Last week my daughter returned home from marching band practice frustrated by the behavior of a fellow color guard member. Apparently this member is notorious for forgetting her water bottle and then asking my daughter for drinks from hers. What's wrong with this you may ask? Well, we live on the Gulf Coast where it is still hot and humid through October. During band practice, water breaks are short so members are reminded to fill their bottles before practice and keep them close by for quick access during these breaks. Forgetting your water bottle can be quite catastrophic in such heat and requests to share water are highly frowned upon by fellow band members who desperately need to ration their own water.
Related: Networking Event Coming Up? Put Your Best Brand Forward
My daughter always agrees to share because, “Well, she is my teammate, I want to be supportive, and she might get dehydrated." She then disclosed that this teammate is notorious for asking to share school lunch items as well. After ruling out possible financial or family issues for this behavior, I concluded that she is simply failing to be responsible and relies too heavily on her teammates to help her out. Unfortunately, she also fails to return these favors, others are beginning to avoid her, and her teammates have branded her as, well, a freeloader.
This story is a perfect example of the importance of both giving and taking when building strong, genuine relationships. And, when it comes to building your professional network, relationships are key. So, if you have become “that" person; the one whom everyone is avoiding and no one wants to help out, it's time to review the following list. If you recognize any of these behaviors in yourself, it's quite possible that you too, might just be a freeloader.
You have failed to build genuine professional relationships.
This is the key to building a network! In order for others to recommend you, refer you or help you out professionally, it is imperative that you first create a genuine relationship with them. Show an interest in them, their work and their needs first. Become their ally by offering to assist them. Collaborate on projects, share ideas and interests with them and demonstrate your skill specialties in these interactions. This is how you build strong, genuine professional relationships that turn into lifelong alliances.
You have asked for favors from professionals you have just met.
Not only is this very forward and rude, but it will brand you as selfish and unprofessional. Remember, networking starts with getting to know a professional first, then offering your assistance before asking for anything in return.
You have failed to provide professional assistance to others.
Part of any genuine relationship is the willingness to provide assistance without an expectation of getting something in return. Always focus on how you can contribute to others first and how you can contribute to your shared interests with them. This will give you the opportunity to demonstrate your skill specialties and show others what you can bring to the professional world. You will never go wrong by taking initiative in a professional relationship.
You have asked for a favor from another professional without offering to return one.
Never fail to offer assistance in return for asking for it. This is the true meaning of give and take among genuine professional relationships. And, it will remind others that you appreciate their time and efforts when helping you out. Your attempts to build relationships by taking and not giving will quickly brand you a freeloader and stall any attempt to build professional relationships.
You have failed to return a favor to a professional who has provided you one.
This mistake is the number one way to get you branded a freeloader. The more times you fail to return a favor, the quicker you will lose out on a strong professional relationship, others will avoid you and you will fail to form important alliances.
So, this is the list. Do you recognize any of these behaviors in yourself? Or, do you recognize these behaviors in someone else? If so, pay attention to this list, develop a plan to eliminate these behaviors, and begin to build stronger, more genuine professional relationships that will form lifelong alliances.
Do you need assistance with building your network? Check out these mini courses, work with me and #workitdaily.Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a Work It Daily-approved expert.
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
Bigstock
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
Bigstock
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
Bigstock
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!
Need more help with your job search?
Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Bigstock
Bigstock
Bigstock
