This "ad" showed up on my Facebook page today:
By Guest Blogger: The Business Woman's Finishing School and Social Club
Working The Network
The trade publications refer to “the hidden job market.” These are the jobs that are not advertised, and in spite of their invisibility, someone estimates that 80% of available jobs are not advertised. It is not entirely clear how that is calculated. What matters to you, the job seeker, is that these jobs are as abundant now as they have ever been. And they are available to you if you understand where to look.
Why is there a hidden job market?
Advertising
is still expensive, online or off, and in a 10% (or higher in some
regions and
industries) unemployment situation, posting an ad opens a floodgate of
applications an employer can’t manage because he laid off his recruiting
staff in the last go-round. Better to put the word out quietly, in a
controlled settling, than to post in so public a forum as a website,
newspaper,
or trade journal.
Referrals are more reliable – for everyone involved. Even the Navy knows that a buddy system improves retention . The referring employee is endorsing both the company and the candidate, the candidate can get the real skinny on life at the Company, and the Hiring Manager gets a name he can put right to the top of the stack.
Jobs are often created for a specific need, or to suit a specific internal candidate, where insider knowledge is so crucial you wouldn’t want anyone but the person you already have in mind. How often have you said in your own work situation, “I wish we had an Anne to put on this problem,” or “Martin would be at his best if we could find a way to let him analyze data all day long”?
So how does one find this job market if it is invisible?
You’ve got to work your network. Because working your network works.
This is not a paragraph about “social networking,” tweeting, status updates or YouTube job posting. This is not a strategy for amassing the largest number of names you can in order to hit them up for jobs. This is simply about staying connected with the people you know, and letting them help you achieve your goals.
The people you know are your “lower-case f” friends, your family, your former colleagues and classmates. Social networking sites and tools may make it easy to connect, but not if you are doing it shallowly. If you are doing it well, a beer or a phone call will do. And guess what, Workforce America , it’s not just when the chips are down, either. You’ve got to actually think about other people, and tell them when you do. Help them when they ask, and ask for help when you need it. Roll a few logs and actually build that relationship and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish together.
I have a friend/mentor/former co-worker that I chat with online on occasion, and yes we are networked 4 ways. But we also write notes to each other (stamps, envelopes, and all!) and about one a month we find a way to meet for coffee on a Sunday morning and share ideas. When she broke her ankle, I came by to keep her company; when I lost power during an ice storm, she put me up. And when she heard about a shift in her company that implied an opportunity I might take advantage of, she let me know.
That opportunity stalled in its growth stage. She spread the word about me, and sparked some interest, but the change wasn’t getting off the ground, and I soldiered on where I was until 4 months later, I was laid off from my job.
Enter now a different friend, one I had not heard from in nearly 15 years. For a time, we had been quite close, but her career pursuits took her across country and Life happened to the both of us. I will admit that we reconnected through the new-fangled social networking you are so tired of hearing about, but it was our original old-fashioned friendship that made the reconnection such an ease and a pleasure. When she heard I had been laid off, she asked, “What are you looking for? My company has some new openings…”
And it turned out it was the same company.
These two colleagues, who knew each other so well, who both thought of me as a match for their company, had no idea that they both knew me. Our relationships were so far apart in years and makeup that we were all dumb-founded to learn of this connection. I brushed up the resume again, and I was reintroduced as a candidate. This week I started working at that company.
Your network will not get you jobs, you know that. Even the friend who directly hires you is not hiring you for friendship. The stakes are too high for that. They are hiring you for your skills, your style, and the history of success (both personal and professional) you are bringing to that job. You are literally seeing return on your investment.
You don’t have to be friends with everyone you work with; you don’t have to center your personal life around your work. What you do have to do is invest a little of the personal in the professional, and the other way around to be “top of mind” when the subject of great fit and match is on the table.
Do you think that proposing a new or different position for yourself is futile? Take a look at the email I received just this morning from one of my former students:
Hi Jay!
Hope this finds you well, and enjoying the spring like weather. I wanted to share my good news with you; I was promoted last week to HR Representative - having written my own job description. I was surprised, as they had hired a new generalist to fill our opening so I had thought there was little hope for me. I do still have 20 hours of front desk work which I'm fine with (for now).
My manager, director, and the rest of my team were quite impressed that I had written my own job description. I wanted to thank you for that advice, it ended up working out very well for me - I knew you would steer me in the right direction!
Thanks again!
With so much doom and gloom in the news about the current job market, I'd like to remind people that initiative is still rewarded and there is limitless possibility out there! If you hate your job, start thinking about the job you want. Write it down and create your own job description. And, the next time your boss is saying something good about you and your performance, talk to him/her about your dream. See what happens.
Great people are hard to find and companies still want to retain good people.
Today, the Appliance Repair Guy came to my home to fix our ice maker that, wonder of wonders, stopped producing ice a few weeks ago. Nice guy. Normal service call. Ended up turning the water on that had been mysteriously turned off...and I don't have children...so immediately blamed the housekeeper.
