1st Steps In The Hunt: Daily News For Job Hunters and Recruiters

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Go For It!

January 21, 2002

After weeks (or months!) of frustrating Jobhunting, I'm sure you're in no mood for glib responses to The Fundamental Question: How Do I Get A Job?

The answer is easy, though executing the strategy isn't. It takes courage, determination, and the ability to really push yourself and your agenda. When someone tells you, "No, I don't have anything available at my firm." you shouldn't accept 'No' as an answer. Fine, they don't have any openings for you. Do they know of someone who does, or might be a good contact for you anyway?

Employers (read Hiring Managers) within an industry are birds of a feather - they will have their own networks of professional contacts. Every time you talk to, meet with, and Interview a Hiring Manager you should have a secondary goal other than landing this particular Job. That goal is accessing at least one person in the Hiring Manager's Network. And you accomplish this by asking them, directly.

Most Employees get their Jobs through Networking consistently, effectively, and over a substantial period of time. They built their work relationships to the level that they weren't afraid to call upon these acquaintances when they needed them to find a new Job, and use them as references to access Hiring Managers at their target companies.

Even more importantly, successful Jobhunters Ask For The Job They Want. Friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and Employers can't read your mind - you have to tell them what you want. I've talked to hundreds of Jobhunters that got depressed after getting a handful of rejection letters, which is a natural reaction. It is even more difficult to call Hiring Managers directly to ask for an Interview - the rejection is immediate and more personal. However, the direct approach by phone is also more likely to succeed - the Hiring Manager is hard pressed to turn down someone's live, eager request for an Interview (and the Job!).

Resumes are easy to ignore - their feelings don't get hurt. If you have referenced your way in to a conversation with the Hiring Manager, then you'll have a decent chance to sell them on your abilities and suitability for the Job. If you have simply accessed the Hiring Manager by hook or by crook, you'll probably only have a minute or two to make your case - all you're trying to achieve with this method is to earn an Interview.

The bottom line? It's your life, and if you want this to be your Job, you've got to seize it.