DO'S AND DONT'S OF ASKING FRIENDS FOR HELP WITH YOUR JOB SEARCH
Before consulting your friends' wealth of job info and contacts, consider these do's and don'ts of asking friends for job help:
DO:
Make a list of key friends and how you can leverage their contact circle. Ask the following questions to draw potential contacts:
- What companies are your friends from college working at these days?
- Who do you know at the gym and where do they work?
- What do the parents of your children's friends do?
Be positive when you mention anything about work or the job hunt. If you sound negative, depressed, or angry -- no one really wants to help you, they will only try to comfort, and that is not what you need right now.
Be proactive. Develop a communication plan, mapping out who you'll leverage, how you'll communicate, what you'll say and how you'll follow up. This plan allows you to hone your message into concise statements.
Ask your friends questions when asking for information or referrals. Use questions like:
- Do you know anyone in the ___ industry? You will be surprised what people they come up with.
- Can you give them a call to let them know I'll be calling? Warm referrals are 100 times better than cold calls.
- What keeps you at (name of company)? This is a key question. It will make them stop, think, and answer honestly. It gives you a clear idea of where you might be going.
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Network, schmooze, and connect. Friends are invaluable resources in helping you do this. They multiply your search circle of influence exponentially. Used effectively, with a well-planned strategy, you will find that your job search will provide fruitful dividends, better pay, and a shorter unemployment period.
DON'T:
Ask friends for resume assistance, unless they are very skilled at writing, formatting, and proofreading.
Let your friends take charge. Friends will give you their opinion on what you need to do and direct you somewhere they think you need to go -- not where you want to go. Tell them you need their help and show them explicitly how they can help you. That way, you are in charge of your job search, and you are not allowing them to hold your hand.
Take the job searching process lightly -- especially with friends and family.
Ask for advice unless you have no idea, clue, or direction about your job search. You are looking for warm referrals -- people that know that they can either hire you or point you in the right direction. Ask for specific opportunities that they might know of, specific companies, specific people.
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