Job-search triage: networking and resources

The majority of job seekers who land a job find truth in the adage that it is not what you know, but who you know. Although the percentages vary (from 50 to 90 percent), all research on the subject shows that most job seekers find a job through word-of-mouth, referrals and/or networking.

Networking should be an ongoing process for the employed and unemployed. "I've learned that you can remain loyal to your current company while still being open to new opportunities," says Ray Smith, an Interactive Marketing Leader who landed as a Director of Marketing within 90 days of being laid off in July 2007. “I landed with a company that had an unposted position who at least listened to what I had to offer because of a networking contact.”

Smith recommends breaking the job search into 90-day intervals, with the plan to get hired in that first 90 days. Within five days of losing a job, Smith recommends that job seekers:

• Ask for a reference letter from past employer
• Sign up for unemployment benefits (unemployment.ohio.gov/)
• Determine or confirm career path (www.assessment.com/)
• Find appropriate networking groups, including professional memberships and volunteer   opportunities
• Make a list of target companies and define contacts within each
• Track expenses, including mileage, for tax purposes
• Create a 30-second elevator speech (www.businessknowhow.com/money/elevator.htm)
• Create a profile on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
• Order business cards that include a marketing message (www.vistaprint.com/)
• Update résumé (which should be two pages and include lots of numbers)
• Post a résumé on several job boards and sign up for job-alert emails
• Create a cover letter
• Keep a spreadsheet of résumés submitted, networking contacts and interviews

 “Your elevator speech and business card must communicate why an employer needs to hire you right now, says Smith. “Include several points on your business card that explain why you are an essential hire in the middle of a bloodbath economy. If you don't, you won't be competitive enough to get hired.”

“Make sure your elevator speech is free of jargon, brief and would be of interest to either a hiring manager or a networking contact,” adds Smith. “Remember, if they don't remember your elevator speech, your networking opportunity has died right there. Don't include what is assumed. For example, ‘I am a professional with x number of years of experience.’ It is assumed that you will be professional and that you have the required experience.”

In his elevator speech, Smith identifies himself as “an Interactive Marketing Leader who helps companies evolve their brand to meet changing market conditions” and “a hands-on leader who can help with strategy through management of staff and budgets.”

Past accomplishments need to be stated in the elevator speech, the résumé, the cover letter and in an interview, says Karin Combs, career coach and owner of Source One Career Coaching (www.sourceonehr.com/). “Companies are interested in how you save them money, make them money and solve their problems,” she says. “What were your measurable results?”

Combs adds that job seekers need to make 10 contacts a day, which includes personal contacts, résumé submissions, emails, phone calls and LinkedIn introductions. Combs encourages her clients to use LinkedIn to network (with individuals and groups), get recommendations, find jobs, and research companies and people (including hiring managers). Combs indicated that the job postings on LinkedIn have increased dramatically and job seekers should be viewing this daily.

Another social networking site, Twitter, can be helpful in the job search, says Combs. She encourages job seekers to find job postings from recruiters and job boards (such as twitter.com/janetsdoyle; twitter.com/jhillrecruit and twitter.com/columbus_job).

Combs also points out that additional resources can be found at the Job Help Center of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (www.columbuslibrary.org/). And companies can be researched on Reference USA, under the Reference tab on the library’s website (Columbus Metropolitan Library card required).

Combs serves on the board of directors of Scioto Ridge Job Networking Group (SRJNG), a job-networking group with several chapters in central Ohio. As a whole, Scioto Ridge (www.srjng.com/) holds meetings several times a month, mostly in the evenings.

Every Scioto Ridge meeting has an interesting speaker and encourages participants to network and practice everything that has to do with networking, says Combs. It’s a safe place to come and practice, she adds.

“I believe that over 80% of good jobs are found through networking,” says Combs. “Scioto Ridge Job Networking Group teaches people how to network. It’s not just about sitting behind a computer and sending off emails. You must have personal contact and build personal relationships.”