Networking is typically the best way to learn about new opportunities, whether it is work related or otherwise. But random efforts produce random results. If you are not getting the results you had hoped for by attending events or “hanging out” with friends, then perhaps your preparation for those meetings needs a little work.

Being open and available to meet new contacts is a large part of what it takes to become aware of new opportunities, although your encounters may be unplanned or unexpected. In order to capitalize on every situation that might spring up, it is important to map out a plan, be clear about your expectations in advance and prepare questions that will actually produce helpful and appropriate information.  The following steps are likely to result in more fruitful exchanges.

Have a clear goal. If you are going into conversation or meetings with people with the idea that they will “hit on” a solution for you or read your mind, you are probably not coming away with much. Setting clear goals, then indentifying the objectives needed to achieve those goals, will provide you with much clearer information to help you determine what you actually need to know or learn from someone.

Prepare in advance for new connections. When using Linkedin or other social networking sites with intent beyond connecting to as many people as possible, you will be much more likely to produce favorable results. Having hundreds of new connections won’t make things happen for you unless you are clear about what you need and what you can offer. Being prepared with a specific request for information or expressing a sincere interest in meeting someone is much more likely to get a favorable response when asking for an introduction to a new contact.

Know what you don’t know. While that sounds like a contradiction, it isn’t really. If you set out to identify a solution without thinking through what it might require, then you will be all over the map. You could pot shot potential options and end up missing the mark entirely. Develop targets first (companies, customers or projects) and identify what you would need to know to be able to have a successful exchange with anyone connected with your target. By knowing what you need to learn, you are in a better position to solicit helpful inside information that can contribute to the development of a strategy to proceed on track.

Strategize. Developing a strategy and working through a carefully thought out plan typically produces  a better outcome than wishing and hoping. Sure, miracles can happen. Great timing can look like a miracle. But if you haven’t had your miracle happen yet, then maybe it is time to develop a plan. Information is power, and the more you know about your target, the more you will know about how to position yourself to get where you want to be. Just ‘knowing’ someone or ‘being acquainted with’ someone isn’t enough to turn into a hot lead. Be clear about what your contacts need to know about you. Be clear about what you need to know about your contacts so your communications are appropriate and relevant.

Set the stage. Introduce yourself with a prepared statement that gives people enough information to act on your behalf without putting them to sleep. Memorize it. Know what you need to convey, in words that communicate what you would want someone to remember. Too much info will result in them forgetting most of what you said. Funny, cute and clever may get someone’s attention, but unless they have more time to learn the rest, they won’t know what they need to remember to be able to help you.

Prepare thoughtful questions. Take the time to prepare thoughtful questions of the people you encounter. Practice them enough to ensure they are on the tip of your tongue, so that you are not blurting out “do you know of any openings” or “can you refer a customer to me” before the person even knows anything about you.

Follow up. Meeting new people, but dropping the ball by failing to follow up, can end up wasting everyone’s time and energy. Make sure you take the time to follow up after every meeting or conversation in a professional and timely way, even if it was a casual or social event. Leaving a lasting impression through genuine interest and responsiveness is a good way to develop productive relationships.

Please share what you have done to prepare for networking events that has worked out well.

By the time this blog is read, the Washington State “snow days” of January 2012 may be long behind us. Still, the concepts can be applied when you encounter airport closures, canceled conferences/meetings/concerts or when someone gets cold feet and pulls out of a wedding. The intent of this is not to suggest you micromanage your time to the degree of being inflexible, but to help you gain control over your time and make better choices when unplanned events create havoc.

The notion came to me when I was forced to reschedule presentations, workshops and meetings over the course of four days due to our city being almost paralyzed by snow and ice this week. (Ok, I’ll have to insert this bit of info: Seattleites are light weights. We rarely have snow or sub freezing temperatures, have lots of hills and pretty much can’t drive safely under extreme conditions. The result is that many people become housebound and services often come to a screeching halt).