The repair job, however has nothing to do with this post. This post is about the fact that in my conversation with the Appliance Repair Guy, I learned about what it is like to work in what is considered a "High Risk" territory. Because my home lies in the same zip code as several housing projects we get a "High Risk:" designation. My guy started to share some stories with me. And, I shall share them with you.
It is not uncommon for at-home moms to offer sex in exchange for a refrigerator repair--with their children present.
Always take the stairs in a housing project...it is much safer than an elevator.
Be careful not to get caught in any type of gun crossfire (it has happened to him twice).
Carry a wrench at the top of your bag. It may save your life.
Pay attention to where the knives are in the kitchen. If he get's a bad "vibe" he won't turn his back to you.
When you work in "High Risk" neighborhoods, you get to know the "ladies of the evening" and most of them are pretty nice. He buys them a juice if they are in front of Dunkin' Donuts and it looks like they had a bad night--they occasionally buy him a juice, too.
Finally, The Appliance Company equips him a Bullet Proof Vest. He knocked on it. It was there.
It got me thinking about how dangerous some jobs really are when they involve going into people's homes. You see the "hoarders" on Bravo, the junkies in all the movies, and the crazies on the bus. We observe but we rarely participate. These people enter their homes. They fix their appliances/cable TV/toilet, etc., and then ask for money. You can see how it can get dangerous quickly.
So, take my advice, be nice. Get out of their way. Let them do their job. Make the visit to your home normal, non-threatening, even pleasant. Don't complain about the charge.
THEY EARN EVERY PENNY OF IT.
I thought I might help MIke out, through my blog, and see if I get him on the road to a new job. We all know how hard job searching is especially when we're good at a lot of things and not quite sure what we want to do next. I'm a huge advocate of exploration--God knows I've done my fair share--but there are some methodologies that seem to work better than others.
First, our friend Mike isn't really interested in EVERY job out there. There are bound to be some that he knows he isn't going to want to do. Let's create this list so we don't waste any time in those areas. Second, is relocation an option? If not, let's not bother. No intention of moving to Nebraska no matter how good the job is--then don't even consider Nebraska. Third, are there some general interest areas? If so, let's start exploring them.
I worked with a job seeker who thought he wanted to do programming within the Microsoft Sharepoint platform. He was very determined and convinced that was his future. Then I asked two key questions:
The answer to both questions was "no". And now we have a starting spot.
So, Mike, start talking to people, in person, and find out about interesting jobs at interesting companies. You'll be buying a lot of coffee so fill up your Starbucks card. Ask people about their jobs and let them talk. Most people love to talk about themselves and rarely have the opportunity to tell you about their work. When there is passion, you'll know it. When the work, company, or the person gets you going on the inside you'll start to narrow your list even further.
I just got an email from the Senior Vice President of Coffee at Starbucks inviting me to try the Christmas Blend.
I want that job.
God knows I've had enough practice.
I had a great interview with Lisa Van Der Pool at the Boston Business Journal. She was writing an article about how to do a layoff the right way. And there firmly is a right way and a wrong way. Download BBJ Dec 5 2008 Tact Timing Critical When Layoffs Loom
and read the article!
I just saw on the news that an employee showed up at his former company's San Jose headquarters with a gun and shot several people including the CEO. He was laid off the day before. If you want to read the story, click here.
Most of you who read my blog regularly know that I've done some work in the Outplacement world. I've been a part of a notifier team and also on the service delivery side of the action. The notifier part is always hard but the service delivery can be very rewarding. It is interesting to think that there is a whole industry associated with helping companies lay people off. How an organization manages layoff's is critical--if it is done right, with the right support, both the survivors and the impacted will be ok.
In my opinion, the Outplacement component is critical. Having people in place to "catch" the impacted is critical. I'm guessing that person in San Jose had no support. He left work, after being laid off, and felt that he had nothing. Having Outplacment in place helps both the impacted and the workpiece survivors. Most survivors are clearly worried about their former co-workers and knowing that they are going to be well taken care of can go a long way in getting the workplace back to "normal".
So what should you do with this information?
If you are planning a workplace "action" keep in mind:
Our down economy isn't much fun. Let's mitigate the stress and pain of RIFs as much as we can by supporting both of our impacted groups.
What are you doing to develop capability within your team? Within your department? Within your organization? It sounds like an daunting task but it is so important for the long term success of you as a manager and your company as a whole.
Looking back over 50 years, of National Boss’ Day, workers everywhere may notice that one thing has remained constant: The big money is concentrated a the top, and the bigs are mostly men. As for the talent? Well, we have nothing controversial to say. After all, we’re up for promotion. Right, boss? --from Clay Dillow, Fast Company, October 2008
Here are some fun facts to go along with National Boss’ Day:
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