I had a very insightful conversation with Josh recently.
"What do you mean, 'the old fashioned way'?" Josh queried.
"Well, Josh," I answered, "tell me if I'm wrong. But I suspect the first thing you would do is to post your resume on some job sites, shotgun it to a bunch of companies, answer a handful of ads, contact several recruiters and then wait for things to develop. Doesn't that about summarize it?"
"Why sure," he affirmed, "that's the way I got this job. Doesn't everyone do it that way?"
"Only if they don't know any better," I said. "But what a painful way to get a new job or make a career shift. For instance, you have no control. You're at the mercy of whatever comes along. And all you can do is make a "go -no go" decision from a single situation, which isn't any choice at all.
"Then, again," I continued, "things are a lot different from the last time you were in the job marketplace. You're a manager now. And we've been through a hellacious economic meltdown.
"Let me ask you something, Josh, just to show you what I mean. How did you go about finding and hiring the last person you brought on board as part of your team?"
"Let me think," Josh responded, tugging abstractedly at his carefully trimmed beard. "The last person I brought on board was a supervisor. "
"How did you go about filling that position?"
"That's easy!" Josh said, looking up alertly. "I called around to some friends in the business and asked who might be available."
"And how did that work?"
"Well, I got a couple of recommendations from friends. But I didn't wait for them to uncover someone. I brought in my supervisors and told them to do some scouting among their peers to see if they could come up with some viable candidates.
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"So, what happened?"
"It worked pretty well. Within a couple weeks I had the names of three individuals that might be interested in making a move. All of them sounded like good prospects."
"Did you wind up hiring anyone of those candidates?"
"Sure did," Josh replied with obvious enthusiasm. "I found a woman who was a perfect match for the position."
"Josh," I then queried, "what if you or your people hadn't come up with anyone?"
"I'd be in a jam, I guess, though there are a couple of other options, I suppose."
"Like what?"
"Well, if I was in a pinch, I might throw the assignment to an employment agency or a recruiter. And, if I really got desperate, I might resort to running an ad."
"You know," I replied, "nine out of ten managers I ask how they filled their job openings answer the question virtually the same way as you. They use their person-to-person resources first.
"Isn't it interesting, then," I continued, "that you didn't even mention that process when you talked about how you would head into the job marketplace. In fact, you would probably go first to the internet, ads and recruiters. Yet, by your own admission, they represent the very last resort when you were looking for employees."
"I guess I've got a lot to learn," Josh conceded.
The lesson . . . the amazing new strategy . . . of course, is that the natural way to find a job is to network first. Your best resource for finding a job is the people you already know.
"What do you mean, 'the old fashioned way'?" Josh queried.
"Well, Josh," I answered, "tell me if I'm wrong. But I suspect the first thing you would do is to post your resume on some job sites, shotgun it to a bunch of companies, answer a handful of ads, contact several recruiters and then wait for things to develop. Doesn't that about summarize it?"
"Why sure," he affirmed, "that's the way I got this job. Doesn't everyone do it that way?"
"Only if they don't know any better," I said. "But what a painful way to get a new job or make a career shift. For instance, you have no control. You're at the mercy of whatever comes along. And all you can do is make a "go -no go" decision from a single situation, which isn't any choice at all.
"Then, again," I continued, "things are a lot different from the last time you were in the job marketplace. You're a manager now. And we've been through a hellacious economic meltdown.
"Let me ask you something, Josh, just to show you what I mean. How did you go about finding and hiring the last person you brought on board as part of your team?"
"Let me think," Josh responded, tugging abstractedly at his carefully trimmed beard. "The last person I brought on board was a supervisor. "
"How did you go about filling that position?"
"That's easy!" Josh said, looking up alertly. "I called around to some friends in the business and asked who might be available."
"And how did that work?"
"Well, I got a couple of recommendations from friends. But I didn't wait for them to uncover someone. I brought in my supervisors and told them to do some scouting among their peers to see if they could come up with some viable candidates.
<
"So, what happened?"
"It worked pretty well. Within a couple weeks I had the names of three individuals that might be interested in making a move. All of them sounded like good prospects."
"Did you wind up hiring anyone of those candidates?"
"Sure did," Josh replied with obvious enthusiasm. "I found a woman who was a perfect match for the position."
"Josh," I then queried, "what if you or your people hadn't come up with anyone?"
"I'd be in a jam, I guess, though there are a couple of other options, I suppose."
"Like what?"
"Well, if I was in a pinch, I might throw the assignment to an employment agency or a recruiter. And, if I really got desperate, I might resort to running an ad."
"You know," I replied, "nine out of ten managers I ask how they filled their job openings answer the question virtually the same way as you. They use their person-to-person resources first.
"Isn't it interesting, then," I continued, "that you didn't even mention that process when you talked about how you would head into the job marketplace. In fact, you would probably go first to the internet, ads and recruiters. Yet, by your own admission, they represent the very last resort when you were looking for employees."
"I guess I've got a lot to learn," Josh conceded.
The lesson . . . the amazing new strategy . . . of course, is that the natural way to find a job is to network first. Your best resource for finding a job is the people you already know.
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