The one thing you can do to make your job hunt quicker and less painful.

Mandoza Sings About It. Believe it or not. The one thing you can do to make your job hunt quicker and less painful.

In your gut you know it. There are opportunities out there for you. But what appears to be the most obvious route to those opportunities, the easiest route, is a rough road that often leads to no-where. Agencies. Recently in a survey I conducted, agencies came in for a hammering in the popularity stakes. Bad service. Unhelpful attitude. Rude. Lying – or at least never being ‘straight up’ about reasons why applicants are not successful in their application, etc. And certainly seldom being helpful about helping ‘candidates’ to market themselves more effectively.

So are we going to take the fight to them? Fight for better service and higher standards? No. Our energy and time are much better spent on other things. Taking a walk in the park with your dog Rufus will help you land a job sooner. Seriously. And applying for hundreds of jobs advertised online also seems like an ‘easy’ way to land your next great job. But what happens? Frequently nothing. Just a CV that seems to disappear into a cyberspace black hole.

So what do we do? Interesting letter written to the Sunday Times last week. And it hits the nail on the head. First – what do we actually want? A fight? No. A better job. Simple. So it’ll be good to focus on effective ways to get there.

The letter is titled:

“It’s Who You Know, Not What.”

Now as a first comment I know many job hunters will say, “It’s now what you know, but who” with more than just a little bitterness. And it’s true, it is unfair. After building a respectable record, skill and experience, one expects that that is what takes precedence in a search for a job. Experience. Qualifications. Being good at what one does. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

The letter goes on:

“Talking and contacting people you know is the most effective way to find a job. I have come to realise that only a small percentage of jobs are advertised in local newspapers and only a small percentage of people find a job from answering an advert – yet most people are hired by networking with personal contacts.

“Mandoza had a song which goes, “Uzokuyithola kanjani uhleli ekoneni” meaning, how are you going to get it if you are sitting over there in the corner.”

Now although there are no prizes for guessing what mr M was actually referring to by “it” the principle of what he’s saying is just true, true, true. Sending a CV off via e-mail answering an ad – well, it’s as safe as “sitting in the corner.” Surfing the job websites applying all over the place – well, it’s easy, safe, like “sitting in the corner”. And it can yield a good result. But more frequently it doesn’t. You have to be ‘smoking’. And really mostly we’re good at what we do but not so hot that employers notice us in the corner and arrive with their tongues hanging out.

The letter continues:

“In this day and age to grow your business and opportunities you must network. Networking comes in many forms, from a cup of tea to helping a grandmother who wants to cross the road and who later puts in a good word for you.”

Well, that’s true, but if we want real results we have to network more aggressively than that. Especially when it’s job related – it’s usually urgent.

That’s where networking becomes uncomfortable. Deeply so. We hate connecting with people, appearing to want something from them. We hate being beholden. We hate letting people see our vulnerable side and then asking them to help. Right?

But that doesn’t change the fact that networking is the one thing you can do to make your job hunt quicker and less painful. So … with that in mind …

Imagine if there was a place you could connect with other career minded people, job hunters, even serious recruiters and employers who you could network with. Get ideas on how to improve your CV. On what’s hot in the market. On where opportunities may lie for you. On who to talk to, people you could share contacts with. Even a place where you can go to ‘rant’ after a frustrating day at the job hunting office. And get encouragement from others facing similar challenges.

Richard Nelson Bolles in his famous book “What Color is Your Parachute?” lists hunting for a job in a GROUP, having support and supporting others, as one of the big ways to speed up your job hunt.

So … that’s what the Career&Success Member’s Only Community is all about. The best ‘guerrilla’ job hunting and success information out there – AND – giving you the place to connect with them, make friends, get support and NETWORK for your next great job. Find out more about how you can become a member for the pre-launch price of R30.00pm at http://www.careerandsuccess.info/.