Responding to an Emailed Referral Message

Might you have heard from Dave Smith yet?

I thought I had a blog post about this, but I can’t find it, so maybe it’s still in DRAFT. What I’d like to say is, often in these types of email introductions, there is an assumption that the person in transition and the person making the introduction have already talked about it. The assumption goes that you want to meet the person you’re referred to. So – this is a fine point – it’s tradition for the candidate to respond to the referral first.  Nothing bad happens if they respond to you first, but it indicates your interest in finding out more about the subject of the introduction. 

Since this is in email and I’m not sure how clear I’m writing, what I suggest is that you go ahead and contact Dave.  The procedure is to Reply All, thank the referrer, say you’re looking forward to connecting. Then when the second person responds, you drop the referrer off the email thread to go ahead and make your plans.  Make sense?

Hope this helps,

Whew! It's Memorial Day!

Greetings Friends,

Our weekly to-do list deserves special recognition. It’s not easy to make a good transition. Here is what you’re all doing (😉):

-          Three posts on Linked in each week so that you stay visible

-          Posting on other social media if it helps you be visible.

-          Reaching out to connect with new people, as well as people you connected with before to stay in touch

-          Keeping track of your time

-          Responding to interest from others or ideas/openings you get from some type of media

-          Repeating what you want to as many people as you can. (Our big secret is to tell pretty much everyone what you are seeking.)

-          Asking your mother to pray for you and keeping her posted on how her prayers are showing results

-          Staying healthy or taking care of health concerns

-          Taking care of and making repairs to everything under your roof, including where you keep your car

-          Attending to significant relationships with whom you are building the future

-          Making arrangements and attending social engagements out in the community

-          Following any inner guidance you have to find out about family members, or your family history

-          Reducing resentments

-          Walking in straight lines to the same spot every day and tagging it. Twice is better than once. This is internal programming.

-          Reviewing your finances, sending gratitude to those who send you money. (We don’t talk about this one much, but it’s helpful practice: Thankyou bank for depositing interest; Thank you Walmart for the refund; thank you universe for the quarter I found on the sidewalk…)

-          Looking for leads and connections that you’d like to ask others to connect you to

-          Reviewing what you learn through networking and revising your pitch, resume, cover letter, LI profile, all the times you use words to tell people what you are looking for

-          Offering ideas, empathy, suggestions and actions to others, especially job seekers, but mainly being beneficial to the wider community

-          Attending networking events and meetings where you talk and get to know people.  This may or may not be career/work related.

-          Asking for help, because all of the above is time-consuming and tiring

 No wonder you’re tired! 

Have a great weekend off, and I’ll see you back strong as ever next week!

Sue

When You Have "Too Many" Potentials

Emilie Wapnick's TED Talk showed up in my LinkedIn feed this morning which got me thinking. You can watch it here: http://t.ted.com/OA75VLx

I love this, too! Many people develop their multiple talents. We run into this all the time. Talk to professionals and you'll find out they are also birders or musicians. A General Manager also owns and works in a family business and write a blog for a third type of business. Writers frequently have multiple professions. We even have an assessment score that says a person "likes to write or thinks like a writer," i.e., uses the logic of a writer in their work regardless of what their profession is.

What I've noticed is that striving for excellence in one area seems to go with excellence in another. I think the art of any practice is enhanced through thinking and caring deeply about multiple subjects.

The research by scientists who are artists definitely benefits from visualizing and making art. And their art is definitely better from practicing observation in science.

Multipotentialites express ideas from more ways of knowing. The question, "What do you want to be when you grow up" is rarely answered with multi-facets because the real intent of the question is to find out How you want to earn your living. A single answer is anticipated with maybe one additional one allowed.

What if we asked instead, Who are you? What do you love to do with friends? How can I help you keep doing these things? or, Can I be your friend?

Your Fortune Is In Your Follow-Up

“The fortune is in the follow-up.” If you are in sales or have studied sales at all, you may have heard that phrase, and it is true. In networking, as in sales, follow-up is crucial because it is a key to remaining top-of-mind with those in your network. Who you follow-up with, how you do this, and when to follow-up are important things to consider in your networking process because as your network grows, you can become overwhelmed by the options. Certain modes and methods are better suited to particular groups of people in your network, and thinking about how you will continue to engage with those specific groups will help you create systems to efficiently cultivate your network.

Even if you know that you should follow-up with your network, you may not know of the different types of follow-up, and you may not have considered different techniques of follow-up. In all of these cases, the primary reasons for the networking follow-up are the same: to grow your relationship and to remain of value to your network partner. This is different from sales follow-up where the primary purpose is to move a prospective buyer to the next step in a sales process, and this difference is important! If you mix the messages, you can confuse (or possibly offend) your networking partner.

