How to REALLY Help a Job Seeker

How to REALLY Help a Job Seeker One question I hated while in a job search was: Hows your job search going? The answer I said was its going okay, but what I thought was it sucks more than you could imagine! When I speak I share a brilliant response to the question, but in this post I want to share an idea I had for people who ASK the question.  Feel free to forward this on to well, the entire world, because EVERYONE should think about this. Perhaps this normal question is the best way to start out the conversation, and 99% of job seekers respond as I have below, but then see how the conversation changes after their lame response (yes, they know it is lame, but there is a reason they respond that way). Job Seeker Friend: Hows your job search going? Job Seeker: Fine. Job Seeker Friend: awkward pause Job Seeker: awkward pause Job Seeker Friend: What companies are you trying to get into? Job Seeker: Oh, um, Ive been applying at Company A, Company B and Company C.  There are others, but those are the three Im most interested in. Job Seeker Friend: I might know someone at one of those companies let me see if I can find their information for you. Job Seeker: That would be great can you send an email introducing us to one another?  I find an introduction is much better than me calling out of the blue. Job Seeker Friend: Thats a great idea, Ill do it as soon as I find their information. Job Seeker: Thank you! Job Seeker Friend: What titles are you interviewing for? Job Seeker: Im looking for a role as a ____ or an _____. Job Seeker Friend: You know, I think I know someone who has been a ___ for a while.  I can introduce you to her, also. Job Seeker: I really appreciate the leads!  I will be sure to follow up with them, and Ill let you know how it goes. Job Seeker Friend: Great.  Youll see a few emails soon. Job Seeker: Thank you! See how this works?  There are a few things going on here.  Heres the dialog again, with my comments in black: Job Seeker Friend: Hows your job search going? Job Seeker: Fine. We all hate this question but if you end here you miss an opportunity! Job Seeker Friend: awkward pause this is where it usually ends, right? Job Seeker: awkward pause Job Seeker Friend: What companies are you trying to get into? This question is GOLD.  Coach your friends to ask you this question. Job Seeker: Oh, um, Ive been applying at Company A, Company B and Company C.  There are others, but those are the three Im most interested in. You should be able to list three target companies at all times.  You can change them as often as you wish, but you need to be able to rattle them off. Job Seeker Friend: I might know someone at one of those companies let me see if I can find their information for you. Job Seeker: That would be great can you send an email introducing us to one another?  I find an introduction is much better than me calling out of the blue. This is SO true an email intro is worth 100 times what you get from an email address or phone number. Job Seeker Friend: Thats a great idea, Ill do it as soon as I find their information. Job Seeker: Thank you! Job Seeker Friend: What titles are you interviewing for? Another golden question! Job Seeker: Im looking for a role as a ____ or an _____. Job Seeker Friend: You know, I think I know someone who has been a ___ for a while.  I can introduce you to her, also. Job Seeker: I really appreciate the leads!  I will be sure to follow up with them, and Ill let you know how it goes. This is so critical.  If you give an intro, let the person know that you actually acted on it they are more likely to do more introductions later. Job Seeker Friend: Great.  Youll see a few emails soon. Job Seeker: Thank you! It is our job, as job seekers, to help people who want to help us. If someone asks hows your job search going, dont blow it. Instead, help them understand how they can help you give them a little work to do. Theyll appreciate it! How To Really Help a Job Seeker Do you know someone who is looking for a job? Have you recently asked someone how is your job search going? When I was a job seeker I was the only job seeker in my circles of influence. The only one in my neighborhood and my church and my friend group. People knew I was looking for a job, and they frequently asked how my job search was going. One lady would bring me printouts of openings every Sunday. Coincidentally I had spent so much time on the job boards that every posting she brought me seemed too familiar. And none of them matched what I was looking for. It wasnt their fault that I couldnt count any of them as helpful. Willing, yes, but not helpful. No one knew how to really help me in my job search. I didnt know how to help them help me. Heck, I didnt even know how to help myself! Fast forward a few years, I had written a very successful book (the first book on LinkedIn that wasnt for recruiters), launched JibberJobber (the CRM for job seekers), written a dud of a book, and was a professional (read:paid) speaker flown around the U.S. to speak. When I got on the road to speak I had the beautiful opportunity to meet job seekers and learn their stories and their struggles. I learned that across the country people were struggling with things I struggled with: loneliness, depression, and lack of knowledge about job search strategies and tactics. I also learned that people had friends and family and even acquaintances who all wanted to help them, but they didnt know how and the job seeker didnt know how to help them help them. It was on one of these trips that I figured out how I could help job seekers help their friends help them (I know, thats a lot of helps). I came up with this almost a decade ago, and Ive shared it on stage and in articles and on the radio and on podcasts many times. But Ive never shared it with non-job seekers. First, let me share what I tell job seekers. Then Ill restate it, but to you, who isnt in a job search. To job seekers I say that they have to believe that people want to help them. When people say How is your job search going? they really want to know if there is any way they can help you in your job search. But we, as job seekers, respond to that question with a good or a its going okay or sometimes we tell them the truth about how its not going well at all. None of these answers help others help us. I tell them they can say good or okay, but they need to follow up with this: Im looking for introductions to people who work at my target companies. Do you know anyone who works at Company A, Company B, or Company C? So you are answering their direct question, and you are asking them a simple yes or no question. If they know someone who works at any of those companies, you would follow-up with Would you introduce me to that person? And that simple but brilliant response is how you help others help you in your job search.   