Job Networking

Shy Persons Guide to Networking

April 11, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Networking is difficult for most people but if you’re shy it can feel impossible.

Laura is really good at her job. In fact, Laura can do anything she puts her mind to. She has a list of accomplishments a mile long. But she is dreadfully unhappy at her job in a fast paced consulting firm. She feels like folks walk all over her because she is so nice and so good at her job.

Finding joy in your work starts with knowing what you want. Laura knows what she wants. She wants:

1) To get out of her current company.

2) To translate her experience into human resources.

Both are eminently doable.

There are several ways to find the job that brings you joy. Responding to advertisements is sort of like taking pot luck. You might find the right job or you might not, depending on which organization responds to your resume.

Folks trying to change careers, even a little, usually get better results from networking. Their resumes don’t always appear like an obvious fit with just a cursory glance. Networking allows you to check out the fit before you get too far into the search. Less pot luck, more pick.

If you are a shy person like Laura, finding joy in your work can be a problem. If you are lucky, you find job in the job you have. You get enough positive feedback and rewards to make a life. If you are a shy person like Laura and want to leave your job, you have a problem.

The minute I said the n-word – networking, Laura died a little inside. You see, Laura is a shy person. She is wonderful one-on-one or in small groups. She can even speak in front of groups as long as she is confident in her topic and knows enough people in the room to be comfortable. But don’t ask her to network.

What is networking after all?

According to the Business Dictionary, networking is “creating a group of acquaintances and associates and keeping it active through regular communication for mutual benefit.” This means talking to people you don’t know well. Laura and other shy people just HATE that. But it must be done if one is to avoid taking pot luck in the career game.

I come to these observations naturally, from personal experience. Here are some tips for networking for shy people:

Start small. Build off of your current network of people you know very well. Start by asking questions. Ask them what they do and what their company is like. After a while it will get easier to talk to people you do not know.
Figure out questions that will get the other guy talking. When they are talking you are not. This takes the pressure off of you to carry the conversation, something that is very hard for shy people. Early in my career I would prepare for days to identify potential questions, sports references or news highlights I could use to get other people talking.
Talk professional to professional about topics in which you have a great deal of confidence. For example, if you are an HR person interested in talent development, talk to other HR people about talent development. You will feel confident and look impressive because it is a topic in which you are knowledgeable.
Ask people you know well to make an introduction to someone else. Or give you the name of someone else you can talk to. It will be less scary if you can, “Tom suggested I connect with you”.
Use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is networking for shy people. All your interactions can be done on email which is normally less intimidating than telephone or in-person.

The trick for shy people is to set manageable goals. Don’t force yourself to do more than you are capable or comfortable doing. With that said, doing nothing is not an option. Set realistic meaningful daily, weekly and monthly goals that will move you forward towards your goal.

If you are shy or introverted there is no shame in that but it may be blocking you from getting the career you want. There is help for you! Get your free copy of the “7 Tips for Career Success for the Shy Person” and begin to step out, beyond these barriers, onto a new career path today.

How to find a meaningful job you love!

July 29, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

Does this sound like you at your job everyday?

Lisa (not her name – she is still actively employed!) is bored. She is working at a job that no longer interests her in a company that is slow to act, doesn’t listen to its employees and tolerates long term employees who no longer perform. In other words she is no longer engaged. She checked out a while ago.

But Lisa is not satisfied to be one of the 70%+ of Americans who are not actively engaged. Not Lisa. She is determined to make a change! She wants to reevaluate everything – what she does, where she works, where she lives. Why not? She is in midway through her career. She can no longer imagine living this way for the next twenty years.

Lisa allows herself to consider a different, possibly more satisfying way of living. She explores different locations, different companies, and different kinds of positions. She made lists of what she wanted and what she knew she did not want. She made lists of people to contact who could introduce her to influential people to move her job search forward.

Along the way Lisa found a fabulous opportunity at Amazon in Seattle. She networked and found a connection to make an introduction. She researched the region, even exploring where to live. She decided the region was perfect and found an apartment that welcomes pets in a great neighborhood.

Lisa had two telephone screens and is awaiting an invitation to an in-person interview. The prospects look great for the life change Lisa wants.

I couldn’t be prouder!