Here I am going to suggest several different types of networking follow-up communications. And while this list is not exhaustive, it will help clarify your thoughts on connecting with your network. In a later note I’ll suggest various methods to implement these types.

The Check-In Follow-Up

The most basic follow-up is what I’m calling the “check-in”, as in “I’ve not heard from you in a while, I’m just checking-in to see how you are doing.” This is done to show you were thinking of someone, or perhaps another person asked you if you’d talked to this person recently. It may be that the partner offers a product or service you need now, and it’s been a while since you’d learned about it so you don’t even know if they are still in that business. The check-in is usually not expected by the partner, but you will find that most people enjoy receiving them.

The Check-Up Follow-Up

This is the post-interaction touch-base contact. It could be post-sale follow-up, but it also could be testing to make sure an email you sent was read or useful, or to see if the results of a suggestion you offered were as helpful as you hoped. Usually you have an additional goal with this follow-up: you want to get some feedback on their experience to correct your service, process, or product. If you prepare the partner for this check-up you are more likely to get the information you desire, so set the expectation of this follow-up during the prior interaction. Ask something like “is it okay if I follow-up with you next week about this?”

The Check-Back Follow-Up

In some ways, the check-back is the reverse of the check-up. Post-interaction, you contact the person who helped you to keep them apprised of the situation. Letting them know that your search continues, or that you solved the problem, or that you reached the person they suggested you call completes a task in the partner’s mind. They are more likely to give you more help in the future when they know the results of the help they gave you. This sort of follow-up requires diligence on your part. For most of us, once advice or help is received, we forget to give feedback to the giver. This is a mistake.

The Check-Out Follow-Up

One of the most powerful ways to build and maintain relationships is to continually offer items of value to the partner. The check-out follow-up is the process of sharing items of interest - “here, check this out...” or “I saw this and thought you’d like to know…” It reinforces the fact that you care (you took the time to send the follow-up), you pay attention (you found something you believe would add value to your partner), and that you value the relationship (you did this unprompted and not expecting anything in return). As you explore the world with “networking eyes and ears” you will learn of the interests, hobbies, and needs of others. You will also encounter resources that while they have little or no value to you could offer great value to others in your network. Share that information in a proper check-out follow-up and see what happens.

The Check-Off Follow-Up

People’s lives change. Perhaps they are no longer in a position to have the bandwidth to communicate the way you want them to. The check-off is the simple and kind way to respect the relationship and keep it available but on-hold for now. Just ask something like “I’ve not heard from you in a while, I respect you and I don’t want to be a pest… if you want me to stop trying to contact you, please let me know and I’ll stop.” The door is always open to continue the conversation, but now is not the time. Alternatively, the check-off could request a possible future date to continue the additional follow-up (something like “I’ll check back in 6 months to see how you are doing…).

The Thank You Follow Up

Staying top of mind with your network by appreciating them is the best form of follow-up. I highly recommend a short book on this topic: Appreciation Marketing by Tommy Wyatt and Curtis Lewsey. Properly appreciating your network partners is the surest way to encourage them to generate more of the referrals you want. The key here is “properly” - proper appreciation is sincere, specific, timely, appropriately personal, and positive. It says “thank you” for something & ONLY EXPRESSES APPRECIATION. How many times have you received a form letter thanking you for your business? How many times have you received a note of thanks that ends with a plea for a sale or another referral? All the good feelings the sender intended are reduced by the mixed message.

 And now, thank YOU for reading!

-Jeff Hexter

How Candidates With Disabilities Can Develop a Political Campaign

Patrick Young writes blog posts for The Job Search Center about special topics in career development for professionals. His insights come from his experience as an educator and activist for persons with disabilities. You can find out more about him and his work at https://ableusa.info/.

PLEASE NOTE: Our Guest Blogger is providing a number of hot links to resources throughout this article. They are hard to see due to the way our platform formats this. Please move your cursor along the text so you can find the links that may interest you.

Orchestrating a political campaign is a big job. From creating a team to support your political goals to getting to and from events, you’ll need to be creative when running for office if you have a disability. But thanks to trailblazing politicians and community resources, you can make it happen. Check out these insights.

Develop Your Team

You likely have tons of great ideas about your political campaign and how you’ll spend your time in office. But before you can get there, you’ll need the support of a cohesive and dynamic team, simply because nobody has the time and energy to do it all. Even if your social network is small, there are ways you can grow your campaign team.