As I was playing chess with my events and coordinating with the several groups of people involved regarding the rescheduling, I discovered some very interesting dynamics. None bad, just interesting. Many of the people I tried to reach by email did not respond at all. Now, it was possible their power could be out, so I decided to try calling. As it turns out, since many people’s employers were not requiring them to come in, they took the day off (literally) and were not checking email at all. Their having a day off from work turned into being “off” from everything for them.

Taking time off from everything can be a reasonable choice, if your goal is to achieve work/life balance. I am all for that. An interesting coincidence I found however was that many of the people who had taken time off from everything, were also folks that have regularly complained about never having time to network or pursue their career goals. They had been given “free” days; days without commitments and no expectations. Yet several chose to use the time to “disconnect” and “disengage” rather than “connect” and “engage” in activities that could have easily moved them closer to their goals.  For others, the time was a great opportunity to connect with people electronically. I was pleased to learn that just as many people I reached were taking advantage of the free time to catch up. The contrast prompted me to consider the dynamics of each approach.

It struck me that many people get so caught up in feeling “out of control” they completely throw in the towel when free time is offered and don’t consider the choices they have. Unfortunately, without “contingency plans” for free time, it’s much easier to fall back on old habits or simply take a vacation. (If a vacation is needed, excellent!) But if the drudgery of a painful workplace or an unfulfilling career is still waiting to be faced when someone returns to a normal schedule, then it’s probably reasonable to say the unexpected “vacation” could have been better used.

You might be thinking: “If I don’t know when these events happen, how can I plan for them?” My answer is: It isn’t as important to know exactly when something will happen as it is to develop a plan for how you will react when it does. It’s kind of like earthquake preparedness. If we wait for catastrophic events to occur to move us to action, we will operate as victims, not as owners of our situations. If we prepare in advance by thinking out potential courses of action, we simply give ourselves more choices and have more power in moving ourselves in the direction we want to go.

Here are some ways to make your unexpected free time serve you better:

1. Clearly define your goals.
2. Set time frames for accomplishing your goals to build your accountability.
3. Break all of your goals into measurable objectives.
4. List all of the tasks required to achieve your objectives and goals.
5. Be prepared to tackle your list of tasks ahead of schedule when free time is an option.

If getting your office cleaned out is a goal, then taking free time to tackle one small area at a time could help you build momentum. If losing weight is a goal, then using unexpected free time to exercise could help you lose more weight, sooner. (Shoveling snow is a great calorie burner!)

If finding a new employer, changing careers or building a business is included in your goals, then networking will be an important key to your success. Being prepared with a list of whom you need to contact and scripts for what you need to ask/say will allow you to jump on free time and make it work for you. (Look for more information on networking to achieve your goals in other posts).

These gifts of minutes, hours and days are exactly what could make the difference between moving forward and staying stuck where you are. The choice is yours.

What did you do on your last snow day?

Most people in today’s working world are feeling the pressures of having too much to do and too little time to do it. The stress of trying to do more with less is beginning to take its toll on my productivity and of most of the people I know.  The illnesses, mistakes and even accidents resulting from lack of sleep and extreme stress cost us more than what we are attempting to gain by doing too much. The realization that both time and energy are finite has prompted me to take a deeper look. This year, the buck stops here.

Over the past several years I have been on track with goals of improving my health and quality of life. It wasn’t one big thing; it was all the small adjustments to absolutely everything I do that has freed up minutes each day. That extra time has allowed me to dedicate time for activities that keep me physically fit and well (i.e., working out, sleeping and eating properly), which altogether have contributed to an improved quality of life. But it is still not enough.

Each day I become increasingly aware of the nagging feeling of moving too fast and missing something. I have missed friend’s birthdays, their children’s weddings and an elderly neighbor’s moving away party and remained unaware of some challenges close friends were facing, to name a few things I wish I had been present for. There have been far too many important occasions or life events that can’t be replicated. It’s time to take a closer look at where my time goes.

