Here are step-by-step instructions on using networking as a strategy in your job search.

1. Get your goal in focus. Decide what you want to do and where you want to do
it. Use earlier checklists to identify key skills and potential employers.

2. Prepare a contact list. Include anyone who might have some information about
your field. Think broadly.

3. Contact your connections. Meet with them to explain your goals, share your
resume, and ask for advice and for referrals to others who might be able to help.

4. Follow up. Pursue any information, other contacts, and potential opportunities
you learn about from your contacts. Make sure that you keep in touch with them by
following up on leads and checking in for new information.

5. Say thank you. Be sure to formally thank all the people with whom you meet.
Reciprocate by sharing information they might find useful.

6. Attend programs and events. Participate in all networking programs and services
available through professional trade associations, alumni groups, and other
membership organizations.

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Myth #1: The help-wanted ads are the best way to find a job.

False. Current statistics estimate that 60 percent of all new jobs are found through
either networking or the Internet.

Myth #2: A headhunter will find me a job.

Wrong again. Headhunters (or recruiters) work for the companies who pay them to
find the best candidates for a job. While a headhunter may help you find a job,
recruiters will always tell you that they work for the client companies who pay their
fees.

Myth #3: The best place to send resumes is the human resources department.

Also wrong. Human resources departments are usually in the business of screening
out candidates or collecting resumes to pass along to the hiring manager. The best
way to make contact with a potential employer is to go directly to the hiring manager
whenever possible.

Myth #4: It’s who you know that matters most.

Yes and no. While it is true that many jobs are filled through word of mouth and
referrals, what you know still matters as well. You can have the greatest connections
in the world, but if you don’t have the skills to back you up, you could still end up
on the wrong side of the employment equation.

Myth #5: There are no good jobs for people over 50.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Without denying the reality of age discrimination in the
workplace, it’s important to realize that there are many people over 50 who are still
able to land great new jobs. Before you leap to the ageism conclusion, make sure
that you have really honed your marketable skills and can sell potential employers
on your qualifications and experience.

Myth #6: You’ll never get a good job without a college degree.

Also false. While it definitely helps to have a college pedigree to your name, it’s
your job to persuade employers that your practical experience makes you the most
valuable candidate. Before you talk yourself into despair over your lack of an education,
make sure that you are doing your part to convince employers that you have
the smarts and skills to do the work they need done.

Myth #7: The more resumes you send out, the more likely it is that you will be successful in your job search.

Extremely doubtful. Most research indicates that targeted mailings are more effective
than mass mailings when it comes to generating job leads and offers. By taking
the time to do some quality research, target employers who can really use your experience,
and generate good referrals, you are more likely to advance your job search
cause in all of the right ways.

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Finding an employment agency that is both reputable and useful to you in your job
search requires some skill and persistence. Before you sign up for an agency’s services,
you need to ask some or all of the following questions:

✔ Does the agency specialize in any specific industry or area?

✔ What kinds of people do they prefer to work with?

✔ Who pays their fee?

✔ Does the job hunter need to sign an exclusive contract with them?

✔ Do they provide resume writing assistance?

✔ Do they coach candidates to be effective interviewees?

✔ Do they have job orders that match your qualifications and experience?

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Executive recruiters can provide valuable job search assistance to professionals and executives,
assuming you can find the right person for the job. Some of the things you need to
know to make this relationship work:

1. Recruiters work for client companies rather than individuals, which means that you
can’t expect them to assume too much responsibility for your job search campaign.
However, they do have access to bona fide job listings and are also rich in contacts,
so it makes sense, whenever possible, to add a recruiter’s name to your network of
contacts.

2. Networking is usually the best way to get connected to a recruiter. Ask your friends
and colleagues to recommend recruiters that they have worked with in the past. A
recommendation from someone who is currently one of the recruiter’s clients is akin
to a magic bullet. It usually hits its mark early and often.

3. You can use The Directory of Executive Recruiters to identify recruiters who specialize
in your field, industry, or job function. Rather than blanketing the recruiter marketplace
with unsolicited resumes, selectively contact those people who work in your
target market.

4. Some recruiters suggest that candidates telephone first before sending their resumes;
other prefer to see your resume first before having any telephone discussions. Given
the variation in their preferences, you’ll probably need to work by trial and error to
determine which approach is most effective for you.

5. Offer the recruiter a quid pro quo. Pass along information, refer them to potential
client companies, and recommend other job hunters (who may be good candidates
for different positions) in order to motivate the recruiter to want to help you in
return.

6. Follow up resumes with telephone calls. If possible, try to get the recruiter to meet
with you face-to-face as well. It’s always better to be able to distinguish yourself with
an in-person meeting.

7. Don’t expect a recruiter to get you a job or get mad at them because haven’t sent
you out on enough interviews. They don’t owe you a job, and because you haven’t
paid them a fee, you aren’t entitled to any specific service. If they can help you, it’s
usually because they are working on an assignment for which you really are the best
candidate. And if they don’t help, more often than not it’s because they don’t think
that you’re the right candidate for the assignments that they are trying to fill. To
them, it’s not personal—it’s just business.

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Career fairs are an excellent place to meet new employers and interview for possible jobs.
But you need to do more than make 20 copies of your resume and have your business
suit cleaned and pressed. You also need a game plan.

✔ Make sure that your resume is well-written and error-free. Generally speaking, you
will want to print out copies (rather than use photocopies) because the quality will
be better.

