What is your hook when you network? 






I had a session on Friday and we talked about value statements or brand statements.  What statement do you make about what you do when you network?

Does it stick. leave a lasting impression?  Does your brand have a simple statement that makes people take notice, makes people want to know more, stays with them after you have left the room? 

This is critical, folks.  You have to develop your brand statement, the concept or idea that makes you different and valuable.

More and more people I meet struggle with this.  Let me show you the evolution of my brand statement.  I used to tell people that I help people find jobs.  That was too passive.  That evolved into, I find people jobs.  That was only part of what I do and made me sound like a recruiter or headhunter.  I went through several different statements and tested them out.  I wanted to see if people remembered what I said I did for a living.  I wanted to see if people remembered me.  None of my statements were sticky enough. 

What I neglected to think about was my end game.  What did I want from my brand statement.  Did I want a job?  Nope.  Did I want recognition?  Not really.  I wanted referrals.  After all, everyone knows someone out of work..  I wanted to make a statement that had impact and created intrigue.  Eureka! 

I GET PEOPLE HIRED is my brand statement.  It sounds like I GET PEOPLE FIRED, not an accident.  People light up when they hear my brand statement; it catches them by surprise.  They think about it and they ask questions, lots of questions. 

It isn't a sexy statement, it isn't slick or eloquent but it is a tool.  It gives me a platform to discuss my business and methodologies.  It makes me The Guy regarding job stuff.  It sticks.

What is your brand statement?

Keyword loading your resume 

You know those fancy black holes you send your resumes to?  They're called applicant management systems and they search for keywords in your resume that match open jobs. It makes sense to pump  your resume with a string of tags, keywords.   But, how you input your keywords can really hurt your chances of getting a call. 

You heard from someone that you need to put a lot of "keywords" in your resume, right?  So, you pack the top of your resume with all of these strong and relevant words that will surely make your resume a standout.  But, you're still not getting any bites.  What the what?!

Designing your resume for a piece of sifting software is a big mistake.  At some point your resume will be read by an actual human being if it passes the electronic gate keeper.  Do hiring managers have the time to read and process all of your keywords?  Nope.  A load of keywords at the top of your resume will often be overlooked, hurting your chances of making it to a phone interview.  Over 90% of the resumes I see that keyword load display their keyword in a Summary of Qualifications or Strengths section.  Very bad.

Hiring managers want to see organic references, references that make sense.  They want to see concepts related to their job description.  It's better to push those detached keywords off the top of your resume and lace them through your job entries.  Massage these words and concepts into powerful wins. Doing this correctly will help your chances of getting calls off  of your document.   It takes some time and some effort but it's a big difference maker.  Try it.

Yuck!

When I conduct a session inevitably my clients tell me about all of their intensive networking techniques.  Now, by the time many of these job seekers come to me their search is DOA or what I call,"Extra Crispy".  So, what are these networking efforts that lead to zip, zilch, notta?  It comes down to networking for networking sake.  Strategy is not involved in these efforts.  They hear of a group in their industry and they go...and go....and go.  After fruitless engagements my clients' become totally fried.  They don't know what else to do.  They can't fend off the negative chatter and they wonder, "Am I ever going to get a- job?"

I've written in the past about changing the strategy (see Notworking ).  Today, I want to talk about people that believe that there are no networking opps. for themselves. 

I just finished working with a seasoned retail buying veteran.  Her locale presented little opportunity to network with retailers that could offer her a job.  We identified seven local retailers that could possibly hire her.  She tried networking with hiring managers from each of these companies to no avail. 

One of the ways to avoid an "Extra Crispy Job Search" is to adapt quickly to data.  When your efforts aren't working you need to change, quickly.  It's the only way to shorten the length of your search.  Never fall in love with any one strategy or technique.   Be ready to ditch any efforts that are worthless and search for new ideas.  That's my job with you guys and girls, offering new ideas for your search. 

I always advocate networking with people that can offer employment on the spot vs. underlings who have to check to see...  You need to try to meet the top-level decision makers that can create a position for you if one doesn't currently synch with your expertise.  Don't waste time networking with gate keepers and robots.  Go for the good stuff, top exec.s and department heads. 