Going into the New Year, I have planned more changes that will impact my business and my daily life with the goal of improving my overall quality of life in several areas. To get started, my approach was to create a list of all of my activities and all of the people I am involved with on a daily or weekly basis. I then identified those activities that left me feeling tired or unproductive. Next, I started to identify the relationships (not done with this yet) that resulted in interactions that either left me feeling drained or cost me time with no pay back. The activities were easy enough to cease.  The people side is a little tougher.

In order to make some serious changes, it takes some hard thinking (I am not done with this yet, either) and then creating a plan for changing or ending some relationships. With the first go around, I came away with a very full list of activities that still energize me, and coincidently, a long list of people whose involvement in my life consistently is a positive or productive experience. Seeing what I want to keep in my life makes it somewhat easier to remove what I don’t want.

The tough part will be putting in place new behavior that over time, will make more room for all that I want in my life. As I have learned through taking steps to improve my health, it will take small, consistent behavior changes over a period of time to reach some bigger goals for my quality of life. And, as in years past, rather than wait for the New Year to start making changes, I began the moment the thought crossed my mind.

Going forward, I will review each day to determine what could have been left out or added to improve my quality of life. Yesterday I came up with three changes and have immediately taken action on all of them. That’s a good start.

What do you want to find time and energy for in this coming year?

Much of my work involves helping people become more effective at work, and if they are not working, more productive in their job searches. It is necessary for me to observe behavior and identify the ways people may be setting themselves up for disappointments or mis-communications so I can help them avoid them in the future.

Over the years I have observed and interacted with people from all professions (healthcare, IT, engineering, manufacturing, finance, marketing, sales) and have found some interesting behaviors often shared by people within specific occupations.  Some behaviors are often overwhelmingly consistent. You most certainly could accuse me of stereo typing in my thinking and you would be accurate.

An example of what I see within some occupations is what most people might think when they visit a hair salon and the stylists are all having “bad hair” days. That image doesn’t really make one feel comfortable getting help with a new style, does it? Or, when we drive by a mechanic’s personal residence and see six broken down cars.  I think you can catch my drift here. Regardless of the labels, my point in sharing my observations is to remind people that anyone’s behavior off the job is often seen as a reflection of what their behavior would be on the job.

That said, my intent is for readers to consider the impressions they create when interacting with others outside of the context of their “jobs”. In order for anyone to feel comfortable enough to refer you, there must be trust in the fact that you will perform well and as promised. If you exhibit any of the following behavior, please consider how that behavior impacts others’ impressions and their ability to refer you.

• If you are a Project Manager, how organized do you appear? How often do you find yourself over booking or forgetting appointments? How reliable are you?  How often do you lose information or records of conversations or events? How well do you manage your time? Do you show others that you typically exercise good judgment?
• If you make a living by writing, are you proofing materials before you submit for job applications to ensure there is not one typo? How well do you communicate with others?
• If you are presenting yourself as an expert in technology, how many times do you use your “malfunctioning technology” as a reason for not completing a task or communicating in a timely way?
• If you are in science, how much effort do you put into research before you ask others for information that could be easily found on the web or through other simple research? How often do you lose important emails or important reference material?
• If you are a project coordinator or provide administrative support to others, how well do you adhere to deadlines? How often do you allow procrastination to get in the way of your accomplishing more? How well do you adapt to competing interests? Are you on time for meetings?
• If you work in a creative field, how well do you solve problems? How often do you allow outside influences to control what you do, perhaps preventing you from following through with commitments? How good are you at crafting creative solutions to obstacles that allow you to stay on task?

These examples are intended to prompt some thought, not create debates. Beyond that, I hope at least one person is compelled to work on their “professional image” before asking for their next referral.

A candidate’s ultimate goal from an interview is to receive an offer of employment. The employer’s goal is to select the right candidate. Contrary to how candidates have approached interviews in the past, waiting for the interview to learn what you need to know to determine if this is the right decision, is much too late.  Many employers have figured that out, too, and that is why they research candidates’ backgrounds in advance of the interview, or prefer to work with candidates referred by a trusted source. The employer will typically know what they need (not always) and what they are willing to pay (a range) in advance of an interview. If they truly don’t have a range, then it could be red flag. It may mean they haven’t researched to know what is reasonable, or worse, don’t have a budget, which means they may not be fiscally prepared to add to staff.