For example, you can hire someone to handle tasks like speech writing, social media posts, and more. If you’re new to politics in general, research will also be a significant part of your pre-campaign prep work. In that case, hiring a highly skilled freelance researcher to learn more about the opposition and research policy initiatives could prove invaluable.

If you lack manpower or funds for all the help you need, there is, as they say, an app for that. Software can fill in other holes; Tatango helps send texts for timely messaging to your constituency, and TrailBlazer can act as a digital campaign manager. When push comes to shove, electronics can help.  

Know Your Platform

Like many other individuals with disabilities, you have plenty of unique knowledge about the challenges people in your community face. Though Quartz notes voters with disabilities are an often-overlooked demographic, your campaign should go beyond inclusion. Use your unique perspective to create a platform that speaks to all people, including diverse communities and populations.

As an example, you might advocate for stronger accessibility on the web and talk about your own experiences. If you feel uncomfortable discussing the issue, taking some classes in information technology can boost your confidence and knowledge base. Plus it will impress voters with your dedication to the cause.

Be Sure to Network

Once you develop your team and start your campaign, the need for networking doesn’t end. After all, you can’t expect voters to recognize you or vote in your favor if they’ve never heard of you. Here are some networking methods:

Via social media pages specific to people with disabilities. Make sure to make your messages about connecting—not just about getting support for your campaign. Think of ways you can help others before contacting them and take time to get to know them, too.

By canvassing door-to-door. Many political campaigns rely on grassroots campaigning, Thoughtworks explains, which involves starting in your local community and working your way up. This type of campaigning often means walking around a neighborhood, speaking with voters, and handing out fliers.

Through professional connections. Talking politics with your co-workers isn’t always fun. But when you’re passionate about a cause, spreading the word can garner support for your campaign.

Follow in the Footsteps of Politicians with Disabilities

While politicians with disabilities are a minority—only one in every 10 politicians—they do exist. Looking at how these politicians handled their campaigns and advertised their platforms can help you develop a political plan, too.

Past politicians have had disabilities such as epilepsy, blindness, combat injuries, and a long list of other conditions. One noteworthy example is Senator Tammy Duckworth, who sustained injuries in the Iraq War and is now a double-amputee and wheelchair user. Senator Duckworth has helped impact change in the form of policies to support veterans, families, and more.

Like Senator Duckworth, you can use personal experiences to inspire your platform and campaign. 

Spearheading a political campaign is challenging no matter who you are—or whether you have a disability. You’ll need the support of your team, your community, and donors to organize and implement a strong campaign. But with hard work and determination, there’s no reason you can’t go on to become a successful politician.

The Job Search Center is dedicated to helping you prosper; connect today for more tips and information that can help pave the way for your success!

Photos via Rawpixel, Pexels, and Adobe

Becoming VISIBLE to Your Network

I explained before that you need to be known, liked, and trusted as a networker before you can expect to get referrals. That takes some interpersonal communications skills, some effort, and some commitment. The good news is if you are reading this, you have already accomplished at least some of that.

There are still missing ingredients to getting the referrals you want. The first of these is becoming remembered when the opportunity to refer you presents itself - you need to be top-of-mind among your network. You become top of mind in at least two ways: by reminding your network, and by increasing your visibility within your network.

You get to remind your network each time you meet for your 1-2-1s, and each time you do your networking presentation. You increase your visibility when you give testimonials, when you give referrals, when you share your networking successes and knowledge, and when you take on leadership roles within your network. The common thread here is that your visibility grows when your network sees you consistently working for the benefit of others.

One reason I share these networking notes is that they give me greater visibility, but for me that is really secondary to the opportunity to focus on learning more about networking, hone my skills, and create something of value.

I’ll deal with the second missing ingredient in my next note, but I want you to consider this:

Your visibility is relative to other individuals in your network, not to the network itself.

To some networkers, you will just be barely visible, to others you will be highly visible. You will get the most benefit from your network when you are highly visible to your contact sphere and - if you are in one - to your power team (this is a topic I have not yet covered).  

KLT Is Not Enough

(There is more to getting referred than just being known, liked, and trusted

All things being equal, people prefer to do business with those they know, like, and trust. We all know this, but there is one other thing that needs to happen for people to make referrals to you: you need to be remembered when the opportunity to refer you presents itself.

The process of becoming the person who gets remembered is a topic for another note, and it is closely related to the process of becoming known, liked, and trusted, but it is not identical. And in any case, KLT must precede being remembered. We resist sharing our networks with people we do not KLT. Therefore, our skill at achieving KLT status will greatly improve our networking. 

To understand why this is required first, simply look at the opposite: no one would willingly refer business to someone they did not know, did not like, and did not trust, no matter how visible, credible, well-marketed, and remember-able others believed them to be.