We were able to find some pretty interesting background info on five executives from the list of seven retailers, all decision makers.  We knew how and where to access these people and the access points were all non-traditional networking groups (charities, athletic groups, school boards). 

After seven months of banging her head against dead end strategies she finally got something.  It wasn't a full-time job.  It was better.  She was able to convince a CEO that their seasonal buys needed fine-tuning.  He liked what she had to say; her value proposition showed big upside.   After two months of almost full-time consulting the CEO hired my client on as a VP of Merchandising, a job she was not qualified for on paper. 

The details of how she developed this relationship are long but the take away for you is that she was open to changing strategies when her search failed.  She abandoned what wasn't working in favor of trying strategies that were a bit outside her comfort zone but offered the most control. 

If your search efforts are "Extra Crispy" it's time to change course, quickly.  Don't shy away from new strategies no matter how uncomfortable or insane.  Pushing yourself to do different often results in doing more and doing better.

JOBS JOBS JOBS

Below is a Q&A with Rob Mason, CEO of The Job Pro sites (the links to these sites are on the right side of my blog).   Rob and I have been friends for years and colleagues for the last five years.  I oversee career services (career coaching and resume services) for Rob's company. 

Q&A with Rob Mason

CareerKungfu: Rob, tell me a little bit about your foray into the world of job search.

Rob: As you know I am a producer by trade.  The employment landscape was far away on my radar.  It wasn't until I was out of work and not getting many bites that I became interested in how people find jobs and how employers find talent.  Look, I needed to pay my rent and the phones weren't ringing with job offers.  I never had to really look for work before and I knew loads of other people were in the same boat.  I decided to finance my life for a while and embark on a little research expedition that I hoped to turn into a documentary on this critical topic, job search.

C: How did you go from documentary film maker to job search guru?

R: I am far from a guru; that's your role. 

Along the way in my research efforts I learned about how employers found talent, what resources worked for them and what were a waste.  I heard hundreds of stories from people out of work that really touched and inspired me.  Over time I started to realize that the way these job seekers looked for work was diametrically opposed to the way most of the employers I interviewed found and hired talent.  I figured something out that was really important and I wanted to share that information.  Alas, the documentary was shelved in favor of a new and important business venture.

C: You saw a business in helping job seekers understand how to find jobs the proper way?

R:  No, not entirely.  People want jobs now.  They don't want a lecture; they want jobs.  I envisioned a business where we could act as the agent for job seekers instead of employers.  After a year of research I started to understand how to unlock the hidden job market.  I developed a formula for finding jobs that weren't advertised or were advertised in ways that you would need to be an insider to find. 

C:  People always ask me what your sites are.  Are they job boards or search firms?

R: I get that a lot, too.  I wanted to create something different and valuable for job seekers. The service is what I call a "Career-Matching" service.  When someone joins our service they give us job search details that are key for their search like location, job titles, industry, compensation, etc.  We then reach out to a vast network of employers to find the jobs our members need.  These employers are excited to work with us and let us know about jobs that are opening soon or jobs that are newly opened.  Members of our service are typically skilled professionals; employers love that.  They know that they are getting great talent from us.  We are the only service on the net that does this and we love it.

C: So, you reach out to employers for every member of your service?

R: Yes!  It's a lot of work but we have increased our search staff this year to meet the demands of our members. 

C: Talk to me about some of the misconceptions of job search in 2010.

R: I talk to a lot of people that are resigned to the idea that there are no jobs out there.  You and I talk about the mental aspects of job search.  Once you buy into an idea that disables your job search you're done.  You cannot give up!  There are jobs out there, loads of jobs with great companies.  Certainly, there are less job openings in most industries than there were in 2007 but there are jobs.  Plus, it's easier to stand out.  It's easier to find a great job if you really hustle.  You talk about this a lot.  People forgot how to hustle in the past few years.

C:  You say it's easier to find a job now.  What are the ingredients job seekers need to find a great job?