Regardless of how prepared or ill-prepared either party might be, every interview potentially ends with an offer and subsequently a negotiation. To retain a position of power throughout the process, the candidate’s negotiating strategy begins with their advance preparation, the resume they send and the first conversation. Contrary to popular belief, a strategy cannot begin after the offer is made. Any attempt to negotiate without a strategy is only a reaction or response. The person without a strategy is in a less powerful position than the one with a strategy.

The following examples illustrate how easy it is to lose your power prior to or during an interview, when there has been little preparation and no strategy developed prior to the first conversation. Immediately following are recommended actions to help a person maintain a position of power and to reinforce the ability to get what they want.

Ways to Lose Your Power:

1.      Reacting to an opportunity without goals and a strategy. If you are unclear about what it is you really want, why and how you are going to accomplish it, it is impossible to present a compelling case for why you are a fit for the role or the company.

2.      Not preparing for the call before you speak with them. Without preparation, it is too easy to get side tracked with tough questions. People say things they shouldn’t say, and say things in ways that can be easily misinterpreted.

3.      Talking about money before an interviewer knows anything about you (other than what’s in you your resume). Until you have presented a case for why you are worth anything, suggesting you should have more than what they might be offering will typically close the door on the opportunity. Yes, recruiters ask what you want. Just because they ask, doesn’t mean you need to tell them. (I’d like a home in Mexico. Anybody going to pony up?)

4.      Disclosing current or previous compensation. Don’t compare apples and oranges. The employer wants to know they are not wasting their time. If you are changing roles or moving from an area with a different cost of living, this information is irrelevant. There are many ways to assure them you are fine with what they may offer.

5.      Making demands or setting boundaries about what you will consider before a formal offer has been presented. If they haven’t decided they really want you and absolutely have to have you, then it is premature to discuss what you want. It can tip the cart and actually prevent an offer from coming forth.

6.      Assuming who the decision maker is. Don’t take any conversations lightly. A receptionist or support person may not be listed as a participant, but they certainly may be in on the hiring decision. At the very least, information they pass on about you could make a difference in the outcome later.

7.      Not knowing what the interviewer’s needs are. If you over speak when talking with any interviewer (trying to sell yourself by addressing issues that are not of interest to the person in front of you), you may completely miss the opportunity to move forward.

8.      Making assumptions about the interviewer’s viewpoint or company’s position on key points without clarifying their needs. Expanding on your opinion about something without being absolutely certain it is in line with their thinking leaves too much to be wrongly interpreted.

9.      Emailing communication that can be interpreted badly or will lose translation. Conversation about any conflict, money or a concern of any kind should not have a permanent trail.

10.   Asking questions about “what they can do for you” before you have presented value to them. Don’t imply you will have special requests before they are clear about “what you can do for them”.

11.   Talking beyond the business at hand before it is a done deal. If an offer hasn’t been presented for the role that is in front of you, then changing direction midstream without fulfilling their initial need can take you completely out of the game. Discussion about future options can be interpreted as if you are not interested in the original position or are overqualified. Even though the conversation seems pleasant enough, the reality of what is still left unfilled may resurface after you have left, and you could be dropped like a hot potato.

12.   Assuming any discussion is a formal offer when none has been made. You can’t assume that because one person loves you, and says everything is a go, that it is a done deal. Talk is cheap.

How to Maintain or Build Your Power:

1.      Be clear about your goals and how a particular role or company will contribute to your being able to achieve them.

2.      Know what you need to know about an industry to be competitive before you begin any conversation.

3.      Research a company and be as aware of important information about it before you have a conversation with a recruiter or hiring manager.

4.      Set the stage that money is not your highest priority, but the fit and contribution to the company’s needs are.

5.      Deflect questions about current earnings. Don’t be pushed into comparing apples and oranges. Research the current market range and suggest it. Certainly finding out from inside sources prior to an interview is optimal if the range isn’t posted.

