Being Digitally Approachable in Your Job Search

 Job searches rely on making lots of great first impressions. And once upon a time you could control your first impressions, by actually being there when they happened. It may surprise you to learn that, a long, long time ago (back when I was 40), humans introduced themselves to one another in person. Face to face, not on Facebook or Facetime.

Those days are long gone.

Today, job seekers make most of their first impressions online. You can’t get through a dinner out with friends without someone pulling out a smart phone to look something up. When I recommend a restaurant, or movie, or a beer, where do you go to check it out? You go online. In the office, when you mention you are looking for a solution to an IT problem, and I recommend my IT vendor, what do you do? Do you leap to the phone to call them … or do you check them out online first?

When you Google your own name, what do you see? There is your first impression. Google is the new business card.

Every time someone refers a candidate to me, I check them out online. If they are on the hunt for their next position, I assume they paid some attention to their digital first impression. And I’m often disappointed.

If you are a business professional about my age, and your LinkedIn profile is bare bones, you are sending the message that you are behind the curve with technology. It is assumed that you either don’t understand it, or perhaps you are afraid of it. Like it or not, that’s your first impression, and it is darn hard to shake. The fact that you have not yet found social media relevant to your work, or that you find it a silly waste of time only confirms the suspicion.  You may think that not having a robust online profile confirms that you are a mature, secure, serious professional who has no time to waste on YouTwitFace. But among people who use Google to form a first impression, rest assured, that’s not what they think.

Conversely, if you are an early career business professional, and your LinkedIn profile is bare bones, it is assumed that you know your way around social networks because you are young, so the absence of a professional profile means you are either lazy or perhaps you just don’t understand how things work in the real world. Not good.

So if your current job is quite secure, and if you have no interest in being contacted about a new job, then by all means, feel free to remain digitally anonymous. Put out a big old “Beware of Dog” sign online. No problemo.

But if you are even thinking of making a first impression with someone who is in a position to help you, like an HR professional, or a headhunter, or someone who is well networked … well then, you would be wise to make yourself more digitally approachable.

How to Network Mutually Beneficially

Networking is likely the route to your next job… It’s more personal than applying on a stark job board, and it may help you find out about opportunities that aren’t openly advertised.

So is networking a good thing? Definitely. But there are ways to do it properly (and effectively) and ways that are just a waste of your time.

Luckily, the experienced Jeff Haden gives us 5 great networking tips. Here are my 3 favorites:

1. Give before you take. Of course you want something; you want their help. But the trick is: “never ask for what you want.” By giving your expertise and your help, you can establish a real, solid, meaningful relationship. A relationship will make them want to help you, not just an annoying person asking for help.
2. Don’t assume they care about your needs. You’re out of work and you need a job – that’s your problem, not theirs. Haden says “the only way to make connections is to care about the needs of others first.” Show them you care about them, and then maybe they’ll care about you afterall.
3. Network where it’s mutually beneficial. Yeah, having the top executive connect with you would be great, but the way to actually make a helpful connection is to find someone who can benefit from your expertise – and vice versa. So that you can follow up on #1 and #2… make a relationship that goes both ways.

Top Tips for Building Good Relationships

Whether you are a job seeker or just starting a new  job, you can’t ignore the rules of building and maintaining relationships. The ability to establish good relationships is essential for building a successful career. Martin Zwilling, blogging for Forbes.com, dips into Jan Yager’s latest book “Productive Relationships: 57 Strategies for Building Stronger Business Connections,” and offers these top tips for building good relationships:

1. Create a favorable first impression. You only get one chance for a first impression. Don’t miss an opportunity for face-to-face communication, where you can use body language, which scientists say constitutes more than 50% of all communication.
2. Proactively form relationships with positive types. These are the people who will help you thrive and prosper. They include real mentors, facilitators, visionaries, motivators, and negotiators.
3. Find a way to motivate others to want to get along with you. Understand your own agenda, and figure out the agenda of others, hidden or obvious, to make it a win-win relationship. How can you appeal to others so you can work together?
4. Reexamine your attitude toward conflict. Some conflict in the workplace is inevitable. The key is how to deal with it effectively. Recognize points of view, respond to what happened, resolve what needs to be resolved, and reflect on the lessons learned. Then move on.
5. Deal with the “back-off” before it turns antagonistic. When a conflict occurs, rather than have a confrontation, someone needs to backs off. You can’t make someone want to deal with you, but you can try to increase their motivation to deal with you – like getting together for lunch, or trying to communicate in another way.
6. Benefit from harsh feedback about your work. Receiving criticism is never easy. Try some recovery techniques, like taking a deep breath, give yourself time, and look at the issue from their perspective. Keep your initial response short and sweet and in control.
7. Use social networking to build and improve your business relationships. Savvy workers at all levels are using these sites to develop and strengthen their business relationships as well as to reconnect with previous business connections. Make your own luck by giving and seeking referrals.

