Sital Ruparelia

A few months back I began working with a bright, talented lawyer shortly after he was made redundant. Like every client I work with in this market, from the outset I explained the importance of focussing his job search campaign via networking and contacts much more than targeting recruiters and jobsites.

Not because the other search channels were ineffective – but because in a tight job market a much larger proportion of roles are being filled by employee referral programmes and direct hiring from firms rather than recruiters and job sites. An abundance of candidates, smaller recruitment budgets and slimmed down HR teams (who manage and process applicants) being the main reasons.

Over the last few months he has made some progress – but hasn’t secured a job offer despite is impressive resume / CV. This is largely (in my opinion) due to the fact that he has been searching mainly via recruiters and job sites (i.e. the complete opposite to what I suggested) and so faces huge competition for a smaller pool of positions.

When we met 4 months into his search, I suggested he changed his approach to focus much more time and energy on networking and less time and energy applying to the same recruiters and job adverts that every other lawyer in town is applying to.

He told me that I was wrong.

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Scared of making a vital call?

Worried about sending an email to that contact?

Anxious about confronting your boss or colleague about a situation?

Fearful about making a big decision?

…..do you consequently feel paralysed and powerless?

Okay, following these 5 steps:

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“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Reinhold Niebuhr

You’re employer is going through a major restructuring process and you don’t quite know what will happen to you or your job.

You’re department has reorganised and you’ve ended up in a make-shift role that is unclear.

You’ve been given (what seems like) a pointless project to work on. You get the distinct impression that you’re being ‘frozen out.’

Your firm is cutting costs and you feel vulnerable

Sound familiar?

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Last Christmas, I spent two days volunteering at the Crisis homeless shelters in London.

Crisis is a charity that runs centres each Christmas to provide London’s homeless people with food, shelter, entertainment and companionship through the Christmas period. In fact they ran the biggest ever volunteer event in the UK, with 9,000+ volunteers over a 10-day period.

I’d never done anything like this before but, having read about the record numbers of people becoming homeless last year due to the financial crisis, I thought I would volunteer my time on the 23rd and 24th December – after all it was just two days.

I was part of the “Learning and Skills” team of volunteers who helped the homeless ‘clients’ improve specific skills such as literacy, numeracy, language skills, computer skills, artistic skills etc. Given my background, my main focus was to offer advice and help to people about finding work. After all, finding work and earning money has a knock-on effect on being homeless. Helping a homeless person find work could literary change their life.

But in reality, most people that come into the shelters are looking for a warm meal and people to chat to rather than for advice on how to improve their skills. So on Christmas Eve I found myself and a fellow volunteer (Carol), chatting to a homeless 60-year old Irish man over a cup of tea in the canteen of the school that was hosting the shelter.

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Are you frustrated with waiting for that call?

- The call back from the recruiter who has sent your resume/CV to a client

- The call back from the contact who is discussing your details with some of their colleagues

- The call back from the potential employer that’s trying to find a budget to take you on as a contractor

Well stop waiting

Waiting around for people to call you is one of the most frustrating parts of  job searching. And usually makes you feel as if you have little or no control of what’s happening to you.

Well here’s a suggestion: stop waiting and take control.

Always keep control

Where possible don’t ever ever give people the opportunity to ‘call you back.’

Instead, make sure its YOU that keeps control by ensuring it’s YOU that is doing the calling back. And ideally, agreeing to call back at a pre-agreed time and date.

“You can’t do that…(can you?)”

Yes you can. But only if you ask.

In my experience, most people don’t even try to keep control of the conversation. When a recruiter or contact says “I’ll call you back” most people roll over and meekly say “..Ok thank you” fully expecting a call back that, often, doesn’t materialise.

What you should be doing in these situations is seizing control by politely suggesting that you’ll make the follow up call (after all you’re the one job searching and their likely to be incredibly busy). Once they’ve agreed, find a time and date to make the follow up call. Invariably you will hit their voicemail when you call back – but at least you now have control. You can leave a voicemail and say you’ll call back – instead of asking them to call you.

