Then do something else.
Something different better and creative
Are there better ways than "the way everyone tells me to do my job hunt?"
What you do in your job hunt is a function, of course, of what you already know.
Here, you saw a way that focuses not on you, but on the person doing the skimming, the reading and the selecting.
If job applicants are going through the motions of writing a resume, so that they can send out five hundred, so that they can get twelve replies, so that they can get six interviews, so that they can get two offers and then choose between them... then those people shouldn't bother with this.
Neither should they bother with this.
But if you understand now that what you do in your life and in your job hunt, is a function of what you know, then you might be interested in knowing a bit more.
Here it is. A set of creative ideas to help your job hunt result in success... and in your achieving aliveness in the job you land... a job you truly love. A job you look forward to. A job you're so eager for, that you'd gladly go there and do it for nothing!
Networking-When It Works And When It Doesn't
Networking, used correctly, can help you achieve exactly what you want.
But only if you know exactly, what you want.
So before you follow the Yuppie advice and "network yourself like crazy," understand two things:
- Getting help from others in your network requires you to give help to others in your network... and to others not currently in your network. Successful living is a give and take situation, and it works better if you give more than you take, or expect to take.
- Individuals in your network want to help you. But only if you make it relatively easy. And only if you've done your part of the work first.
But giving me the opportunity to help you, help me, and help a friend of mine: that's the idea of network and networking, applied properly.
Before you network, know what you want to do. Know what skills you have. Know what problems those skills can solve. Know the areas in which you would like to apply those skills to solve specific problems.
Know all those things.
Then, only then, start to call on your network.
First: Friends And Relatives
Call on friends and relatives first. Call especially on people for whom you have done favors.
Let them know your objectives, skills, talents, abilities, and interests.
Then ask them if they know anyone who is already doing what you want to do... Usingthe skills you plan to use.
It would be nice if that person is applying his or her skills in a field which interests you strongly. But even if that's not the case, even if that person is applying the skills in a field which doesn't interest you at all, take the next step.
The next step is to see if your friend or relative would, on your behalf, arrange a meeting among the three of you; a lunch, an after-work snack or sandwich, a chat at your friend's home, or anything which brings you together socially.
The purpose of the meeting is for you to learn what your contact person is doing and how he or she likes it. Does that person like the place he or she is working, and does he or she know anyone or any organization who is working in the field you're aiming for... and who may have need for a person with your skills... or who may have the kinds of problems you're capable of solving.
Then follow up, follow through. Network again to meet the people your contact person knows, and continue to do this.
At each step along the way, thank people. Use your good manners. Send notes, even to your relative or friend whom you see regularly.
Thank the third person, the friend-of-your-relative, too. Write a note. Stay in touch. Keep thanking people. Keep validating them...helping them know that they count...that they've done a good turn.
You'll find that networking works wonders. It can get you into places and into organizations you'd never know about or imagine that you could penetrate.
Most of you got most of your jobs through friends, relatives and acquaintances.
So use the strategy to get your next job, too.
Twenty-eight percent of all people, at the minimum, get their jobs through friends, relatives and acquaintances.
That's more than twice the number that admit to getting their jobs through a newspaper classified ad.
So if it works twice as well, give it twice the effort.
Develop New "Acquaintances"
It's not only "who you know."
It's who you will take the trouble to meet from now on.
So create a new network. A better network.
If the places you've been going, the people you've been hanging out with, haven't been supporting your goals and objectives to get where you want to go in your life and your career, it might be time to add a new friend or two to the group.
One way to do this, easily, is to get new names, and names of new social organizations, from people you already know. Branch out, just as a tree does. Grow a new branch from one which already exists.
And if you need or want to make a clean break, join new groups. Attend a different church of your denomination. Go to groups as a guest of your friends. Network there, too.