What would you do in Lisa’s shoes? Would you have the courage to step out of your comfort zone? Are you willing to accept a future as a disengaged worker for the next however many years of your life? What is your dream?

It is the Ultimate Life Challenge Game – To make your life and career meaningful.

Lisa is doing it right. Take note of the steps she followed.

1. Evaluate your current situation. Are you happy with your path forward? Are you engaged with your current employer and your current role? Do you love your current community or is there another place you would rather be? Do you have the life/work balance (whatever that means to you) that makes you feel good?
2. Make a decision about what you want and what you are willing to do.
3. Be specific about the kind of people you want to work with, the kind of companies you would like to work with and the region of the country where you want to build your life.
4. Research positions to find how to describe the perfect position.
5. What companies in your target region employ people in that perfect position?
6. Who do you know or who can you meet who can introduce you to opportunities in your new region and at the target companies?
7. Begin an organized outreach effort with a networking campaign. Follow up religiously.
8. Arrange visits to that region then arrange appointments for coffee or if you are lucky, interviews. Squeeze as many meetings and coffee into your visits to your target region.
9. When you visit with contacts and companies, evaluate whether those people and companies meet your requirements about the idea people, positions and companies. Be sure to note the plusses and minuses so you can make your comparison based on your personal criteria, not on emotions along.

Lisa is determined this is her year. Take these nine tips and create your own plans to find the position that keeps you engaged.

If you would like more tips on a successful job search, check out a replay video of our recent job search training – it is free and has tons of job search tips in it.

A Suit is a form of Job Search Armor

June 7, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

Where does confidence come from? That little bit of difference that supports you when you try something new or scary.

Confidence makes the difference between walking into a networking meeting with a big smile and jaunty step even if you feel icky on the inside.

We all struggle with confidence at times. Sometimes I allow that little voice in my head to whisper bad things in my ear. I hate when that happens!

One of our clients has depleted his supply of confidence. He sounded like Eyore from Winnie the Pooh the last time I talked to him. Even if he tries to hide it, that lack of confidence comes out of his skin like garlic.

If we struggle with confidence sometimes and have it other times, logically that must mean that there is something we can do to boost our confidence.

Barb Z. sent this quote from Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living [i] by Jason Gay that gives a great suggestion:

I don’t reject the idea that style matters… I too like to feel stylish, and sometimes I can allow myself the illusion that I actually know what I am doing. I believe there’s some benefit: a confidence both internal and projected.

The designer Tom Ford has said that a suit is a form of armor, that when a man is well dressed, it provides an aura of invincibility that helps get him through the day. I am with Tom Ford on that, though I know I am not well-dressed enough to be Tom Ford’s cable guy.

What a great idea! We can pretend our way to greater confidence by wrapping ourselves in clothes that make us feel more confident. Could it be as simple as that? I think so.

I feel and behave different when I am dressed in t-shirts and shorts, like I am dressed while writing this, than when I put on a suit, high heels, and nice jewelry. It just makes sense. When I wear that particular necklace from my mom that always gets compliments I feel even more confident, almost invincible!

What clothes do you wear to give you extra confidence? That beautiful power tie? Those great pumps? A beautiful jacket?

I would love to know what works for you! Share your thoughts here or send me a note and I will share these great ideas with our community!!

[i] Gay, Jason. Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living, page 166. Emphasis added.

Grab a Pencil – Creating Content for Job Seekers

April 26, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

How does one find interesting things to talk about when building relationships in job search? The answer is easier than you think. Yet most people miss it.

We start with the assumption that asking connections if they know of open jobs is a nonstarter. The answer is almost always “no”. Try it sometime just for kicks!

What is your next step after “no”? You shuffle on down the road.

Instead start a conversation on a topic interesting to the person you are talking to! What a novel idea!

Janell is in job search mode. She wants a career in patient experience, a relatively new field in health care. Information interviews have been wildly successful. Many people including leading subject matter experts have opened their doors when Janell asked for information. They answered all of her questions about this new field.

Next she narrowed her geography and identified target organizations.

Now it is time to network. Instead of asking people if they know of open positions, we suggested Janell start a conversation.

Using what she learned in information interviews and personal experience, Janell put together some “go to” questions about patient experience that seem to get conversations started. Her target people start talking and zappo wammo Janell is on the way to building a relationship. Crazy, right?