✔ Read the career fair handout in advance to figure out which companies will be represented.
If possible, do some advance research on those companies so that you can
present yourself intelligently.

✔ Focus on three to five companies that really interest you (rather than trying to cover
the universe of employers). Try to engage the recruiters in an intelligent conversation
about their company goals and priorities.

✔ Prepare a 30-second “elevator speech” to use with recruiters. Basically, this is a
succinct introduction of who you are, what you know how to do, and why you are
interested in them.

✔ When you give recruiters your resume, ask them what the next step in the process
will be. Also, get their business card so that you can follow up with them if, for
some reason, they neglect to follow up with you.

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Many people are used to being “plugged in” 24/7. But when you communicate with
potential employers, you may want to think through your options carefully before deciding
what numbers to give out on your resume and cover letters.

1. If you work a traditional 9-to-5 job, it may be most convenient for you to use your
office phone number as your primary contact (assuming that your employer doesn’t
monitor your calls and that you’ll have enough privacy to respond to a call from a
prospective employer).

2. If it’s too risky for you to use your office phone, cell phones are another option. If
so, give some careful thought to how and when you normally use your cell phone,
because you certainly don’t want your seatmate on the train or the kid behind the
Starbucks counter listening to your phone calls with prospective employers.

3. If you decide to use your home phone number as a primary contact, make sure that
your phone message sounds professional rather than cute or overly friendly. (I’m
still recovering from the woman who sang opera arias with her husband on their
answering machine.)

4. If you share your home with other people (especially children), they will need to be
instructed to answer the phone courteously and to always take messages.

5. E-mail offers another expedient way to communicate with employers. It is usually
prudent, for the sake of privacy, to use your personal e-mail account rather than an
office address.

6. Take the time to create a new e-mail address that reflects your professionalism.
Potential employers don’t need to know about the sexual preferences, drinking
habits, or favorite hobbies that are often reflected in personal e-mail addresses.

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Sooner or later, almost every job hunter turns to the want ads hoping for an easy way to
find the job of their dreams. Knowing how and when to use advertised listings is an
important part of your job search.

1. Identify the newspapers, magazines, and trade publications that are most likely to
advertise the kinds of positions that you are looking for.

2. Read the entire classified section from two or three past issues to get a feeling for
how the information is organized.

3. Make a list of the job titles and section headings that are most appropriate for you
and make sure that you check those job titles and section headings each and every
time you read the ads.

4. Cut out or make copies of the ads that you want to respond to.

5. Review the ad carefully before responding. What qualifications are required? What
are your greatest strengths and selling points? How do they prefer to receive
responses? Remember to take your lead from their cues—if they say “No phone
calls!”, that means no phone calls.

6. If the ad requests that candidates send resumes, write a strong cover letter to send
along with your resume. In your letter, stick as closely as you can to the language
and information that is highlighted in the ad.

7. Make sure that you include an address, telephone number, and e-mail address
where you can be reached.

8. If you haven’t heard back from the employer after one week, follow up your letter
and resume with a telephone call. In that conversation, confirm that your resume
has been received, discuss your qualifications, and request an interview. FYI: Some
employment experts estimate that follow-up phone calls increase the likelihood of
getting an interview by 25 percent or more.

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A good job search plan is like a diversified portfolio: You need to have lots of different
strategies and techniques to identify, create, and land a position. The following overview
will help you understand the plethora of options available to you.

1. Answering help-wanted ads in local newspapers, professional association
newsletters, and trade or professional journals: Although this strategy
has limited effectiveness (more than 80 percent of job openings are never advertised),
you don’t want to overlook the obvious.

2. Contacting employment agencies and placement services: The good
news about employment agencies and placement services is that they do have job
positions that they are trying to fill. But their services come with a possible buyerbeware
sign. Make sure that you work with a firm that has a good reputation and
that you understand the terms of their contract before you sign any agreement with
them.

3. Connecting with executive recruiters, who work the high end of the
job market: Stated differently, executive recruiters work with professionals and
mid- to senior-level management executives who are interested in landing new jobs.

4. Registering with database placement services/networks: These services
are relative newcomers to the employment market. They offer you the option to post
your resume online or send it into a national service, and employers then pay to
review your resume. While they have the advantage of convenience, they have the
disadvantage of a tight job market where employers are less likely to pay to review
applicant resumes.

5. Joining professional associations: Associations can have several potential benefits
available to their job-hunting members, including membership directories (for
networking purposes), networking meetings, and job banks or listings.

6. Enlisting the assistance of career planning and placement services:
Students and alumni of many colleges and universities can avail themselves of job
and career fairs, on-campus interviews, and alumni directories.

7. Sending out targeted mailings to organizations and employers of interest
in specific fields, industries, and geographic areas: This strategy
works most effectively when you target a specific person by name rather than relying
on mass mailings or cold calls.

8. Applying directly to employers: You can find job openings through company
Web sites or human resources offices.

9. Developing a list of referrals through networking sources and conducting
informational or exploratory interviews: Informational interviews can
help you learn more about the employer and its needs.

10. Parlaying part-time, temporary, and contract positions into permanent
full-time opportunities: Companies sometimes use temp-to-hire and other such
positions to employ workers on a trial basis. These positions are a good way to see
if the company is a good fit for you as well.

11. Employing yourself: If you can’t find the job of your dreams, you can work on
creating that job for yourself through creative self-employment.

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