How Executive Networking is Different

Handshake

Networking is now and has always been THE most effective job search strategy. But it certainly has changed with the advent of new technologies. That said, it is also true that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

For all job seekers, whether you’re fresh out of college or direct from the board room, networking is an important tool that has been highly impacted by websites like LinkedIn and Facebook. When it comes to networking for a job, LinkedIn is your better bet. But both of these online resources help you expand your network exponentially.

Even with these new technologies, the important thing to remember and the thought that prompted the above proverb is that while you can vastly expand your network online, to really be successful and develop quality relationships with people who will help you, you have to take the discussion “off line.”

This means a blend of old and new school. New school is using these online networking tools to build your network, old school is actually picking up the phone or sending an email and suggesting a face-to-face meeting. Your connections are more likely to want to help you if you’ve met in person, established a rapport and are building a relationship.

Often times clients will tell me they’re on LinkedIn but nothing is happening. That’s because you have to make it happen. To be a successful job seeker you have to do more than post your profile and add connections, you have to step away from the computer and actually meet with people.

This brings me to your message when you’re suggesting a meeting and requires a different approach depending on whether you’re an executive or someone in the beginning stages of their career.

When you’re first starting out, your message can be about exploring different industries or different occupations and wanting to tap into your connection’s knowledge base. When you’re an executive, you’re bringing a lot of experience to the table and should be thinking about the person with whom you’re interested in networking and “what’s in it for them.”

A lot of executives I work with are initially reluctant to network because they tell me they don’t want to appear like they’re begging for a job. I frequently have to coach them through this reluctance which requires a sea change in their thought process.

The thing to remember when you’re an executive networking is that you bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Your networking meeting is a peer to peer meeting that can be mutually beneficial. The bottom line is, rather than asking for a favor, you may actually be doing the person with whom you’re networking a favor (but don’t let that go to your head).

~Linda

Steve Jobs: Inspiration For Unconventional Job Seekers

Steve Jobs

As we continue to mourn the loss of one of the great visionaries of our time, it’s helpful to take a look at and receive inspiration from the life and career of Steve Jobs. His is unarguably a story of success and achievement that embodies the beliefs of Henry David Thoreau, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.”

Steve Jobs dropped out of college with its rigid structures and course requirements and in so doing opened himself up to new ideas and opportunities. Dropping out gave him the opportunity to drop in on classes that interested and inspired him, classes that helped contribute to the man he became and the products he created.

His is an inspiring story of someone who followed his own direction and in so doing, not only achieved his own American Dream, enabled others to do so as well. Just think of the number of jobs he created, not only at Apple itself, but also for people touched by the multi-billion dollar company, from application developers to artists and musicians “to infinity and beyond.”

What’s the lesson here? I talk to clients everyday, some of whom worry because they’ve taken unconventional career paths.  They’re seeking reassurance because their career did not go from point A to point B to point C.

Well, that’s OK, sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. It’s important to remember that we’re all individuals with different directions and different drummers. Some people can jump from point A to point H while others don’t get the point at all. A circuitous career path may lead to more creative thought, different marketable skill sets and a more well-rounded individual.

You can take comfort in the fact that there is more than one way to do something and if there were only one road to the top there might be too much congestion and gridlock for anyone to reach it.

~Linda

Compensation In The Great Recession

Moolah

An important question my clients are currently asking me involves compensation. They want to know if they have to accept a lower salary now because of the current economic downturn.

Companies are still looking for talent and according to the HR professionals I speak to, they’re willing to pay for it. As much as you don’t enjoy looking for a job, companies don’t like conducting searches for good employees. It’s time and resources away from the lifeblood of an organization, revenue generation.

Companies want talented professionals and they realize if they don’t pay the fair market value for that talent, those people will not remain with them long. As soon as the market improves or the professional gets a better offer, the company will be back at square one: conducting another search, doing more interviews and taking more time to get the new hire up to speed.

I have clients currently negotiating and accepting positions at the same or greater compensation than they were previously making. However, as is often the case, there is a caveat; they are in a position to take the time necessary to find the right position at their current level or a step up.

The professionals that are accepting less pay are accepting lesser positions. For example, a company is not going to pay a Vice President’s or Director’s salary to someone entering the company as a Manager.

Unfortunately life sometimes gets in the way, there are mortgages to be paid and families to support. Some people don’t have the luxury of taking the time necessary to find the right position. Those people are the so-called underemployed.

The bottom line, if you’re a talented professional companies are willing to pay for that talent, in good times and bad.

~Linda