6.      Find out who the real decision maker is.

7.      Make sure you know what is important to every person you interview with.

8.      Don’t take a stand about anything. Rather than discussing your “opinion”, tell them what you have done in the past so they don’t need to guess what actions you might take when given a tough scenario to maneuver through.

9.      Ask open-ended questions to learn more about the role, department and company. Let them talk! Ask open ended-questions to build your awareness of their motivation before coming to any conclusions.

10.   Discuss complex issues in person (or by phone if that is the only option other than email).Create a positive impression with all communications.

11.   Save discussions about “future advancement” until they have confirmed their immediate need has been met.

12.   Ask for a formal offer. Get it in writing.

Negotiating what you want after you understand their position, you are clear of what you need and an offer has been presented is much more likely to end in a win-win.

An interesting point was made during my networking group’s recent discussion about how to stay in touch with people in our network. As I was offering some techniques I personally use to stay in touch with my network, someone blurted out: “But that’s your job!”. Her point was that as a coach, it was my job to keep in touch with people that could assist my clients, it was my job to stay in touch with people that could provide industry insight, and it was my job to stay connected. I think you can catch the drift here. Others in the room began to giggle a bit and someone else retorted: “Networking is a part of all of our jobs!”

To many, networking has been viewed as a mandatory activity for sales people but perhaps as an extracurricular option for others, or an activity only to be pursued when a person is in between jobs. Somewhere the paradigm has shifted and many people now recognize it has become a mandatory part of everyday life for anyone in the workplace. Others have jumped on the social media bandwagon believing that “exposure” is the answer to unemployment or career development. Exposure isn’t the entire answer. Networking for effective results is really not that simple.

Social networking has prompted the medium for getting connected, but there is still a need for coaching around the concepts of why we need to be connected and how to develop or nurture new or existing relationships. Using social media to build exposure is one approach. But simple exposure does not develop relationships and does not develop trust. Relationships develop over time, not with a click and a connection. Developing relationships requires an awareness of a purpose and having an objective, followed by thoughtful communications that will support that objective.

It seems many jobseekers are under the impression that having mass visibility will not only get them a job, but that they will also automatically be happy with it. My assessment is that much like the rush to use career databases to post resumes years ago, the mad rush to use social networking sites to build visibility with the assumption that a passive approach leads to “happy ever after”, is just as unrealistic. Vast exposure with no plan or strategy is no more effective in developing rewarding results than the popular method of shot-gunning 500 resumes to random businesses was in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s.

The belief that visibility is the answer is misguided, as it is only a piece of the puzzle. Visibility means others can find you. It doesn’t mean that you will be prepared for the conversation when it is initiated, or that you will have the faintest idea of what you might be getting into when invited to interview with a company you may not have heard of an hour before the contact. Social networking can be a recruiter’s dream; easy access to more and more candidates. Conversely, the candidates that are contacted are at the mercy of the person reaching them. They are more likely to be caught off guard, unaware, unprepared and put in a position to act on something they had not enough time or information about to consider a reasonable approach. Flattering? Perhaps. Productive? Not necessarily. Certainly not as much as one would hope for.

There is a connection between the “job” of staying in touch with your network and making yourself visible through social networks.  It is important to ensure your visibility creates the kinds of opportunities that are consistent with your goals.  And, that your visibility is supported by the strength of your trusted relationships. By staying in touch with people that are able to share insight about your areas of interest, you are much more likely to have some semblance of composure or clear context the next time you are randomly contacted by an unknown recruiter.

Unemployment is the product of a recession, not the cause of it. Unemployment numbers will continue to climb long after the official start of a recession, and typically will take considerable time to correct after the official end of a recession. The very simple and short explanation is that this recession dropped further down than past recessions, and consequently, the correction will take longer.  I am not pretending to be an economist or an analyst, but I think these statistics are pretty widely known and accepted.

