I love Gail Collins, Charles Blow, Frank Bruni, Paul Krugman, Nicholas Kristoff, Brett Stephens, Tom Friedman, the Editorial Board, the sports section, Arts and Leisure, Real Estate; I could go on. You get the point. Mostly, I admire the integrity of the paper. And that it’s so well written.
But.
There has been a too-frequent gap in quality when it comes to career/employment reporting. This usually happens at the worst possible times – in times of economic dislocation, unemployment, and fear. I’ve personally witnessed these gaps during the 1982 recession, the 1987 stock market crash, the 1991 real estate crash, the 2000 dotcom crash, the 2008/9 economic meltdown, and now, the 2020 pandemic.
Mostly, The Times has reacted with what I think of as hysteria when it comes to employment issues. Frequently inaccurate, misleading, and damaging. The latest was a major front page piece a few days ago, in which the reporter did what many have done in the past – cherrypicked a few people who have had a rough time during the past couple of months, and then globalized those experiences. The conclusions drawn, basically that everything is melting down for everyone, are simply not true. It’s not the case that it’s impossible get or keep a job across the board, or that people are not able to get interviews, let alone jobs, to name a few of the negative conclusions presented.
I remember vividly, in 2008/9, several Times articles repeatedly saying that if people were out of work for long periods of time it would be nearly impossible for them to get a new job, and that they were somehow permanently stigmatized. The only word that comes to mind when I read such pieces is… nonsense. A well-prepared, positive, and non-defensive explanation regarding those time periods is what job seekers need. I’ve rarely met anyone who’s encountered this as a major stumbling block when they’re well-prepared with a response to questions about the period of unemployment. This whole negative way of thinking about periods of unemployment strikes me as very 1950’s.
Yes, there are certain professional areas that have become catastrophic recently, especially hospitality/tourism. And a few others. I recently had a client in a group who announced that he couldn’t possibly find any job in his discipline (hospitality) and at his level (very senior). By the end of the group meetings, he realized that there were alternatives in which he could utilize his considerable skills and experience. There were even alternatives for investment bankers in 2008! But, if those people paid too much attention to The Times’ estimate of their chances, they might have given up.
These articles, because of the trust so many readers have in The Times, can easily derail a search – and have. After all, The Times said so! Unfortunately, the material in these articles is so frequently inaccurate. I have rarely met in my private, corporate, or business school practices any client for whom there wasn’t a solution to a difficult employment period.
The big difference in technique this time is the ability to intelligently use Zoom/Skype/FaceTime as a primary interaction method.
As a matter of fact, I think that this moment is an ideal time to be doing a search. Maybe a combination of “don’t let a crisis go to waste” and get ahead of the competition. Since others believe that there are no jobs available, they drop out. The proactive job seekers see opportunity when others disappear from the market. They can see that chances increase, that it’s easier to get networking meetings, and that in fact there might be less competition for available jobs (but certainly not through postings).
Many of my clients have done well during this period, often landing new situations by never having physically met anyone at their new jobs – and starting the jobs the same way, virtually. They do have one major thing in common, which is that all the bad and frightening news of the past few months has not changed their drive to get the new job. They’ve adjusted to changing markets, changing emphases in their professional areas, and new virtual search techniques.
I’m not saying you should ignore articles in The Times about career transition. Just be careful to not believe everything you read. Read elsewhere, too. Actually, I’ll take this opportunity to suggest you might want to carefully read articles on a daily basis on LinkedIn! You’ll get better information, in general, from people who are directly engaged in career management, and from other news sources as well.
Time to get going!
Making Relationship-Building More Effective for a Successful Job Search: Six Pitfalls to Avoid
There are two common comments that students and clients will commonly present to me in a first meeting about a job search, and these comments will immediately let me know what’s wrong. The first is “I’ve sent out at least 1,000 resumes, and am not getting any interviews.” Of course, that one’s easy to explain. The job seeker is depending on non-targeted, passive search methodology which simply won’t work 99% of the time. Success here is equivalent to incredible good luck with very low odds.
The second, and the topic for this piece, is “I’ve met with at least 40 people so far in trying to build an effective network, and it’s not working. I feel like I’m spinning wheels.” Or, “I’ve met with a bunch of people, and have really enjoyed it – but nothing’s happening.”
I’ve learned that there can be at least six possible reasons why the networking might not be working.
1) Not enough discipline and consistency.
Are you approaching your search in high-activity blasts or are you moving it along with a consistent pace? If you’re working full-time, then that means that you should aim for at least one live meeting a week, and should do something job-search related every day of the workweek, even if it means only 15-20 minutes daily. That would include research, record-keeping (essential), email writing, following up.
