Job Search Networking

Once upon a time, conducting a job search was relatively straightforward: You'd ask friends and acquaintances if they knew of any openings, peruse the Classified Ads section of the local newspaper, and send resumes along with a nice cover letter.  It was even permissible, if not advisable, to follow up with a telephone call.  No longer.

The marketing of products and services is all about building brand identification.  So, too, is personal marketing, whether you're looking for a job or otherwise advancing your professional career.  Gone are the days when you could rely on just your resume and some good old-fashioned references to get you where you wanted to go.  Today, building

Conventional business wisdom holds that without a comprehensive online strategy, your business is like a shark that stops swimming:  It sinks slowly and lifelessly to the bottom of the sea.  Online presence is critical to commercial success. Interestingly, the same can be said for your job search.  If you don't engage in online networking (e.g.,

With apologies to Mick Jagger, while an informational interview may not get you the job you want, you just might find you get what you need:  Useful, insightful information about a job, a career or an industry;  information that has the potential of yielding both short and long-term benefits, not only with respect to any job search

// // Networking can be the difference between a successful job search and one that remains stagnant. Networking can give you a leg up on your competitors and get you hired faster, even when jobs are scarce and competition is at all-time highs. So how do you turbo charge your networking results to get hired?

You check the newspaper or online listings, see a position that could be great for you, and you apply to it – never to hear from that organization. Does this scenario sound familiar? With fewer jobs in the marketplace, competition is extremely fierce. But if this single, traditional method of finding new employment isn’t working

Whether you're looking for a new job or a different one, for part-time employment, extra income or a complete career makeover, job searching is serious business, one that requires diligence, focus, creativity, drive, ingenuity and imagination.  It also requires you to be honest with yourself.  Honest about your work habits, your strengths and weaknesses, your

The most recent reports show the rate of new hires barely surpasses the rate of job separations. There was a 3.3% increase in new hires offset by 3.2% in employee turnover. So, while there are job openings out there, the situation is basically static. Companies claim they are not creating new jobs and hiring, and that may

Technology has altered the landscape of job searching in many ways.  We're able to access job market information regardless of location and share files/data/information on demand, as needed, without regard to where the prospective employer may be.  There is one component of looking for work that hasn't changed, however:  Networking.  However, the old adage of

Are you shy?  Do you feel awkward in social settings that involve people you don't know, or perhaps even people you do?  If so, then a job search is probably not your favorite project, requiring as it does networking, cold-calling, follow up with strangers and telephone or in-person interviews where you're required to talk about

Job references.  Yes, we know.  We can almost hear you groaning.  Probably because, as much as you dislike having to make the necessary arrangements to get them, you know that it is "difficult" (i.e., virtually impossible) to get a job without good, if not great, job references.   We say "make the necessary arrangements" because there's

"Networking".  It's hard to have a conversation or read an article about how to get ahead in business, how to find a new job, even how to get a child into a prestigious kindergarten (!), without the subject of professional networking being raised.  We're told that career success is built on professional networking which is

Professional networking isn't for amateurs.  Or the faint of heart.  In fact, if mismanaged, your professional networking efforts may actually hinder, rather than advance, your career.   People are often unaware that they are making job search networking mistakes and that's assuming they even know such mistakes are possible. You can engage in various levels of

You feel like you’re stuck in your job, doing the same ol’ same ol’, day in and day out. You were excited when you first started out, upgraded your skills, and advanced in your position. When you needed a change, you changed organizations, met new people, learned new processes. But after years doing the same

The holiday season has commenced!  Thanksgiving is becoming a vague memory,  a tryptophan-obscured day of turkey and football.  Black Friday has been shopped and Cyber Monday is slowly tapering off.  The weeks leading up to New Year's often seem compressed and jam-packed with activity.  Focus on work seems to wane as people plan for family