When I ask jobseekers how they plan on reconnecting with old contacts, I usually hear this: I will let them know I am no longer at company X, and I will ask them to keep their eyes and ears open for me. Yikes! How would you feel if someone you hadn’t spoken to in a while reached out and the first thing they did was ask for help? Put upon? Used? Rushed?
When I ask jobseekers how they plan on reconnecting with old contacts, I usually hear this: I will let them know I am no longer at company X, and I will ask them to keep their eyes and ears open for me. Yikes! How would you feel if someone you hadn’t spoken to in a while reached out and the first thing they did was ask for help? Put upon? Used? Rushed?
Yes, lots of people do this (but it’s still annoying). Yes, this is a tough market, so it’s more understandable why people are asking for help (but it still feels intrusive). The first time you reconnect, it cannot be about your job search. You cannot ask for anything that first time, except how the other person is doing. The point of reconnecting is to reestablish the relationship. The other person is the focus and by listening to them and being interested, you actually help yourself because you will learn about what’s going on in the market and what people care about and you can act on this LATER.
This is why maintaining your network is so critical when you don’t need anything. It takes the time pressure off of you to accomplish anything. But if you’ve waited till you’re in need to work on your network, then you have to self-discipline yourself to still make those early contacts about your network and not about yourself. One good exercise: take 3-5 contacts per day and just say hello. This gets you in the habit of regularly reaching out to your network, so that when you actually have a question to ask or even a favor, the request isn’t the only time you have reached out.
Another tip: when using LinkedIn, remind people how you know each other. Don’t use those template connection invitations. Make it a personal message about where you met, when you last spoke, or something else that shows genuine interest. Put an updated and professional-looking picture of yourself so that old connections who may have forgotten your name can recognize you visually.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
How Do You Score On Employers’ Top Five Desired Skills?
Even if you are happily employed, work environments and priorities change. You want to make sure that you are not getting complacent and allowing your skills to rust. The above five skills are always valued, but the standards by which they are measured change over your career. Maybe you got to where you are now because of superior analytical skills and despite below average communication skills, but now you are a manager.