R: Let's look at the competition.  Just about every job seeker wakes up in the morning and hits the job boards.  Well, everyone knows that using job boards is a rocky foundation to base your job search on.  Last year only 3% of open jobs were found through job boards.  So, if you think about it, your competition is chasing about 3% of the open jobs.  That leaves a huge pie to dive into.  We built our career matching service to access the hidden job market, about 70% of open jobs that are usually filled through networking and referral.  If you are branding yourself, uncovering those hidden jobs and really showing people face-to-face what you're all about then you're getting job offers.  Most people don't have a plan; they use the worst techniques and wonder why they don't get bites.

C: You're getting fired up.  I like that.  How important is a great resume?

R:  Yes, I get worked up just like someone else I know.  You're worse than me.  I get fired up because there are a lot of bad messages about how to find jobs out there.  I know what it's like to be out of work and stressing about everything.  I know what it's like not to be me because I am freaked out worried about paying my bills.  I know what it's like to lose hope and it sucks.  I want people to treat their job search like a business; I want to help put them back in the driver's seat.  Whoops, you asked me about resumes.  Okay, your resume, as you have told me a million times, is your calling card.  I am amazed at how little effort and energy some people put into their resume.  I am one of the few people at the company not from HR but I can still spot a crappy resume from a mile away.  Look, if I am out of work now I am going to come up with an actual job search plan, make sure my resume is tight and execute.  I know how critical it is to begin your job search with maximum effort and planning for success.  Better to get yourself ready to pull out all the stops up front than look back nine months later and wonder why you don't have a job.  It always surprises me when people tell me that they haven't had any bites for nine months and it hasn't occurred to them that their resume needs a major overhaul.

C: What's next for you and the sites?

R:  We have experienced about 600% growth over the last 24 months.  I am not interested in spreading ourselves too thin.  I don't want this company to become a machine that needs to constantly leverage itself for growth. We are a people business and that always has to be a small business mentality in my eyes.  There has been a little expansion but I am more focused on constantly improving our service and offering our members as much value as we can to shorten their job search and help them find great jobs.

C: Would you consider doing an occasional post about what you see from the job search front?

R:  I thought you'd never ask.  Yes!  I speak with a few hundred employers every month.  They share trends and forecast job growth with me.  I get to learn about what they see from candidates, what works and what doesn't.  I would love to share that inside info.  I think that would be really beneficial to your readers. 

Thanks, Rob!  Keep up the good fight and thank you!  If you have a comment or question for Rob you can comment on this post.  I will forward your queries to him.

Thank you to those of you that shared your stories and beliefs.  We all have things that we use to fuel momentum and drive and things that we use to stall or paralyze us emotionally.  The Truth behind why you are not getting a job post was written in hopes that some of you would share and others would feel less alone.  I also wanted to share my stories as they pertain to your thoughts, stories and beliefs.  I am hoping that successes with my clients that have shared some of your trials will inspire new energy and hope for your search.

Keep your eyes peeled to the Comments on The Truth behind why you are not getting a job.  I will post some comments throughout the week.

Also, next week I will be interviewing a very cool guest, an expert on all things jobs.  This guy knows how and where to find great jobs and he doesn't come from staffing or human resources.  He's a regular guy with an irregular passion for job stuff.  This is a must read interview.

Stay tuned...

  I am a shoe freak....more shoes than any one dude should have.  My wife works for Nike and I am a frequent visitor to the Nike Employee Store.  I do not shy away from statement kicks.  What statement, well, that is always up for interpretation.  A recent purchase has brought more attention than Lohan's release form the slammer.  I didn't realize how loud these shoes were but they seem nuclear powered.  Every time I wear them I get approached and gawked at.  That's fine but the level of attention borders on shocking.  Now, some people loathe these shoes and want to let me know.  "Bro, those shoes are bright, yo!"  I got that comment walking in Hollyweird last week...HOLLYWEIRD.  I shocked the weirdest group of fashionista's/sto's on the planet.  WOW!

On the other hand, the ladies dug them...big time!  They were an ice breaker, a conversation starter.  I have never gotten more attention from strangers. 