You won’t always get control, but you must always attempt to get it

I accept that not everyone you speak to will agree to this and some will want to keep control and call you back when they are ready to do so.  But you must always attempt to keep control by asking the question. And you’ll often find you need to make several attempted follow ups to get an answer. But that’s ok. It’s part of the course. But at least this way you have some control.

Asking the question and keeping control helps you separate you from the crowd. It quickens up your job search and helps you feel like you have some control over your destiny, rather than just being another number. Another person that get’s lost on a database or in a backlog of  unanswered voicemails…

Some people come into our lives for a reason

Some people for a season

Some for a lifetime

I came across this wise saying a few years ago when I found myself asking the “why question.”

You know the one we all ask when we lose people that are close to us  - be they friends, family or a close relationship.

I’d lost a close friend and really couldn’t make sense of things. All I kept thinking was: “Why? Why did it happen? Why oh why…?”

Then one day I randomly came across the above quote which helped me look at things a little more philosophically. It didn’t change the situation – but certainly changed my perspective on things and , in time, help me move forward.

Moving forward is the greatest challenge many people face after any loss – including the loss of a job.

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1. Focus on networking with your warmest contacts FIRST

2. Be clear about your objectives and what you want (and don’t want)

3. Be generous in sharing ideas, resources, contacts

4. Don’t keep score

5. Be yourself

6. Ask lots of open questions – who? what? how? when?

7. Network with a wide range of contacts outside your immediate connections

8. Ensure you have an online presence and are using social media platforms to establish an online brand (Eg LinkedIn.com, start a blog etc)

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I’m constantly surprised at how so many people try to deal job loss and redundancy on their own.

One of the first questions I ask clients who have recently lost their jobs is “Have you announced your redundancy to every single person in your personal and professional network..?”

On average, only about 30% of people say ‘yes’ – the other 70% have often not told many people at all – even several week’s after being laid off.

When I ask why – they usually say “oh, I err, just haven’t….” – but I usually know what’s going on. When I ask further questions and probe further, there are some common reasons for not telling others about their situation.

Here are 4 of the most common reasons why people are shy about sharing – along with my usual response is:

1. “I feel embarassed..”

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 ”To be prepared is half the victory” - Miguel De Cervantes

A large part of your success at job interviews comes down to the ammount and type of preparation you do. In particular, preparing yourself for the types of questions you’re likely to be asked.

Below are 17 questions you must be able to answer prior to attending most types of interviews. This is NOT a definite guide to interview questions (there’s no such thing) – but instead a set of core questions that makes you go through a thought process before attending interviews.

If you can answer these questions for yourself, it allows you to answer most types of non technical questions in most interviews (by non technical, I mean questions related to your functional area – eg Sales, Accounting etc).

The 17 Questions:

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As we wrap up 2008, I thought I’d share some of the best posts of the year below. I got the idea from Penelope Trunk, who recently shared her best 18 posts of the year on the excellent blog, Brazen Careerist.

As this is the last post of the year, can I also quickly say ‘thank you’ for reading and commenting on the blog. I understand that everyone is busy and so appreciate you taking the time to read. I hope you’ve found the articles of benefit during a turbulent 2008 and hope to bring you more valuable advice and information in 2009.

So wherever you are in the world, I wish you an enjoyable and relaxing time over the remaining days of the holiday season and look forward to ’seeing’ you in January.

15 Best Posts of 2008

Focus On Reinvention, Not Recession

10 Ways YOU Stop Yourself Getting The Right Job

How To Thrive During Uncertain Times

9 Career Lessons From Richard Branson

13 Ways To Stay Positive In An Economic Downturn

How To Recession Proof Your Career By Developing Your Network

5 Tips For Managing Your Career In A Crazy Market

Why Thinking Like A Consultant Protects You In A Downturn

5 Steps To More Money AND More Satisfaction

The 7½ Tips For Being Remarkable

The Secret To Success In A Downturn: Choosing Your Reaction

5 Tips For Job Searching In A Crazy Market

How To Make Your CV / Resume Stand Out In A Downturn

Lehman Employees: Here’s What To Do Next

Career Changers: 6 Steps To Becoming Unstuck

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