If you don’t understand the interactive nature of networking, now’s the time to learn. To be an effective networker, you need to be willing to serve as a conduit, sharing information, building relationships based on trust and reciprocity, leveraging existing relationships to create new ones, and following through to create ways to stay in touch to continue giving. Remember, networking is a contact sport!
Those who don’t fully understand the process, who use people for information and never build the relationship, or return the favor, give networking a bad name and lose credibility in the eyes of others. Networking is about building trust and respect, not tearing away at it!
Lack of awareness regarding the effectiveness of networking. Most people in a job search spend too much time canvassing the open job market, the market everyone gets to see through job posting boards and recruiters.
NEXT Session: Thursday, October 25th… Implementing Your PMP: Creating waves in your networking efforts! Start with the “low hanging fruit” to develop your skill and confidence.
To “embrace the OTHER job market” is to understand that, if 70+% of actual placements come from personal networking, then 70+% of your job seeking time and efforts should be committed there to optimize your desired result…your next right employment!
Here are some of the illogical ‘excuses’ I hear a lot of…
I don’t want to ask for a favor. Many people think that when you network you’re asking someone for a job. But this is not the goal of networking. When you network, you never ask for a job. You ask for information about an industry, company, or position. (A.I.R. = advice, information, and referral activity!)
Not comfortable talking to people they don’t know. Sixty percent (60%) of the population consider themselves shy. This perception leads to less networking. If the prospect of speaking to someone you don’t know is overwhelming right now, start to build your network by talking with people you do know such as friends, family, neighbors, or your doctor or dentist.
Fear of rejection. Many people fear that if they ask for information the other person might not be willing to talk to them. While it is true that not everyone will agree to meet with you, many people will extend help to you and you have nothing to lose by asking.
If they can lead you to others who can help you gain necessary information for your search, your network will grow in a steady, comfortable way. And at the same time, your confidence and comfort will be growing. And as your confidence grows, “listen” for the anticipated jobs (PRE-requisition) and the opportunities for undefined roles…
Learn to embrace this OTHER Job Market… but the pathway to IT is through your comfort level in identifying and pursuing the unpublished, or hidden marketplace.
Far fewer explore the hidden market; the actual jobs that are never posted, but instead are filled through connections, internal endorsements, and post-interview placements into a better fitting role. The odds of finding a position through the smaller, hidden market are greater than those in the open market.
I want to do it on my own. When you’re selected for a position, it’s because you have the skills to support the needs of the position. You showcase your individual accomplishments and differentiate yourself from the competition. But in order to tell your stories to the right person you need to cast a wide net. You leverage your network to find the right audience, not to get the job.
Uncomfortable talking about yourself. Many of us were raised to be humble and not to brag. Networking and interviewing requires that you talk about yourself and your accomplishments.
Consider the use of the ‘third-person’ when discussing your own merits. When you talk about your skills, you’re not bragging. It’s only bragging if your discussion contains false hyperbole.
Concerns about others knowing your business. Feeling too proud to tell people you’re in a job search? Examine the cause. Have you assumed that networking is asking for a job? Next, examine the consequences. If you fail to incorporate networking as a method of search, it may take you much longer to find a job.
Expecting things to move too quickly. Networking is an ongoing process. Like a child, your network needs time to grow and you need to nurture it along the way. You must pay attention to your network to keep relationships strong. Many contacts are not able to lead you to the person capable of making a hiring decision.
You must constantly “stir the pot” to effectively network. Maintain consistent, and in-sync presentation of all your personal marketing collateral materials within your network… and it will in turn take care of you. Nurture your network, build toward ‘top-of-mind’ awareness of your potential candidacy.
Networking is a primary means of finding and landing that next right employment opportunity. Social Media is an internet phenomenon that has become a very important tool for job seekers to use in their networking efforts. It is an extraordinary method for self-marketing. In fact, I like to call it your “
The “top three” social media sites for job search are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
In order to market yourself, you must first know yourself. The job search process is essentially a highly personalized marketing process. The process starts with your candid self-assessment, which allows you to gain a thorough and workable understanding of who you are in product marketing terms. When a Company looks for qualified employees, they seek functional evidence that demonstrates a job seeker’s ability to perform to expectations… JOB REQUIREMENTS represent the HR screening process!
Especially if you are starting a resume “from scratch”, or if you are truly unsettled on next steps along your career path, this becomes a necessary first step in the process.
In every marketplace, there are buyers and sellers. 
In the OTHER Job Market
Every step in the job search process is aimed at obtaining interviews. It is at that point, a potential hiring manager decides if you are right for the job, and, just as important, it is your time to evaluate whether the job is right for you. Most interviews follow a predictable format, with steps that both the interviewer and applicant follow to decide if both will benefit from working together. The best interviews are ones in which both participants are equal and can have a mutually beneficial, interactive conversation regarding the opportunity at hand.
Think of an interview as the natural extension, the successful result, of your effective networking. Many networking conversations actually become screening interviews, where influential contacts are assessing your qualifications, skill sets and experience relative to an opportunity at hand. “Perfect practice” of the basics builds the confidence necessary to perform well in formal job interviews.
Initial research and the pulling together of your INITIAL contact list are in place to create focus to your efforts… What are the trends in the market that are attractive to you, and which target organizations are most needy of your value proposition? Your evolving contact list will take you through the A-B-C’s of networking and the development of your distribution channels…
A. Start with people you already know or have reason to “should know,” as they are the most likely to be receptive to your initial efforts.
The Careerpilot’s high TECH-HIGH TOUCH philosophy comes into play with the explosive growth of business professionals using social networks to build relationships, meet new contacts, and market themselves. While the Internet provides many choices, diving into the virtual meet-and-greet can represent a real challenge.
A terrific launching site for such an effort is 
While involved in ‘the challenging waters’ of career transition, the same chaotic, jobless, trying times are very productive times. Don’t waste them by floundering with lack of focus and direction, falling into the dark, depressive attitude of distractions and, worst of all, inaction…
So, why not recreate all that with OUR OWN PLAN, a Personal Marketing Plan, to move toward job satisfaction, commitment, and appropriate compensation, for the rest of our careers… including any current, short term job search? But, before looking at what such a Personal Marketing Plan would look like, let’s review the PREPARATION Portion of the 12-step Process Model (on the left).
What YOU Do Best, and are motivated to do for a future employer… What DO you do best? What are your strongest transferable skills? Discovering your “pattern of success and satisfaction” is your goal, here, in 
Look at your “journey” like your own personal marketing LABORATORY—one in which you’ll spend significant time during active job search in order to develop an effective communication strategy and tactics. Be your own best Marketing Department… know the time tested, vital ingredients and components that you will need for your laboratory…
MYCAREERpilot 