A deeper issue to examine after the end of a recession is what happens to employment numbers when people who have accepted roles that were less than their former roles (underemployed as opposed to unemployed) make no attempt to plan their way back through their own efforts, and assume the change in the economy will ultimately fix everything. The assumption is that life will get back to “normal” (whatever that is) by magic after the declaration of the end of a recession. The job they took as a barista to “get by” will no longer be necessary and the “good” jobs will open up again.

There is an inherent problem when people won’t take jobs that pay less than what they receive on unemployment without considering the skills they could gain or the contacts they could make to position themselves for the future. They often wait for their dream job to mysteriously appear, and when it doesn’t, they then may accept any job out of shear desperation. Without a plan for how they will get back to where they need to be, the cycle is likely to be repeated. My prediction is that many will find a way to leave these lower level jobs once they earn enough hours to claim unemployment benefits again, assuming it will be easy to find something better. I also predict that unemployment numbers will continue to stay high because the change in the market has been more than just the dip in the economy (production).

The way of doing business has changed in the same span of time the market has fallen. We may be gaining jobs, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to “less competition”, as one might believe. People who assume they will “get back to normal” may be completely out of touch with the new skills required to do their old jobs, or similar jobs, making them less competitive than they are now. The newly trained may also find themselves at the back of the line if they are not currently interning or actively planning their move back into the workplace through networking and research.

In the past many months, as I see money invested in retraining, I am not seeing a decline in competition for the “good” jobs. It appears to me that the number of people missing the experience and practical skills needed to be competitive for the good jobs is staying the same as it was in the middle of the recession. In contrast, those people who took jobs more closely related to their experience, or jobs in lower positions, but in line with what they aspire to do with the intent of growing, are already positioned to get fully back on their feet. People with new skills in a new industry or job function, without prior experience, will often be viewed as having an “entry level” skill set. They may also be faced with the contradiction of appearing “over qualified” due the person’s apparent age and number of years of employment. Unless a dedicated plan is put in place to connect a person to their target roles/companies during the time they are retraining, it is very likely they will be in the same position as they were prior to the retraining.

For those of you who are still struggling to get on track, here are some tips for getting started:

1.      Research - Find out what industries are growing, what companies are hiring, and what skills are needed. Investigate work options that may allow you to enter your field in a lower/different position than what your goal is. Learn who you need to know to get a foot in the door in your target organizations and how you can meet them. Identify the contacts you have that can be of assistance in making introductions. Note: this needs to be happening long before you actually discover a position you want to apply for.

2.      Assess your status - Learn how far off you are from being competitive in your chosen field or role. Identify what you already have (skills, experience, connections) and what you need to have to be competitive, and chose the path that will most likely lead you to employment in your field. If you are currently working in an unrelated job, identify what you can take away from the experience to add to your value in your chosen field.

3.      Plan a course of action - If you are unemployed or underemployed and there is no value to be gained by staying where you are, then it is time to take action to get on the right path. Develop a plan with measurable goals, objectives and timelines for getting you where you want to be. Be realistic about the amount of time it will take to accomplish each objective, and set realistic time frames for larger goals.

4.      Develop your network- See #1. Your network needs to be developed before you spot specific positions you are interested in pursuing. By showing genuine interest in advance, developing relationships and forming trusting bonds before you need them, you are much more likely to be referred and highly considered for roles that might be a stretch if you remain an unknown.

5.      Don’t give up- Sometimes it is hard to see the forest through the trees. Progression towards a “Plan A” job may not be fast or easily visible. It takes persistence, patience and flexibility. I can assure you that if you stay focused, dedicate the necessary time to work your plan and adjust your goals as needed to respond to market changes, you can find meaningful and satisfying work in spite of a slow economy.

If you are currently under employed and moving towards your target role, please briefly share your thoughts about why you have chosen the path you are on or your strategy for getting where you want to be.

Networking is an active process. It requires engagement, follow through and follow up. With all of the technology in the world, it still requires time for planning, thinking and responding. If I had the talent, I would draw a picture of this example, but since words are my medium, this analogy will have to be represented without visuals.

