew any of these people.  I came up with a few distant connections, people who were 3 or 4 contacts away from the people I wanted to meet, meaning they didn't really have a direct connection.  My connection would have to work through their connection to get to 'the' connection to see if they'd meet with me.  While this can work, it's a hard sell because the person in the middle doesn't know the individual making the initial request at all.  Convoluted, but I hope you can follow the flow and the logic.

Perseverance...

So I continued to run through the list of names I'd gotten from the university site on LinkedIn, often finding people only by using the advanced search option, looking for a second line contact, someone connected to one of my first line contacts.  I finally came up with one in the very department I'm interested in networking into.  At that point I clicked on the small type that read 'Get Introduced'.  What came up next was a place for me to write an e-mail to the person I wanted to meet and below that a box where I could write an e-mail to my direct contact asking him to make the introduction.  My contact wrote back stating that, while he didn't know the person very well, he would forward my request.

Success!

While it took a week, and I had actually given up on hearing from this once removed contact, I was so pleased to find a LinkedIn message from her today in which she said she'd be happy to meet with me. 

Take the time to explore
While it's true that today's job seekers spend too much time conducting their searches on-line rather than getting out and talking with people,  I'm recommending you take the time to explore sites like LinkedIn to see what they can offer.  Go through the tutorials and click on all of the links to see how you can make the best use of these sites.  Your ultimate goal should be to get out to meet people and network.  It is the way people find jobs.  Use these on-line sites to uncover these network connections, the critical link that will lead you to your next chapter.

Easy Come, Not So Easy Go!

Easy Come...
This week I had my hopes raises by finding two great postings - one new and one re-advertised.  Even better, I was able to identify solid network connections into both!  And the icing on the cake was that the person who connected me via her network said both schools are great places to work.  Boy, was I excited!

Easy Go...
Within a few hours, both openings vanished.  The re-advertised one was filled with an internal candidate and the new listing was simply pulled.  The message from HR on that one said that it had been canceled and was not likely to be re-opened.

Speaking of ups and downs!

Keep on Truckin'...
I will pursue the new network contacts even though there are no openings, just to get my foot in the door and present my best me.  You never know what may come up down the road.  I do remain firm in my belief that with determination and networking, I will land in the perfect position.

Just another example of what a wild ride the job search roller coaster can be.

It's Earth Day!  Get out and take a walk!

Celebrating the Change

The Kick That's Needed To Make A Change

While getting laid off rarely feels like a good thing, for many it is the kick they need to get into gear and finally make a change that's long overdue.  My experience in counseling people in career transition is that a large percentage of those impacted by a corporate downsizing were unhappy with their job to begin with.  A good number of these folks stayed in those jobs for years and years and years.  For those of you who felt stuck in a job, it's time to celebrate the change and acknowledge that you would have continued to sit at your desk and be unhappy if someone hadn't dumped you out of that chair.

Why Does Someone Stay?

You can answer that. 
For the security,
the paycheck,
the benefits,
and all too often
because they simply aren't sure what else they'd do. 
They're just not sure where else to go.

A Scary World Ripe With Possibilities

It's scary to think about change, especially in today's market place.  Yet it's this change that brings about the possibility of new ventures and different pathways.  It's this change that offers the possibility of being happy in a job.  Some might continue in their field at another company or take those same skills into a different arena where they can marry their expertise and their passion, as in the non-profit world.  For others, it's time to research and launch that business they've always dreamed of whether it's opening a bakery or a launching a new line of clothing.  You might want to consider quality of life changes like targeting a job closer to home to cut down on commutation costs and maybe even be in the kitchen at a reasonable hour to eat dinner with the family. 

Be Open to Everything

I find people go all too willingly to the 'why it won't work' before exploring the possibilities.  Be open to everything.  Hear out every new idea and seriously consider every suggestion.  View this as an opportunity to make a change.

Wisdom from someone who sat in a job he was unhappy in for years and recently joined the ranks of the unemployed... I spent so much time looking out the window that I forgot there was a door. 

Whether you opened that door yourself or you were shown to it, make the most of this time to assess where you want to be and make it happen.