So, how do you become the kind of networker who has achieved KLT status? It is, literally, the same way you become friends, and yes, I’ve explained this before: in your initial 1-2-1 conversations, hunt for areas of common interest and dwell on them. If you start there, and return there, you will become someone who is known and liked.

Trust is different. Trust requires confidence in your reliability, and therefore it requires proof. It can start small - just commit to a scheduled 1-2-1 and be there, on time, and ready. It will grow as you share stories about how you’ve helped others, and as others share stories about you. It will grow as you are asked for information and deliver it. 

At some point, through these interactions, you will shift from being someone who is just another networker, to being a friend. And then you can become the friend who is top-of-mind when someone needs what you offer.   

If meeting indoors makes you nervous, try “net-walking!”

Q&A: When to Apply When You Can’t Network In

Hi Sue,

I want to apply for a position I found at Heidegger’s Transparency Institute. It would be for a policy research role. When I went on LinkedIn to find people who work there, I found that a former colleague who I got along wonderfully with, is on the Board of Directors.

I sent her a nice message, explained how I found her, wished the family well and asked if she would be willing to get coffee and chat about non-profits and policy. Eek! I wanted to make the connection between us, the work and the job opening without saying all that. I am really hoping that this was all proper etiquette.

One question, is: The job has been posted a week. Do I wait to hear back/hopefully meet before applying? Or go ahead and submit?

Thanks to you and the Action Accountability Group for helping me be a risk taker!

Sally

 Hi Sally,

Thanks for your note. The nuances of managing job search and relationships take some thinking through to master them, just like you are doing.

Your approach to your former colleague is perfect and fills in the middle steps before asking if she knows of the opening, what they’re looking for, if she can advocate for you, etc. Please slow down about asking about the role. Sometimes there are other changes or information that is relevant to your desire to apply in the first place. Also, your friend can give you insight into how you might fit in there, or even other options unrelated to Heidegger that exist out in the community that may interest you.  As you may recall, the first practice we adopt in transition is expanding our seeing of opportunity and where we might fit in.

If you get to talk with her, you may find there is a search committee or recruitment firm who is leading the process and that is additional information for you to use for navigating. Depending on the guidelines of this particular organization, as a Board or even committee member she may not be in a position to talk about anything. I know you don’t want to put her in a difficult situation. The gentle approach you’ve adopted mitigates the risk of her having to shut down contact. 

Yes, it would be better to talk with her before you apply, which brings up the second part of your question: As far as how long you can you wait to apply –

Does the post say anything about when submissions need to be received?  If it’s a month, then you get to wait to see if you and your friend can connect. You could wait till the second last day, if you know it, to apply, to allow you time to see your friend.  I say second last because sometimes there are glitches in our timing or the system and that still would leave you a day to make changes, reload, etc.

Since this is a smaller organization, one option is to call and ask whomever answers the phone how long the position will be available. You would add that you are intending to apply within their window and would like to talk to someone you know about it so you can include more insight in your cover letter/application.  The idea is to convey your excitement along with seeking knowledge. 

When it’s a larger organization, you can try calling the hiring department or HR.

Since at this time it is just before the end-of-year holidays, we don’t know if the posting will be given a full month. If you are unable to find the date the job post is closing, I would apply by the last business day of the year.

It sounds like this could be a really good opportunity for you, using your favorite strengths. I can’t wait to hear what you find out and how the opportunity unfolds. So glad you’re pursuing it.

Hope this helps,

Sue Nelson

 P.S. To those who are reading this blog post:

This column and article fit into a much larger coaching philosophy and practice that we can’t address in these pages.  There are several blog posts tagged as coaching. Searching for that term will help you find other suggestions to help you in your transition. In the meantime, if you need assistance, or you’d like to know more about what coaching through The Job Search Center entails, please email me at Sue@TheJobSearchCenter.com  or call 216.395.7433.

Holiday Answers to (Not so)Friendly Questions

Over the holidays, you will see people who have cared deeply about you your whole life, people you are meeting for the first time and lots of people in between. Many of those people will ask you how you are doing and what you do. And some of them will express concern or outright certainty that you will never be employed again.  

There are, broadly speaking, two categories of reasons for their worries :

1.      They are concerned about you. They hear bad things about the market and they are concerned you are having too difficult a time.

2.      They have anxiety; their worldview is that bad things are happening and they’re frightened.

In the spirit of the season, and building KLT (Know, Like and Trust factor), you can be empathetic (after all, you know what scared feels like) and you can help turn the conversation around to be more encouraging..