Imagine researching the web or purchasing books about putting in a lawn. You can learn about timing, the best seeds, what types of grass grow best in the region you live in, how to water and which fertilizer to use.

After all the reading and researching, eventually, the process to grow your lawn must begin. The ground has to be tilled, the seeds sown, fertilizer spread, the ground watered. And watered and watered. It requires daily attention to ensure the result of all of your careful research is actually working. It might turn out that the seeds or fertilizer used aren’t adapting to your soil or climate as anticipated. Oh, and then the weeding starts.

Another approach, of course, is to pick up a bag of unidentified seeds, throw them into your yard and wait to see what happens next. Having high expectations for even huge numbers of seeds to sprout when thrown on untilled land or clay, without any water, is probably going to lead to disappointment.

The bottom line is: without consistent and continued effort, the lawn will never sprout, it can die or it can get overgrown with weeds. And that, my friends, is what can happen with a network that is not seeded, nurtured and tended to, each and every day.

How are you growing and taking care of your network?

The thing about a missed opportunity is that you typically only figure out that it was missed in hindsight, and many times, there is no going back. The following are a few examples of what can happen from a job seeker’s perspective and from a sales perspective when assumptions are made and not investigated. I’ve co-mingled examples of both because the aspects of an employment opportunity are very much the same as with sales opportunities.

1. Know who you are dealing with. One of the easiest mistakes made by people is to rely on a title to reflect value or power, (or lack thereof) without fully investigating that assumption. An opportunity to speak with the real decision maker can be missed because the title of the person you communicating with doesn’t reflect a position of power, but may actually be a huge influence in the decision making process.

A background in sales taught me to be respectful of gatekeepers, and to never underestimate the power they hold when it comes to recommending a vendor or cutting off all access to the final decision maker. A caller can be stopped because the person on the receiving end either didn’t perceive value, or were simply put off by a sales approach. To succeed, I was also prompted to dig a little deeper to learn about a company’s needs beyond what was visible on the surface. In a similar vein, I watch as job seekers ruin their chances for getting in the door with a company because they were disrespectful of the lower level employees they had contact with. Either way, the scenario typically begins with an assumption and may end without gaining traction unless the assumption is thoroughly researched.

2. Know what you are dealing with. It is also possible to mistakenly overlook an employment opportunity because the title of the position you learn about sounds too junior. I have seen job seekers miss out on prime opportunities to get their foot in the door with a company that could lead to a great future. They thumbed their noses at lower level roles because they felt the roles were “beneath” them. Before you ask: “won’t the company perceive a candidate with a recognizably higher current/former title as being overqualified?” I’ll respond by answering “not necessarily”.

Sometimes the “fit” with the organization is so highly regarded by an employer they will follow up with a candidate based on a referral, even when they are not an exact match with a posted position. They may even adjust the role to fit the candidate’s full qualifications after meeting and discussing their needs.

Researching the culture and hiring practices of an organization through current/past employees prior to applying can give a candidate a leg up. Many companies can and will create a new role, at a different compensation level, based on a referral, the candidate’s willingness to break in at the lower role, and their enthusiasm about the organization. If the candidate is called in for an interview, you can bet the company was interested in what they saw on paper. What comes next depends on how well the candidate leverages the company’s interest and parlays the opportunity to speak to them.

Interviewing for a lesser position can lead to a referral for an impending higher level role a candidate was unaware of. Or, another outcome can be that a new position opens up in the same department because someone else moves on within a brief time of the new employee coming on board. Mind you, an immediate or quick promotion can’t be assumed or counted on, but if the candidate shows the willingness to contribute in any way the company needs them to in the beginning, you can bet they will be regarded highly when that next opportunity opens up.

Similarly, a salesperson that researches the needs and buying practices of an organization before calling on them, and subsequently impresses the person influencing the decision maker, can help identify an expanded need for products/services beyond what had originally been anticipated.

