Today Brian Massey presented If you Want the Interview, You Need a Champion to a group in Austin.  Hopefully a few you reading this blog were able to make Brian’s presentation.   I had other activities so I was unable to see the refreshed version of the presentation in person.  An older version of the [...]

There are two opportunities to network with job seekers skills holders and freelancers, and learn about The Champion Strategy and The Magic Email.
I’ll be presenting at the following venues:
If You Want the Interview, You Need a Champion
Career Connections, Workforce Solutions Round Rock
July 7th 9:00 am
Williamson Conference Center, behind the Wingate
209 N I-35, Round Rock, TX‎
No RSVP required.
The [...]

“I’m doing all that.” Are you really?

I often hear from people who can’t seem to get interviews that their doing all of the networking they can. They claim to be following the rules and “doing all that.” If they’re not getting interviews, then they’re not “doing all that.” Period.

This is how you’re going to find your next job, and the job after that: You’re going to be at the center of some unforeseen series of events, events that baffle the mind and seem to have been coordinated by some greater intelligence determined to get you to the next stage in your career.

Unless, of course, you don’t take networking very seriously.

Human beings are amazing filters. They connect information in ways that are unexpected and cannot be planned. When you are the recipient of one or more of these connectsions, you will wonder how the right person was at in the right place for you to have that oh so important conversation.

Those of us that take networking seriously experience this kind of serendipity on a regular basis. Are you?

As it turns out, I’ve got a lot more work to do when it comes to networking. Thom Singer, author of Some Assembly Required how to Make, Grow and Keep Your Business Relationships has a cool little application called the Networking Quotient. I got to hear Thom speak recently, and he makes it pretty clear: your life depends on it; your business, career, and, in Thom’s case, the life of his daughter.

My score is 45.

“Good Networking Skills. You are on the right track with your networking, but it would be beneficial to your career if you made your professional network more of a priority. Your score proves that you realize the people who make up your social and professional network are not just supporting players, but have lead roles in your current and future success. You only need to make some minor adjustments to take your business relationships to the next level.”

What do I lack? It turns out that I need to do a better job of following up. I apologize if you are nodding your head in agreement.

My book and CardboardResume seek to answer the question, “What do I do when I get a new contact.” Thom proposes a customized program of follow up. I believe that your follow up should always include an email inviting someone to join your career network by sending one magic email.

I’ll tell you more about the Magic Email in my next post.

If you want me to help you find a job, send something specific.
Ryon Harms at The Social Executive has declared the resume dead. If only it were true. But, just because HR people want resumes doesn’t mean you need to inflict them on your network.
I hope I made the point loud and clear in [...]

If you want the interview, you’ve got to find a champion, like me.

Brian Massey is passionate about shortening job searches.I can get you a connection to any hiring manager at any company. So why haven’t I heard from you? Why haven’t you asked me about the position you just applied for?

This afternoon I got the chance to speak to a room full of job seekers at the NetworkInAustin’s Get Hired! Job Strategies that Work event.

I asked the attendees to raise their hands if they’ve applied for a job in the past two weeks. 90% of the hands went up. I then asked how many of them sent me an email to find a champion for that position. No hands.

“Why didn’t I hear from you?!”

The answer, of course is that they didn’t have me in their network. The shame is that there’s no reason that me — or many well-connected individuals like me — couldn’t be a part of their network. We can be your Champion when you apply for a position.
The Champion Strategy: Why Didn’t I Hear From You?!

View more OpenOffice presentations from MarketForMeBook.

CardboardResume is the online career management tool that helps you find Champions, reducing the length of your job search. Get more interviews at the places you want to work with CardboardResume.

Learn more job search marketing strategies at The Market for Me Book Blog.

Curious about what you missed at the door64 Tech Fair?
You can find my presentation "Job Attitudes that will get you More Interviews at the Places you Want to Work", including audio on Slideshare.

Thanks to Tal Boyd and videographer Weston Norton of Reel Social Media for putting this together.

I’ve done a lot of job searching in my day. Technically, I never stop. In this environment, you’ve got to get into unlisted jobs and avoid the stack of resumes that hiring managers are inevitably going to get for posted jobs. You want to have someone “walk” your resume in for you.