Compounding these strategies in today’s business environment are two divergent concepts: a heightened degree of competitiveness, and a greater emphasis on teamwork. This means you need even more emphasis on effectively engaging others, and learning to deal effectively with potentially negative work relationships. Success in today’s collaborative, customer-driven, networked economy requires real business relationship efforts by everyone involved. No matter where you are in the spectrum, there is no time like the present to kick it up a notch

Why You should Apply Early to Jobs

In theory, every candidate who applies for a job has the same likelihood of landing it based on qualifications.  In reality, however, that is sadly not the case.  Research from StartWire shows that “more than one-fourth of jobs were filled with candidates who applied within the first two days of a posting”, with one half of jobs filled by candidates who applied within one week of the live posting.  So what’s the moral of the story?  Apply early!  Most of these hiring managers want to hire right away, so getting your application in early greatly increases your chances of being chosen.

Chris Forman, CEO of StartWire gives tips for how to get your resume in first.  Here are a few tips:

• “Find a friend” – When possible, find an internal contact within the company who can refer you.  If you don’t have a contact, don’t be afraid to network! (You may find these networking posts helpful for that.)
• “Plan for a daily dose of openings” – Many job sites (Indeed, CareerBuilder, etc.) will send you a list of posted ads matching your criteria.  Have these sites automatically send you a list so you can review the new openings daily and catch them early!
• “Remember: Not all jobs are posted” – Set up a job agent to help you learn about the more hidden positions.

Networking for Success

Patra Frame, founder of Strategies for Human Resources, reminds us that executives often do not make the time to maintain or grow their networks, despite considerable evidence that shows the people who are effective, consistent networkers are more successful. She guarantees that scheduling some time each week to manage your network will pay big dividends for your own and your business’s success.

Her advice dovetails nicely with that of Buzzy Gordon, in a posting on About.com Entrepreneurs titled “Effective Networking for Busy People.”

He says that the average person knows about 250 people. And each of those people knows, in turn, another 250 or so people. This means that for each new person you meet, you gain access to a potential pool of 62,500 people separated from you by just two degrees.

Imagine the odds, then, Gordon says, that out of so many people, you would NOT find at least one person who would be a source of information about a better job, additional clients or customers, a speaking engagement or writing assignment, an investment opportunity,  and much more.

It takes only a moment’s conscious decision to become a networker, he says. All it requires is a slight shift in attitude, and adopting one simple rule:

Greet each new acquaintance with an openness to learn more about that person, a willingness to help, and an offer to stay in touch.

This approach is equally applicable to every form of networking, whether in business or social contexts, and whether the encounter takes place in person or online. For more, go here.

How to be Memorable

Have you ever attended a networking event, collected a bunch of business cards, and when you go through them the next day, you can’t remember who many of the people are?

Scott Allen, writing for Entrepreneurs.About.Com offers five tips on how to make yourself memorable when meeting other people face-to-face.
For the full list, go here — but here is the most important tip:

Be fully present. Be fully engaged and fully aware of the people you interact with. You can break this down into smaller, somewhat mechanical pieces — listen well, respond promptly, maintain eye contact, etc. — but if you are truly present in the moment, those things will happen naturally. Many people only seem to be “half there,” so being fully engaged helps you stand out.

Keep Those Connections Strong

Networking is the key to landing your next job. So the last thing you should do is jeopardize your relationships within your network. Lindsay Olson puts it simply: “Don’t Burn Bridges.” You’re going to need those contacts in the future when you’re looking for a job. Referrals are a HUGE percent of hiring, so make sure you have a positive image in the minds of anyone and everyone who can refer you to your next job.

P.S. – This season is a great time to reach out to those contacts, as most people are in high spirits!