If you’re not working full-time, your goal should be 4-5 meetings a week, with every other aspect mentioned above amped up significantly. Job search is a full-time job.
Time off is ok for mental health during what is always a difficult effort, but not for long periods, i.e., the period between Thanksgiving and New Years Day or summer. A loss of momentum will make the search much longer overall, and any good relationships that have been started will lose impact. Trying to restart an interrupted search is difficult and frequently demoralizing. Keep it going as part of a regular, structured schedule.
2) Not meeting the “right” people.
Who are these “right people?” Relationship-building efforts are usually built around peers, at least at the beginning. This is great for getting good information, finding out about markets, penetrating organizations that interest you, and getting some affirmation that the target is a good one. Over time, meeting peers can be a major wheel-spinner. Why?
Peers are usually not the decision makers.
After building a peer-based network, the goal should be to get those contacts to introduce you to others, who can get you to decision-makers. That’s a major objective.
3) Not structuring a networking meeting.
This is where those in career transition may get lost. A meeting is not about having just a pleasant chat, and then hoping that things will just move in the direction you want.
The answer to this problem is simple, which is to structure the meeting with questions. There are three basic types of questions that should be utilized.
First, the personal connection. This is the “chat” part, the small talk, the possible exploration of the other person’s career. The humanizing aspect that can make you memorable. It’s always a good idea to ask “So how did you get to this place in your career?” It appeals to ego, gets the other person talking, and…you might find some possible new ideas for yourself.
Second, and this is the bulk of the questioning, information and advice questions. Information questions are designed to demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about, and have done your homework. These are going to be questions oriented towards what the organization does and what you’ve learned about them. Advice questions are personal, about what they may perceive about your potential market, about how they think you might fit into that market, and suggestions about how you might best position yourself. Of course, you never would ask for a job, because that would put them and you in an awkward position, with a low odds chance for actually uncovering something at that moment.
Third, and at the very end of a conversation, building your network. This could be in the form of “Would you suggest anyone I speak with, in the same manner we’re speaking today?” or “I have a list of organizations I’m interested in; what do you think of the list?” With the latter question, it’s a direct cue to get the person to think specifically about those companies – and whom he/she might know there, but without putting them on the spot.
If you can hit one of these three benchmarks, you’ve had a successful meeting. If more, you’ve had a great one. But it won’t work because of…
4) Not following up (the key ingredient).
One meeting won’t accomplish much. Your goal is to create a relationship over time, so that when your contact hears of a possible situation, they think of YOU. Of the six pitfalls of networking, this is the key one, in my estimation.
Follow ups include the thank you email immediate after the meeting. This is not just a perfunctory thank you or plain etiquette; it’s a thank you, plus a recap of what you discussed – as a reminder of who/what you are. Your branding. Maybe you could add something that you didn’t get to discuss.
Another subsequent follow up could be a second thank you if you’ve made contact with a referral from that person.
Yet another could be a quick question.
Even another could be an article you have read that might be of interest to your contact.
Basically, this is sales technique, a method for keeping in touch with someone over a period of time, and keeping your name out there. You won’t do this with everyone because not everyone will be supportive or helpful or particularly responsive.
5) Not listening.
Active listening in all meetings is important. One of the critical aspects of building new relationships is to hear opinions and experiences – both of which could give you new ideas. Sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of going on automatic when either meeting new people or even on job interviews. You’ve got your pitch down, your stories ready, your answers to difficult questions all queued up.
It’s important to be flexible, and be able to think and improvise a bit. You want to be responsive to what the person is saying and adjust accordingly. Sometimes, an opinion or experience can totally shift the direction of the conversation - and the search.
6) Not handling the search like the sales situation that it truly is.
This is the psychological part. There is always a significant amount of rejection in transition. There is also too much bad advice and bad behavior, which has to be sifted carefully, not to mention the negative advice. Make sure that your decisions are based on several opinions, and not just one or two.
How to deal with rejection? Or the sense that you’re feeling as though you’re walking around with hat in hand asking for handouts? You must internalize the notion that all of this relationship building is a business proposition, on both sides. There’s just as much in it for them as there is for you. Hard to realize that, right? Smart professional people understand that the more people they know, the better. Even the incredibly busy ones.
Very few of my clients and students actually enjoy networking. Only the true mega-extraverts do. The skill can be learned, and even end up being somewhat comfortable. As the numbers will always show, it’s statistically the highest chance for success, by far, of all job search methodologies.