Networking introductions, especially to people in one of your target companies, could be more valuable than even paying their rent or mortgage for the month! Now, with that as a foundation, let me tell you how you can help job seekers that you know. Same concept, but instead of you waiting for them to respond that way (most people will never have heard that response before so theyll just answer good to your how is your job search going question), I want you to think about inserting these responses to their good: Cool. What are some of your target companies? I might know someone who works at one of them. What roles are you applying to? I might know someone who you can talk to. If you are interested in networking with any of my contacts, Id be happy to make an introduction. What are the companies you are most interested in working in? Instead of waiting for them to ask you if you know anyone at their target company, you offer it. I suggest this because sometimes the job seeker is too heads-down applying online, or they dont think anyone would make introductions to them, or they really dont know how to do a job search. Because of the lack of proper job search training, I would follow-up with this: I can introduce you to a friend of mine who works at Company A, but Id like to know how it goes. Id like you to do an informational interview with her, where you ask her about the organization, their needs, industry insight, as well as ask her for introductions to people in the department where you want to work. Have you done any of these informational interviews in your job search? You see, another epiphany I had while on the road was that informational interviews are the most important tactic that a job seeker should invest in. Heres what Ive said from stage: If I were in a job search right now, Id spend 90% of my time on informational interviews. Ive written and talked a lot about informational interviews just search JibberJobber Informational Interview and youll find plenty of information on that. As a job seeker I thought I didnt have anything to offer other job seekers. I didnt know how to help them. But one day I realized I had something more valuable than gold I had contacts. And I could make introductions. When you do this, you are really helping your friends in their job search. Good luck, and share this message far and wide. We need a lot more people actually helping in the job search, and this is how we can do it. How To Really Help a Job Seeker Do you know someone who is looking for a job? Have you recently asked someone how is your job search going? When I was a job seeker I was the only job seeker in my circles of influence. The only one in my neighborhood and my church and my friend group. People knew I was looking for a job, and they frequently asked how my job search was going. One lady would bring me printouts of openings every Sunday. Coincidentally I had spent so much time on the job boards that every posting she brought me seemed too familiar. And none of them matched what I was looking for. It wasnt their fault that I couldnt count any of them as helpful. Willing, yes, but not helpful. No one knew how to really help me in my job search. I didnt know how to help them help me. Heck, I didnt even know how to help myself! Fast forward a few years, I had written a very successful book (the first book on LinkedIn that wasnt for recruiters), launched JibberJobber (the CRM for job seekers), written a dud of a book, and was a professional (read:paid) speaker flown around the U.S. to speak. When I got on the road to speak I had the beautiful opportunity to meet job seekers and learn their stories and their struggles. I learned that across the country people were struggling with things I struggled with: loneliness, depression, and lack of knowledge about job search strategies and tactics. I also learned that people had friends and family and even acquaintances who all wanted to help them, but they didnt know how and the job seeker didnt know how to help them help them. It was on one of these trips that I figured out how I could help job seekers help their friends help them (I know, thats a lot of helps). I came up with this almost a decade ago, and Ive shared it on stage and in articles and on the radio and on podcasts many times. But Ive never shared it with non-job seekers. First, let me share what I tell job seekers. Then Ill restate it, but to you, who isnt in a job search. To job seekers I say that they have to believe that people want to help them. When people say How is your job search going? they really want to know if there is any way they can help you in your job search. But we, as job seekers, respond to that question with a good or a its going okay or sometimes we tell them the truth about how its not going well at all. None of these answers help others help us. I tell them they can say good or okay, but they need to follow up with this: Im looking for introductions to people who work at my target companies. Do you know anyone who works at Company A, Company B, or Company C? So you are answering their direct question, and you are asking them a simple yes or no question. If they know someone who works at any of those companies, you would follow-up with Would you introduce me to that person? And that simple but brilliant response is how you help others help you in your job search.   