When I was a headhunter I worked with some interesting executives with specific taste in clothes.  I always put an emphasis on candidate wardrobe choices.  I wanted my candidates to be dressed like the exec.s they were meeting with.  But, there had to be a twist.  Some candidates thought I was nuts.  I used to have them send me photos of outfits.  Sometimes I even took them shopping with the help of an army of Wilshire Blvd.s finest personal shoppers.  Something they wore needed to be a conversation piece.  That didn't mean they needed to dress over the top like my fluorescent Nike Air Max + 2010's; it could be something subtle. 

We all know how important repoire is.  A simple garment, ring, attache can open casual dialogue putting you at ease as well as the interviewer.  This simple touch cannot be dismissed.  I have seen too many candidates passed on because they missed the opportunity to capture the interviewer's interest.  Everything goes, any edge matters.

How can you gauge what to wear on an interview?  If you know whom you are interviewing check them out on Facebook.  Peep their style and tweak your wardrobe a bit to match their vibe.  Don't forget to add that little extra touch. 

When you go to associations or meetings consider that a forum to get wild.  Whom are you attracted to in a large group?  The guy in the chinos and button-down shirt or the guy in the khaki suit and pink shirt?  You will gravitate to the people wearing interesting, cool duds.  They exude confidence and power.  Hello, intrigue. 

Try it!

You may have an unflappable belief behind why you are not getting jobs.  I'm talking about a gross discrimination; a reason that resonates in your core every single day.  And, no matter what anyone says you believe this truth to be 100% accurate. 

I have heard these recent Truths in my sessions:

Too young
Too old
Wrong school
No school
Too much experience
Not enough experience
I am a woman
I am a minority
Too short
Not sexy enough
Outdated skills
Dead Industry
etc.

I have heard it all; I want to hear from you.  Shock me; I am waiting.

Let me explain.  My lovely wife is, well, different.  She sees things that most of us don't see.  Not so much "dead people" but more like beauty and opportunity in what many might not.

We were in the mall and she stopped by a really cheesy fashion jewelry store.  She asked me what I thought of a really junky silver necklace.  I told her I didn't like it which is like the green light for a purchase.  She told me that I wasn't looking at it right.  A snip here, a knot there, an acid bath and voila, perfection! 

When I tease her about her unique set of glasses she reminds me that I am not so different.  I always ask her to "tweak" her perspective when it comes to employment opportunities.  I want her to see possibility when she embarks on a job search and not jobs defined by a job description.

Several years ago I worked for Italian Fashion Icon, Giorgio Armani.  My boss told me something that I will never forget.  Many of you have heard this before.  She said, "The job is what you make of it".  Boy was she right.  Every job I have had since receiving that sage advice has turned into something so much more than the job description.  My wife recently took a job that changed her career trajectory.  We both saw this opportunity as ripe with possibilities.  As soon as she started she tweaked her job into a position with the straightest line to her ultimate goal.  It's the most rewarding job she has ever had.

Sometimes we get so laser-focused on titles and categories that we miss sight of super opportunities.  A tweak of expectations, a tweak of opportunities can result in big payoffs.  It worked for me; it worked for my wife and even worked for my mother.  Let it work for you.

 

This post was inspired by a comment from my last post.  The point of this post and my story is simple.  If you feel that you are being discriminated against get mad, get creative, get energized, get the job!

Michael, thank you for your comments!

Michael Jenkins wrote:
Start of the commentary is good on info but opinion is not. Why?  Because I have been discriminated against many times after I turned 50.  I have a degree from the University of Texas and just because of an HR manager's (in their 30's) opinion that I can't do the job required does not make it right. Where there is a will there is a way... The Law is simple. YOU CAN NOT DISCRIMINATE for a job. It should be punishable by heavy fines and jail time. This is supposed to be The United States of America folks. Equal Rights...STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS! If you do not you will not have any! May Run for President in 2012.