Here is the neat part. At a recent networking meeting as the conversation got rolling around one of Janell’s questions, the other person, someone very influential in her field, suggested Janell create a proposal about how she would approach patient experience. This proposal would be a spring board for more concrete discussions about jobs in patient experience.

Imagine the possibilities!

A proposal is a summary of issues with action steps and resulting outcomes. It is “content”. A proposal could be converted into other forms of content that could attract attention and lead to more conversations. The proposal would illustrate what Janell brings to the table, making her more attractive to potential employers.

The proposal could be attached to Janell’s LinkedIn profile. Concepts could be broken down into blog postings, Twitter conversations, LinkedIn Group discussions and articles. Janell could make a SlideShare in LinkedIn or a video for YouTube. All of these are searchable content that lead viewers back to Janell with positive attention.

It starts with an idea or an opinion about some topic you know well that is important in your line of work. A small amount of effort to put your thoughts in writing in different forums attracts attention, improves your credibility, leads to more connections and gives you something to talk about with influential people while networking.

What a great idea! Got a pencil?

Job Search Lessons Shared after a long search

April 12, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

What works and what does not – Job Search Lessons Shared after a long search.

Radiology was fine for a while. Until it wasn’t. Abby wanted something more.

Abby loved radiology, loved the interaction with the clients. But medicine has been changing over the last ten years. She got laid off from her original hospital. The latest large hospital system implemented a new scheduling system that essentially put her on call with reduced hours and lower pay.

Abby was ready for something more. More challenging, more stimulating, more reliable. So she got her MBA and discovered she loved the business side of medicine.

She had no idea how to find her new job in her new career. That is when I met Abby. We worked on her resume and got her set up in LinkedIn. But Abby had trouble with the whole networking thing. It was a totally new way to look at job search. She was not comfortable.

She started to accumulate LinkedIn connections but it was slow.

She enrolled in a promising program for emerging leaders in the hospital system that looked like networking on steroids. Monthly meetings with department heads and executives that combined stimulating ideas with interaction with the right people. She worked on some project teams and shared some of her ideas with the hospital’s thought leaders. Now she was really networking!

The program was great. But the payoff? Nothing.

Abby applied for at least five positions in the hospital system with no response at all. Crickets! No acknowledgement from the leaders she met. Not even a “no thank you”. Nothing.

The hospital system was sending a strong message that despite their words, their actions were telling her Abby was not valued. She did not fit. She needed to think outside the hospital.

Abby was also getting the message that job search via the application process is frustrating and often ineffective for the job seeker. It was time to network in a different way.

To fill the down time from her reduced schedule and still continue to network, Abby started volunteering at the local Visiting Nurses’ outpost at another hospital she worked at years ago. It started as a way to give back, to pass the time and learn new skills. She liked the impact the organization had on the community.

She liked the people. She fell into an easy rhythm with the clients and the organization’s leaders. When a leadership position came up she got the job! Networking really works!

Abby looks at her story as a question of fit. At her last hospital even after a few years she was still an outsider. She was never really accepted. Even the emerging leaders program did not bridge the cultural mismatch.

She didn’t volunteer to get a new position but volunteering exposed her to new people with new ideas in a culture she really loved. Abby says, “Of all the organizations I have worked for these past 4.5 years, none of them have been the right fit for me like [this one]. I won’t be in the hospital but will be a part of [this hospital]… So excited for this!”

Abby’s story shares some critical lessons:

Cultural fit is critical. Even participating in an “emerging leaders” program did not bridge the cultural fit. Abby was never going to get promoted at that hospital because she did not fit. She needed to find an organization that values her for who she is.
A foot in the door is not always valuable. Abby says, “The biggest take away I see from it is don’t think just because you have a foot in the door somewhere that it’s going to land you something else later in that company.”
Volunteering is valuable networking. You never know who you will meet who can be helpful. Plus you have the added benefit of contributing to a good cause while you network.
Networking wins every time. It is not what you know but who you know that makes the difference. Being the most qualified is no guarantee of advancement unless you can build relationships with people to demonstrate your fit.
Patience is a virtue. It took Abby almost two years to find the job she wanted. In the meantime she worked strange schedules, finished her MBA, got very frustrated but persevered. Volunteering made the difference for Abby but the real lesson is Abby’s patience.

Congratulations to Abby for getting what she wants!!!