Networking introductions, especially to people in one of your target companies, could be more valuable than even paying their rent or mortgage for the month! Now, with that as a foundation, let me tell you how you can help job seekers that you know. Same concept, but instead of you waiting for them to respond that way (most people will never have heard that response before so theyll just answer good to your how is your job search going question), I want you to think about inserting these responses to their good: Cool. What are some of your target companies? I might know someone who works at one of them. What roles are you applying to? I might know someone who you can talk to. If you are interested in networking with any of my contacts, Id be happy to make an introduction. What are the companies you are most interested in working in? Instead of waiting for them to ask you if you know anyone at their target company, you offer it. I suggest this because sometimes the job seeker is too heads-down applying online, or they dont think anyone would make introductions to them, or they really dont know how to do a job search. Because of the lack of proper job search training, I would follow-up with this: I can introduce you to a friend of mine who works at Company A, but Id like to know how it goes. Id like you to do an informational interview with her, where you ask her about the organization, their needs, industry insight, as well as ask her for introductions to people in the department where you want to work. Have you done any of these informational interviews in your job search? You see, another epiphany I had while on the road was that informational interviews are the most important tactic that a job seeker should invest in. Heres what Ive said from stage: If I were in a job search right now, Id spend 90% of my time on informational interviews. Ive written and talked a lot about informational interviews just search JibberJobber Informational Interview and youll find plenty of information on that. As a job seeker I thought I didnt have anything to offer other job seekers. I didnt know how to help them. But one day I realized I had something more valuable than gold I had contacts. And I could make introductions. When you do this, you are really helping your friends in their job search. Good luck, and share this message far and wide. We need a lot more people actually helping in the job search, and this is how we can do it. How to REALLY Help a Job Seeker One question I hated while in a job search was: Hows your job search going? The answer I said was its going okay, but what I thought was it sucks more than you could imagine! When I speak I share a brilliant response to the question, but in this post I want to share an idea I had for people who ASK the question.  Feel free to forward this on to well, the entire world, because EVERYONE should think about this. Perhaps this normal question is the best way to start out the conversation, and 99% of job seekers respond as I have below, but then see how the conversation changes after their lame response (yes, they know it is lame, but there is a reason they respond that way). Job Seeker Friend: Hows your job search going? Job Seeker: Fine. Job Seeker Friend: awkward pause Job Seeker: awkward pause Job Seeker Friend: What companies are you trying to get into? Job Seeker: Oh, um, Ive been applying at Company A, Company B and Company C.  There are others, but those are the three Im most interested in. Job Seeker Friend: I might know someone at one of those companies let me see if I can find their information for you. Job Seeker: That would be great can you send an email introducing us to one another?  I find an introduction is much better than me calling out of the blue. Job Seeker Friend: Thats a great idea, Ill do it as soon as I find their information. Job Seeker: Thank you! Job Seeker Friend: What titles are you interviewing for? Job Seeker: Im looking for a role as a ____ or an _____. Job Seeker Friend: You know, I think I know someone who has been a ___ for a while.  I can introduce you to her, also. Job Seeker: I really appreciate the leads!  I will be sure to follow up with them, and Ill let you know how it goes. Job Seeker Friend: Great.  Youll see a few emails soon. Job Seeker: Thank you! See how this works?  There are a few things going on here.  Heres the dialog again, with my comments in black: Job Seeker Friend: Hows your job search going? Job Seeker: Fine. We all hate this question but if you end here you miss an opportunity! Job Seeker Friend: awkward pause this is where it usually ends, right? Job Seeker: awkward pause Job Seeker Friend: What companies are you trying to get into? This question is GOLD.  Coach your friends to ask you this question. Job Seeker: Oh, um, Ive been applying at Company A, Company B and Company C.  There are others, but those are the three Im most interested in. You should be able to list three target companies at all times.  You can change them as often as you wish, but you need to be able to rattle them off. Job Seeker Friend: I might know someone at one of those companies let me see if I can find their information for you. Job Seeker: That would be great can you send an email introducing us to one another?  I find an introduction is much better than me calling out of the blue. This is SO true an email intro is worth 100 times what you get from an email address or phone number. Job Seeker Friend: Thats a great idea, Ill do it as soon as I find their information. Job Seeker: Thank you! Job Seeker Friend: What titles are you interviewing for? Another golden question! Job Seeker: Im looking for a role as a ____ or an _____. Job Seeker Friend: You know, I think I know someone who has been a ___ for a while.  I can introduce you to her, also. Job Seeker: I really appreciate the leads!  I will be sure to follow up with them, and Ill let you know how it goes. This is so critical.  If you give an intro, let the person know that you actually acted on it they are more likely to do more introductions later. Job Seeker Friend: Great.  Youll see a few emails soon. Job Seeker: Thank you! It is our job, as job seekers, to help people who want to help us. If someone asks hows your job search going, dont blow it. Instead, help them understand how they can help you give them a little work to do. Theyll appreciate it!