3. Know what is needed. After an interview, when a candidate reports “they thought I was over qualified”, I immediately wonder what was said to lessen the company’s interest. Certainly something caused them to change their minds about considering the candidate after their initial interest was piqued with the receipt of the resume. During an interview, prematurely speaking beyond the position can lead an employer to believe the candidate is not interested in the role at hand at all, and that can be a turn off. Boasting about experiences that are beyond the needs of the role is not productive, and may cause the employer to immediately lose interest. The fear is that the candidate will bail when a more interesting position pops up, or will get bored or become too impatient to wait for the right opportunity within the company. It is the candidate’s responsibility to convince the employer they really have a strong interest in the organization, not just a great job.

To do that, it is critical to satisfy the organization’s immediate need first. Once this need is clearly satisfied, then it is possible for the candidate to address questions about growth by inquiring about their business plans and future challenges. This is very different from asking straightforward questions about “growth opportunities” from an employment perspective. By understanding their current status and needs now, it is possible to segue into how you can help down the road. Show a clear understanding of the need for the current role right now, and then connect it to how it naturally relates to their future needs.

Not dealing with or resolving the immediate need is like trying to sell a fleet of cars when only one car is needed. At this point, regardless of the fact that more will be needed later, the sales opportunity will be gone with the wind if a salesperson hasn’t met and confirmed a company’s immediate need first. Talking too much about the wrong points or being too “self-assured” can also lead to a very misdirected sales effort.

4. Go in prepared to have a productive conversation. The key take away from this blog is not to make assumptions. Get your facts straight about what the company really needs, where they are headed and what level of influence your contact has before you make a decision to pursue or discard a lead, or engage in a conversation. Researching a company in advance to thoroughly understand its culture, needs and reasons for making buying decisions, whether it is for team members, products or services, will ultimately lead to a much more productive outcome.

If you have learned enough about an organization prior to applying for a position or presenting a product that changed your approach and ultimately led to a different opportunity than anticipated, please share your experience.

How many times have you heard “information is power?” If you agree, then hopefully it will prompt you to take a new look at how you are pursuing your job search or your efforts to advance your career.

A posted job announcement is only an inkling of the information a person needs to consider before initiating their pursuit of an employment opportunity. Although many people believe that gaining access to more job boards creates more “leads”, the following differentiation is intended to show there is more information available to gain access to the right “job”.

A lead can mean more than a “job posting”.  A lead can be:

1.     To a connection inside of a targeted company

2.     About industry projections, changes, new developments

3.     Insight about a hiring manager’s personality, style, interests

4.     Information about the culture or hiring practice of a company

5.     An introduction to new and important technical skills

The key to whether a lead turns into something of value is in how it is heard, received, and ultimately followed up with. It’s not surprising how many people stay stuck on hearing about “jobs” and pass over very useful information that if heeded or pursued, could be integrated into their plan for “getting a job”. On a broader scale, if you are already working, then new information can help direct your path in a more satisfying direction. It can also help you prepare for changes in the market in advance.

A lead can be any additional information, that when combined with other accumulated information, can help you make good decisions and lead you to the best course of action.

Regardless of what is received, an immediate response is required to any morsel of information, whether it involves a simple acknowledgment or requires further inquiry for clarification. A response to the sender must be immediate, regardless of the actual course of action that will follow. If more thought is needed, the sender can be told the follow-up will occur at a (specific) later date. The point is to acknowledge the information and thank the sender within 24 hours.

The next step is to establish your required action in regard to the information you received. It may require immediate action, or a later action could be more beneficial. More research may be needed. Regardless of what has to happen, the acknowledgment and a plan for follow-up needs to be determined within 24 hours (sometimes less). It isn’t going to amount to anything if it is ignored, and it will get stale if put aside for days or weeks.

If you expect to only hear about “jobs” and shut down when people are sharing other pieces of information, it is very likely you are missing key points and opportunities that could lead you in a more productive direction. Knowing more about what others are doing and what they know, helps you build a stronger and more competitive plan for getting what you want.

If an “it’s all about me” attitude prevails, it is likely you will not hear very important pieces of information (leads) that could have helped you alter your approach or change your direction.

If you have been successful taking a “nugget” of information and turning it into a successful lead, please share your experience.