CareerKungFu wrote:
You are 100% correct.  Proving that you have been discriminated against because of age is very difficult, hard to prove. Therefore, enforcement is tough.  I will say that the majority of HR pros take their job and labor laws very seriously.  It is usually the top brass that send subtle messages about age.  I have seen this happen in many forms.  Human Resources may get an idea of what kind of people get hired at a company by the company's hiring practices.  Nothing is formally said; it's just known.  This isn't just an age thing.  I have had shocking conversations with HR Execs at America's biggest companies.  The prejudices swing from sexual orientation and color to religion and footwear choices.  I had one major Brand pass on me because the CEO thought I was "chubby" and didn't support the image of the company.  He told me this to my face....to my "chubby" face!

Here's the part of my post that I want you to focus on.  I want you to focus on how you can turn their ignorance and your angst into an asset.  I thought after the "chubby" comment that it was going to be fodder for a great story. But more than that I needed a job.  This guy, while a jerk, had a great company with a load of great people.  I thought the better end of the story was to get a job offer from him anyway.  It was my mission, 

I spent time researching his business and finding sales opportunities that they were not taking advantage of.  I sent creative sales strategies to the VP of Sales over a period of 3 months.   The last letter included a request to meet for coffee.  We met, some of the strategies and systems I came up with had expanded their business and represented solid growth.  He wanted to hire me.  I told him that the CEO thought I was too"chubby".  He laughed and  wanted me to come in again.  I met with the CEO; he didn't remember me.  He didn't call me "chubby".  I had not lost a pound but wore some slimming pants.  I had a champion in the VP of Sales and already offered the best audition in bottom line results.  I got the offer.  I ended up not taking the job.  I already accepted a position at another company.  Plus, it was too delicious to remind the CEO that I was the"chubby" kid he passed on.  It may have been childish but it is still one of my favorite stories.

The point is that there are usually ways around roadblocks/prejudices if you can find creative ways to show your value.  You have to use the resentment you have towards discrimination as fuel for your search.  If you don't know what I am talking about then begin at my first blog post and start reading.  This branding stuff works and will bust you through a lot of that silly age stuff.

A colleague forwarded an email that is on regular debate rotation in my world.  

"Age discrimination is being practiced in every HR department, far as I can tell"

That was the entire message in the email.   There was no pretext, explanation or signature.  It was just a raw cannon ball shot to anyone that would listen, empathize, engage.  I get these statements and fragments, these raw emotional volleys in my inbox with sad regularity.  I say sad because these emails are a vent of frustration...and sometimes a baited challenge subconsciously intended to extract some flesh.  Some people just want to mix it up.  They are frustrated job seekers, sweating the days that pass by with no audience, no job and no release.  I get it.  I really do.  Many of us have felt the same things, sent the same emotions to other inboxes feeling powerless and alone.

No challenge (for those that believe they have been discriminated against because of age)

I won't get into this in too much detail.  An argument can be substantiated for just about anything.  So, to argue the validity of rampant age discrimination in a particular job search would be pointless.  If you feel you have been discriminated against because of age then there is nothing I or anybody else will be able to do to change your mind.  Frankly, I don't want to.  If you feel you have been wronged by age discrimination and it pisses you off well, GOOD!  Use that emotion to fuel a new course.

You may be "old" but you don't need crutches

The problem with the age discrimination thing is that it is your problem and not the employers' problem.  You can't use that as a crushing weight holding you back.  You can't use it as an excuse to go into a coma.  Who the hell wants to visit with a guy whose opening line is always, "You know there is a lot of age discrimination out there".  Does that inspire people to want to help?  People want to be around and help people that inspire them. 

A friend and I went through a few different industries on the phone today and talked about age limits on hiring.  The more the industry focused on technical skills the higher the max age limit.  After I hung up the phone I was pretty mad at myself.  I have coached Boomers and beyond into great jobs and new careers.  What was I doing talking about limits?  That is not my bag.  I have seen too many amazing things from too many amazing people.  You can and will inspire people!  You will get a great job and I don't give a shit how old you are.

Do you want it?!

Smash that damn keyboard and go actually meet people in the flesh and share your expertise.  The one thing I loathe about all of this technology is that it makes us all stupid and scared.  We forgot how to be human, be social.  That is not an age thing....that's an everybody thing.  Use that to your advantage.