We recently received the following question from one of our CareerHMO.com members and wanted to share it with our readers.
"In spite of the overwhelming amount of evidence that points to networking as the number one way to get a job, as well as all the free advice out there on how to network properly - most job seekers are doing a miserable job connecting with people that can help them find a new position. Please share the single biggest mistake you have seen a job seeker make networking this year."
We reached out to a community of career experts and asked for their advice and stories. Here are the top three responses:
Mistake: Arriving Late at Events[Advice by Jill C. Pearson | www.pearsonpartnersintl.com]
We always advise our clients to arrive early to networking functions. We had one client in particular who complained that he never got much value from networking events. In further probing, we found out that he consistently arrived toward the end of events, just to "make an appearance." For busy executives, especially when in a transition and actively interviewing, it's tempting to show up at networking events late (especially since so many of them begin at 5:00 or 5:30.) But if you arrive early, even before the event starts, the odds of you getting one-on-one time with a high level speaker or attendee of the event are much greater. Usually the speaker tends to arrive a few minutes before the event starts to get set up. You have a great chance to get some quality time with that person if you're one of only a few people in the room - rather than towards the end of the event when it's crowded and the speaker has likely moved on to another event.
At the next event our client attended, he took our advice and arrived 20 minutes before the event started. Ordering a bottle of water at the bar, he chatted with a man who turned out to be the keynote speaker, an influential CEO in our client's industry. They talked, went to a table and continued their talk, and arranged for a meeting the following week. That's a productive networking event.
Mistake: Not Embracing Focus[Advice by Hillary O'Keefe | www.onwardsearch.com]
I recently heard a story about a professional who suspected his job was being eliminated. With the fear of unemployment looming, he began to carelessly send e-mails to almost all his professional contacts. One e-mail in particular was sent to a contact list and was intended to be a blind-copy message to only a specific group of contacts. Unfortunately for this professional, that wasn't the case. The e-mail arrived in a majority of his contacts inboxes with a fully visible bulk address list. Not only did this reveal the private addresses of numerous C-level decision makers, it undermined his sales efforts by throwing a large portion of his pipeline out into the open. The results were damaging on both personal and professional levels.
The lesson here, and the single most important element of networking that job seekers must embrace, is focus. Successful networking during a job search requires focus, not impersonal or blanket gestures. The strongest, most supportive professional networks are built upon relationships, not just connections. It is impossible to build relationships without focusing on individuals, which includes reaching out to offer help, not just ask for it, as well as demonstrating a interest in them as a person. Treating the members of your network as a collection of contacts is not the way to network successfully.
Mistake: Not Being Clear During Outreach Efforts[Advice by Caroline Ceniza-Levine | www.sixfigurestart.com]
I had a friend in transition, who I absolutely wanted to help, and he contacted me in LinkedIn with the request of: "If you know of anyone I should connect to, please introduce me." That's too vague, and therefore too much work for me!
As a former recruiter I have thousands of connections. Most importantly, it cedes control of the networking strategy away from him and towards me. Instead, he should have looked at my connections, picked specific people he wanted to connect to, written up a compelling introductory note, so all I would need to do is add my personal intro and forward. Don't make your network do the thinking or the legwork for you! Eventually, he did ask for a specific introduction, and I was happy to give that to him. But I wasn't going to do his search for him.
Image from Andy Dean Photography/Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
We recently received the following question from one of our CareerHMO.com members and wanted to share it with our readers.
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