Sital's Blog

So you’ve been out of the job market due to redundancy, job loss or personal circumstances.

It’s all very legitimate but that’s not the way some employers and interviewers see it.

Here are 5 steps to help you not only handle conversations about your gap  – but in fact turn the gap into a positive differentiator which helps you stand out from crowd.

1. Don’t be defensive

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Searching for new jobs, projects or clients?
- You need options

Many job seekers and self employed professionals take their foot off the gas once they’ve a couple of strong opportunities in the pipeline. Invariably these opportunities don’t always convert and so they’re left with an empty pipeline and an uphill struggle because they haven’t enough irons in the fire.

Or if an opportunity does convert, they have no leverage in negotiations because they’ve no other options available.

Currently working?
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“Life is a series of mountains, valleys and missiles”

This is a lesson I learned from my first Business Coach, Chris Barrow

To paraphrase Chris:

Mountains: Are the moments when we feel on top of the world.  When everything is going really well.

- When things are good, the key is to enjoy and appreciate the things that are going well instead of obsessing about all the things that aren’t quite yet perfect.
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Sometimes you need to shut one door before new ones begin to open up to you.

Which means:

- You need to decide you’re giving up on project or business venture before ideas for a new venture show up.

- You need to make a firm decision to move on from an old job or career for new opportunities and ideas to show up.

- You need make a decision to change City or Country before new options come up and chance conversations come your way to create opportunities.

Intuitively we all know this to be true don’t we?

But it feels scary.

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The death and destruction caused by last week’s second earthquake in New Zealand was far worse than the first earthquake a month ago.

The pain and problems caused by such ‘aftershocks’ can effect people in a much more profound way in other aspects of life and business too:

At an Economic Level

- The economic aftershocks felt months after the financial crisis and recession are, for some people, much more painful than the shock of the crisis. (e.g. high unemployment, cuts in government spending and higher taxes)

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Regardless of how talented you are, how smart you are and how committed you are, if I don’t LIKE you, there’s a good chance that:

- I won’t buy from you

- I won’t refer you

- I won’t hire you

- I won’t promote you

- I won’t think twice about making you redundant when we’re restructuring

- I won’t totally support you as my boss

- I won’t be influenced by your ideas or strategies as your customer or internal stakeholder

Is this fair? – No

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Many people equate “exercising and getting fit”  with going to the gym and pounding on a treadmill.

But running at the gym is just one way of getting fit.  The most effective way to get fit (and stay fit) is to choose 1 or 2 activities which you enjoy and find effortless (be it running, swimming, football, gym-work or whatever) – and then to do them consistently.

The same applies to successful networking.

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If you’re out of work and searching for a new role, you need to be more visible and more sociable than ever before to ensure you meet people who may be able to help you.

In reality, the majority of out-of-work job seekers don’t do this.

A dip in confidence often makes them fearful about social situations and answering the awkward questions.  So it’s ‘safer’ to stay at home and not go out. It’s easier to send emails and apply online rather than meet real people face to face.

Which, of course, does not help their job search and consequently makes them feel even worse about their situation and causes a downward spiral.

Sound familiar?

Here are 5 steps which will help

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You say you want to find a job quickly.

Really?

Okay if you’re serious – take the 21 day challenge.

In the next 21 days – go out and meet 21 people.

Why?

60-70% of positions are filled via referrals and networking. By engaging your warm contacts (your “unpaid recruiters”), you take the first step in tapping into positions which are not openly available on the market yet (the so called “hidden job market”).

You get a chance to practice and sharpen your pitch (what you want, what you offer, what differentiates you) with an easy audience. You get to screw up in a low risk fashion so that when you meet a really important contact or get to the key interview, you’ll be in fine form.

Who?

The 21 people need to be warm contacts who know you – an old boss, ex-colleagues, old clients, university friends, old friend’s you’ve lost touch with – or indeed people referred by warm contacts.

Don’t dismiss anyone based on “oh they won’t know anyone” – you never know who they in turn know. And anyway, I’m asking you to meet and reconnect with people, not meet them simply  for referrals and leads (not a nice thing to do).

In fact, your focus should be engage in conversation, ask questions, listen and see how you can help them – that’s how you truly network (and sell yourself without even trying).

Trust me – when you get face to face with people who, like, trust and respect you – they will volunteer to help even before you ask.

Why 21 days?

It takes 21 days to form a habit. So if, over the next 3 weeks you can get you out meeting people, engaging, following up leads etc – you’ll gain some critical habits which will accelerate your search during the next few weeks and months.

21 people – That’s a lot!

That’s why it’s called a challenge!

Look, it’s not the end of the world if you meet 15 people in 21 days. But aim for the 21 as it really will give you momentum, the confidence and sharpness when marketing yourself. Plus it will sow lots of seeds which may come back and flourish into opportunities several weeks or months down the line.

And remember, these are warm contacts not strangers – so you should easily be able to set up the first few. Let me ask you – who is the easiest person for you to set up a coffee or drink with? Contact them right NOW!

DON’T THINK IT WILL WORK?

Click on this link:

I Took Sital’s 21 Day Test and Secured 8 Interviews

Whilst going over the content for the second call of my teleseminar series for job seekers, I realised that I have way too much material to cover to truly do it justice.

So rather than rush through the 10 steps on Saturday 8th, I’ve decided to add an extra call on January 15, 2011 so that I can go through each of the steps in adequate depth and so help you accelerate your search.

So effectively it’s now a 3 part series, instead of a 2-part series.

If you’re already registered so you don’t need to do a thing to access this additional bonus call. The dial-in information is detailed below and the audio will be emailed to you just like the first two.

If you haven’t registered, follow this link to reserve your place.

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