Career Transition Mythology - Part Two
The more I think about it, the more career transition myths I come up with, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll keep it to ten – for now. Here are five more to add to the previous list:
1) The myth: If you have a terrific interview, with instantaneous great feedback, the odds are good that you’ll get an offer.
The reality: Think of the interview as just the first part of a process. What happens after the interview is almost as important as the interview itself.
A follow-up email is imperative, within 24 hours. It’s not a matter of etiquette. It’s about marketing, and about solidifying the points you made on the interview. You want to reiterate why you think the position is a great fit (“fit” being one of my favorite job search words). You may want to add something that you may have not had the opportunity to include in the interview. You know how you sometimes leave an interview and all of a sudden realize that you left out a critical element? The follow-up email is the opportunity to fix that.
Keep the email short and business-like, with short paragraphs, or perhaps bullet points. Make it easy to scan, like all business communications. Reiterate your interest in the position.
Another follow-up element is staying in touch. Never let more than five to ten business days elapse without some sort of contact. It should be a low-key voicemail or email, just “checking in” on the status of your candidacy. Maybe if the process drags out (more common than not), you offer to come in again to make their process easier. Maybe that sounds a bit presumptuous, but I think it’s a “why not?” if the process is lagging. Nothing to lose!
2)The myth: Spending a couple of hours a day calling contacts and answering postings should just about do it for allocating time to any job search.
The reality: Time management and prioritization are critical elements of a successful career transition. For the unemployed, it’s a full-time job. Research, building and maintaining a contact database, maintaining accurate records of all activities, reaching out, and aiming for as many as five live meetings a week should create an extremely busy schedule. A truly proactive search is time-consuming.
For employed people, it’s tougher. I highly recommend a quota system for those on a search, i.e., a certain amount of dedicated time per day. Even if it’s just 15 minutes of reading about a targeted area, that’s part of the process. The key is to maintain momentum by aiming for some time every day, whether it’s reading or making a phone call, or trying to get one live meeting per week.
3) The myth: “Networking” means calling everyone you know, and asking for job leads and new contacts.
The reality: Real networking is a process. It’s not a quick introduction, or one meeting. As with sophisticated sales technique, it’s cultivating relationships – over a period of time. It’s also more subtle than just asking friends for leads. Another label for the concept is “indirect marketing.”
Each meeting should have three objectives, which is a good way to measure its effectiveness.
- First, the relationship itself is key; so is maintaining it after the initial contact.
- Second, the meeting should be structured around prepared questions that both reflect your knowledge of the industry, and the self-marketing questions you wanted to ask in the first place.
- Third, what you may have thought the whole thing was about, a chance to expand your network by asking if there’s a possibility of referrals to others who might be helpful.
4) The myth: A great 15-second “elevator pitch” is critical to your success in any career transition.
The reality: The very idea of a 15-second pitch strikes me as ridiculous. Yes, it might be appropriate for that elevator, but who wants to be pitched on an elevator? It also might work well at a social or professional gathering, since you don’t want to corner anyone with a full pitch. Your objective there, after all, is just to get some business cards for future reaching out.
A pitch is a 1 ½ - 2-minute summary of who you are, what your skills and experience have been, something memorable that makes you different from others, a one-sentence job history, and a summary of all of it to cement what you’ve already stated.
A great pitch is one of the hardest aspects in transition and one of the more critical. It’s not only imperative for the “tell me about yourself” question on an interview, but it’s also a great introduction in a networking meeting, a way of establishing yourself on a new job, a good outline for scripting your approach and follow-up emails. In other words, it’s your brand, and you want to use it as the cornerstone of your transition.
5) The myth: Cast a wide net in your search. Apply for everything. Talk with everyone. The numbers are bound to work in your favor.
The reality: Designating clearly defined targets (Plan A, Plan B, and maybe even Plan C) is the critical first phase of any transition. It’s not necessarily what’s available out there; it’s what you want, and what is feasible.
After figuring out what the possible targets will be, it’s important to then research what their markets are. If it’s a target which may have only two or three organizations that might hire into those positions, it’s not a great statistical target – unless the other(s) have more possibilities. Overall, you want a high probability of success, contingent on a large number of possible options in the target.
An unfocused search might work, just by sheer randomness – but not that often. A targeted search will work faster and better, assuming you’ve performed a basic due diligence on the feasibility of those targets first.
Here’s a good philosophy to stick to: The best work situation is one where someone in career transition looks for what fits his/her life, rather than fitting the life to the career. This will add to the necessary focus.
Avoiding these myths will help keep any career transition on track.
Ellis
For a quick course on networking, pick up my Ebook, Networking: How to Make the Connections You Need
If you're looking for more in-depth advice on your job search, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work is available in paperback and Ebook.