Regular readers have seen all the special pre-launch posts to preface introducing You Need a Job: 5 Steps to Get One, which I co-authored with Hannah Morgan. Some of the posts we ran included tips from our colleagues about what job seekers should NOT do. One friend and expert expanded on her tip and offered additional, great advice, and I am happy to share it today!

Chris Havrilla is a recruiting and sourcing leader with her own company, Havrilla, LLC. Additionally, she is the Principal Consultant at Recruiting Toolbox, Inc, a management consulting, training and tools company that focuses 100% on helping companies recruit better. Chris is also VP of social media for SHRM-Atlanta and blogs (along with the also terrific Teela Jackson) on RecruiterChicks.com. Chris is a great thought leader, and one of the “good guys.” You’ll want to pay attention to her advice about how to reach out to your network!

These are Chris’ suggestions to help you avoid being too general when you turn to your network:

Have a pretty solid idea of the type of role you want and if possible the ideal target companies — and what it is based on … location, industry, size, anything applicable.  Be able to explain the why’s, as well as anything you don’t want.  This will make it easier for whoever you ask for help to take a targeted approach, and it also helps demonstrate that you know who you are, what you are seeking, how you can/will add value and why these organizations need to have you to take their teams or organizations to the next level.

This approach pushes some of the ownership back on you and means you need to think through all of this stuff and do some research and footwork, but doing a job search is just like building a business — it needs to be focused. Frankly, you don’t want somebody else assuming what your vision, values and goals are.

The advantages to this approach are huge:

• You are not leaving it up to someone to assume what you want and why. The key is giving people actionable tasks…people are more willing to help when they know what to do and why.
• You are arming people with the data and direction they need to help you best.
• It will also help you figure out who all can best help you and how — and then use your network accordingly.

Once you know what you are looking for and can articulate it, be sure you know how to best utilize that network. Give people direct, easily actionable tasks.  For instance, there is a big difference between the more vague, general inquiry:

“I am looking/open to new opportunities, here is a copy of my resume — I was hoping you could help me?  Or… “Could you please keep your eyes and ears open?”  compared to the preferred:

“Hi _____, I noticed on LinkedIn that you have some connections at Company X, and I would like to apply/I am applying for a Sales Director role that is perfect as I have the industry experience, but also worked for their biggest competitor for three years.  This experience with their current and target customer base, in addition to the insider knowledge of their marketplace should help me be productive in a much shorter time frame than most candidates.  Would you mind helping me make a connection with a hiring manager or their recruiter?

Another suggestion:

“I am looking for a position that leverages my deep experience in organizational design and transformation/talent development & management/fill-in-blank-here — I noticed in LinkedIn you have several connections at Coca-Cola and they actually have an open position for ____________, if I wrote an introduction, would you be willing to send it to one of your contacts so I can try and get my foot in the door?  I have worked with several CPG companies and believe that I can leverage that experience and industry knowledge with my….”

For Twitter or Facebook –

“Hey Friends/Tweeps, do any of you have a connection in the Talent Management team at Children’s Healthcare and would you be willing to make an intro?” (Note I did not say reference/referral, save that for the people you have direct work experience with that you can ask personally/directly.)

This upfront time and thoughtful approach can make all the difference.

Thanks so much to Chris for her generous tips. Keep these in mind when you prepare to network!

photo by Bilal Kamoon

The post How to ask your network for help appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Still looking for that job? Are you making these time wasting job-seeker mistakes?

Social media is great for crowd sourcing information. Hannah Morgan (@CareerSherpa) and I are lucky to have an amazing network of friends and colleagues from the career coaching, recruiting and careers industries. We hope you will check out their other advice we are showcasing in honor of our upcoming eBook, You Need a Job: 5 Steps to Get One.

This is part two of two posts I published this weekend with great information from our colleagues — and Hannah has two unique posts filled with more information planned this weekend as well. I told you our colleagues had plenty to share about the subject!  Be sure to check out Hannah’s post today.

