Is there really a formula for saying the right thing in a job hunt? How much should people plan to customize or speak “off the cuff?†It’s an important question! Yesterday, I spoke to a prospective client who is having a tough time landing interviews. She is a career changer, and has some suspicions about why it’s been tough for her.
Listening to her story, it was clear to me that this potential client can do so much more to improve her chances of finding a new job. How do I know? She said, “I guess there are a lot of things I haven’t tried, yet.”
Most importantly? She hasn’t prepared to network spontaneously! Ironic, right? How can you prepare for something spontaneous? Maybe it’s a technicality, but I believe it is absolutely possible. It’s one of the underpinnings of our new book, 100 Conversations for Career Success. With a little preparation (or, maybe a lot!), you can network effectively and convince people you meet that they should take a look at you!
Charles Purdy, Senior editor for Monster.com, recently asked us a series of questions about job search networking:
Is there really a formula for saying the right thing in a job hunt? How much should people plan to customize or speak “off the cuff?â€
How are people networking incorrectly — why do they need scripts to help them (what are they saying wrong)?
Is it ever a good idea to cold-call a company for job? What’s are a couple of tips for doing so?
When you’re using something like Twitter or another social platform, how does the medium shape the message?
How have the rules about “the right thing to say†in a job hunt changed in the past 20 years?
Find out what we said on the Monster blog!