There’s a 3-Step formula you can use to communicate that you’re going to be ok:

1. Acknowledge your relationship as well as their care and concern.

2. Share positive info about the market, what the process is, and what you are doing. This will reassure them, as well as yourself.

3. Encourage them to help. They won’t feel so helpless and you will gain support.

 1.      Acknowledge how much they mean to you: They are anxious and you know how that is.

a.      Express empathy. As I said, in the spirit of the season, we can acknowledge their anxiety.  Not that you don’t deserve yours, but you’re more knowledgeable on this point. You can say something like

b.      “I can see that you are worried about me/us, and I appreciate it. It’s understandable given all the press. And there is a lot more to the story.

2.      Give some information that will reassure them that you have a game plan that addresses all the obstacles.

a.      I’m in a couple of networking groups/have outplacement/etc., b) these groups study the job market and are in the know, have the most recent evidence and info about how professionals are hired into good organizations and c) -  this is where the change is - you know you are needed in a role that suits you. Other people around you have affirmed you are needed and qualified.

b.      Your conviction and positive outlook can help make your point. (You can use power poses if you need to.[1])

3.      Give them encouragement that they, too, can help. They can do this by

a.      Reassuring you from time to time that they know you’re terrific at what you do and that it’s important. It’s great when they share examples of your strengths.

b.      Acknowledging (also from time to time) that you are working hard on your search and that surely someone is going to hire you soon, because… how could they not?!

c.      Offering to help you find a job. If they offer, ask them if they are interested in a) knowing a bit more about what you do, b) learning what words to say to tell others about what you do; c) thinking about whom they already know (or if they hear of anyone) you can talk with who shares your interests, and d) introducing you to those persons. (Have your business cards ready.)

Finally, give them encouragement back that they are supporting you and it’s great to know you are friends/relatives, etc. because they have your back and that just plain feels good.

ONE LAST THOUGHT ABOUT ENCOURAGEMENT: If someone is consistently a downer, draining your energy or insisting that you are not going to succeed, please acknowledge their anxiety and then limit your time with them as much as possible.  You can go back to spending time with them later if you want to, when you have your new job under you.

Bad is stronger than good, but bad is not more REAL than good.

 A couple of tidbits may help people accept the things you are saying even if it conflicts with the negative comments they’ve been repeatedly hearing.

A.     YOU CAN TELL PEOPLE bad is stronger than good and that’s why they’re remembering the bad news. It’s just the way our brains are wired. Then you can remind them that two things are working in your favor: the unemployment rate is low, under 3% right now, AND jobs for professionals are created more than posted online. This is a really good thing because the strategy you’re using for job finding is networking so that employers who need the work that you do will find you through all the people who know you are out looking.

(Sometimes this is hard for us to remember since job seekers who have landed, are not in our circles anymore. We don’t see them because they are hard at work, learning the new ropes.)

B.     AGEISM IS GENERALLY A TOPIC a worried person will bring up. Yes, ageism, racism, sexism and all kinds of other -isms exist and are terrible. And they might keep you from getting a particular job, but they don’t keep you from getting a job. You already know the trick is to be in relationships so others who know, like and trust you can recommend you to hiring authorities as openings come up. This gets past any stereotypes hiring authorities might have.

C.     WE DO NOT KNOW what is going on behind the scenes. As tempting as it is to think that there are no jobs out there, the truth is jobs are being created  All. The. Time. Employers frequently ask their friends who they know who’s good because they don’t want to have to post their job opening on the internet.

I think it’s in your best interests to a) tell people this so they don’t worry so much and b) so you and they stay encouraged, keeping ears and eyes open to refer you. Networking is how professionals get jobs.  

Finally, in case anyone still wants to try to convince you that it is impossible to find work at your age or with all these downsizings, etc., it is encouraging to note that even during the Great Depression, the unemployment rate was as high as 25%.[2] It was hard to find work. But 75% of the people who were looking for work were able to find it. I don’t mean to disparage the people who could not find work. It was hard. And it is also true that people were doing jobs they didn’t want to do.  But my point here is that finding work is never hopeless.  

I hope this gives you some topics for conversation during the holidays.  If you’d like more support, check out our other holiday related posts on our BLOG.  There are quite a number of posts on networking how-to’s and other job search topics.  Feel free to reach out to us and don’t forget to smile. It’s the greatest advantage that you have!

[1] There are several videos and articles about Amy Cuddy’s power pose research. This link has a discussion about how others perceive us differently depending on our body language. And we may perceive ourselves differently as well. What I can say is that I have had clients swear by these poses for tense situations.

[2] I don’t usually cite Wikipedia, but in this case they have a lot of sources you might like to check out.