We hope you will learn something new from these responses to the question: What mistakes do job seekers make?

Passive job seekers

No job seeker can afford to sit back and hope for the best. If you are not driving your own career bus, who is driving it?

Job seekers engage in passive searches that put way too much emphasis on resumes, cover letters and job boards. ~ Walter Akana, Threshold Consulting

Online Info

Both Hannah and I are big proponents of using social media and online tools.  Are you giving enough thought to your online presence when it comes to job search?

Some job seekers are still failing to clean up their online presence — most recruiters and hiring managers will do an online search on each job candidate. ~ Heather Huhman, Come Recommended

Create a personal alias and a professional profile online. Use separate emails for both. You’ll be glad you did when it’s time for a background check. ~ Jim Stroud

Learn new things

One thing that is a guarantee for job seekers – the job market, types of positions and the skills you need will continue to change and evolve. Are you keeping up?

The job seeker doesn’t take the time to learn new skills (e.g., social media) that could add to marketability while expanding their resources. ~ Walter Akana, Threshold Consulting

Applying, resumes and interviewing

It is amazing how much there is to do and think about before you are ready to think about your resume, job search materials and interview skills! Some tips from our colleagues:

Job seekers are in a hurry and rush through writing their resume or having their resume written, which ultimately costs them more time (and money) because they chose speed over quality. ~ Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Career Trend

Chris Havrilla, Havrilla, LLC, points out these job seeker errors:

• Not taking control of your resume (don’t be generic, treat like a business proposal – one size does not fit all) or interview process (making sure Recruiter/Interviewer walks away from the interview with the information they need – not just the answers to the questions they ask).
• Applying for a job for which you are not qualified or for which you cannot add value.
• Not interviewing the company – just letting them interview you.

Too often, job seekers stay within what feels like a safe zone for their cover letter and other application materials. Remember that doing something unique and outside the box will help you stand out! ~ Alexis Grant

Follow up

You applied, so now itâ€s time to wait and see? Not if you actually want the job! Follow up is important!

Applying online only, not following up with company, recruiter or hiring manager directly. ~ Chris Havrilla, Havrilla, LLC

The process of applying online and waiting for a call does not work well in this job market. You have to proactively contact people in the organization. A personal connection goes a lot farther than a piece of data coming over the internet. ~ Harry Urschel, e-Executives

Other Tips

Thereâ€s so much more advice! (There is a lot to say — our eBook has 29 chapters packed full of it!) Here are some additional, useful tips from our colleagues we didnâ€t want you to miss:

Job seekers spend far too much time listening the media and the ‘doom and gloom’ brigade. In fact, job seekers don’t screw up enough. Resumes, networking and interviewing all improve by making MORE mistakes, not less. ~ Sital Ruparelia

Job seekers frequently focus on the “one” thing they canâ€t do (some new technology) or donâ€t have (degree) or canâ€t control (age), using that one factor as a roadblock to a search. They forget the 1027 things they can do and what value they do bring. ~ Dawn Bugni, The Write Solution

Do any of these answers make you squirm? Maybe you are the job seeker who isnâ€t quite as prepared as you should be? Maybe your resume isnâ€t quite right, or you arenâ€t following up? Our ebook, You Need a Job: 5 Steps to Get One, which we are so excited about launching TOMORROW, Monday, June 11^th, will give you specific advice and information about how to address most of these and many other concerns that prevent job seekers from landing opportunities.

Itâ€s 29 chapters of “how to doâ€s” for job seekers who want to stop looking and start working in their new opportunities. Stay tuned – for those who buy the eBook first, we are offering some free bonuses. Keep your eye here tomorrow for details.

If you want to read more ideas, don’t miss yesterday’s post about what not to do when you are looking for a job.

Update: the ebook is available. If you want to learn how to find a job, learn more here.

photo by Alan Cleaver

The post What mistakes do job seekers make? Part 2 appeared first on Keppie Careers.