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July 07, 2009
Using Career Research as a Job Marketing Tool
This is the second week of our summer 2009 interactive project for sharing ideas about how you, as a job seeker with a visual impairment, can effectively use social media for networking so you can gain meaningful employment
Time has changed networking into a sophisticated job marketing tool.
30 years ago, networking for job seekers meant casually striking up a conversation with others at a conference, workshop or cocktail party about "work."
Job seekers sought to discover mutual interests, share information about "who is hiring," exchange calling cards and build their networks by following up a day or two later by telephone. It was basic career research. It was also job marketing.
20 years ago, career research for job seekers became more deliberate. Job seekers sought to expand their networks and go directly to the "hidden" job market by actively but discreetly doing job sector and company research through in-person "informational interviews."
Job seekers personally interviewed people within companies or organizations which met their criteria as a "targeted" employer. They asked about what they liked about their jobs etc. It was basic career research.
At the same time, job seekers sought to actively enroll these key company contacts into their efforts to expand their career research networks. They asked them for referrals to other people they could interview within their particular job sector.
Such interviews became job marketing opportunities.
For an example of that "information interview" approach see "Essential Career Marketing Tactic: Writing Effective Letters of Introduction"
Then, about 10 years ago, savvy job seekers started doing career research online and using e-mail lists to network with prospective employers. "Pay it forward" and "give to get" became the norms in that online environment, where being knowledgeable and helpful to others are keys to expanding the scope of researching a job - and marketing yourself as a job seeker.
Today, each of these forms of networking, when used judiciously, can play a role for us in researching a career, conducting company research, establishing relationships with key contacts, gaining access to the "hidden" job market and "selling" ourselves as a potential employee.
But, there are now additional resources we didn't have three decades (or a decade) ago: online social media, such as: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, etc.
The bottom line: As job seekers (especially those of us with visual impairments), we can now tap our creativity to make our career research and networking less invasive for everyone involved. In doing so, our job marketing efforts become more focused and more time-efficient with less effort and a lower cost.
By using LinkedIn, for example, you can connect with exactly the right people in the companies where you want to work.
If you don't know anyone in a company you're targeting, you can use LinkedIn to find a connection who can introduce you to the company or one of their connections who can make the introduction.
By doing so, you'll likely get higher priority consideration for an open job you would love to have.
That social media approach gives a new dimension to career networking, company research, and job marketing. But, first things first: You need to have your self-presentation (social media profile) and letter of introduction (introduction request) in good form before you start using the power of social networking in your job search.
To help you get started, read "Letters of Introduction" for advice on how to carry out your search for the job and employer which are right for you.
Then give us your thoughts about this question:
How do you make your case that a colleague should introduce you to a member of his or her social network?
Add your comments to this posting
Posted by Liz Seger at July 7, 2009 01:22 PM
Comments
I’d show a genuine interest in the work my targeted contact is doing.
For instance, I would state upfront that I want to get his or her views about:
- The day-to-day activities of the job.
- The best way to prepare for the job.
- The positive aspects about the job.
- The negative aspects about the job.
- The job's outlook in terms of demand, compensation etc.
Posted by: Jim Hasse at July 8, 2009 12:39 PM
Savvy job seekers today are using social media to do career research and connect with key people within companies on their “targeted” employers list.
They have one big advantage over the pre-Internet job candidates who relied on in-person “informational interviews” to build their networks.
That advantage is this: People on social networks such as LinkedIn want to connect with others and establish relationships. That’s why they are there.
They may have a research or selling objective in mind, but most understand that meeting that objective comes as a result of cultivating genuine relationships by being helpful to others (answering questions, offering information, making introductions).
In doing informational interviews, I often felt like I was intruding on someone’s time during business hours, even though I was sincerely trying to learn about the person’s job.
That’s not the case with social media, which have been developed precisely for networking.
As we pursue introductions to people who we don’t know yet but who need to know about us (and how we can contribute to their company’s continued success), we need to remind ourselves we’re in a venue specifically for networking.
That means we can confidently put our best foot forward by describing what we need in a concrete, authentic way – always remembering that we need to help others in the same way we would like to be helped.
Posted by: Jim Hasse at July 8, 2009 04:25 PM
I'd recommend the following: 1. Reflect interest in the other person. 2. Discuss some project or activity you have in common. 3. If you learn of a situation where you may be able to give advise or offer help, do so. Another comment: People tend to underestimate those who have less vision than "normal" and a good way to overcome that and demonstrate competence is to provide understanding and problem-solving advice.
Posted by: Mary L. McGee at July 8, 2009 04:26 PM
Good advice, Mary. Those of us with visual impairments may have an ace card to play while we use social media to connect with potential employers.
That ace card is this: our knowledge about how to deal with a visual impairment in a work situation, particularly when it comes to adaptive technology.
They may not realize it yet, but hiring managers are going to increasingly face situations in which they have employees (baby boomers, for instance) who find they “can’t see as well as they used to.”
And they’ll probably not know how to help those employees adjust to that acquired disability in a work situation.
Our problem-solving experience when it comes to adaptive technology may prove to be a door opener to building mutually beneficial relationships with key personnel in companies we are targeting as potential employers.
And we can do it all online through social media.
We just have to learn when and how to play that ace card.
Posted by: Jim Hasse at July 9, 2009 11:01 AM