Recently I have been talking to more executives who are out of work and actively looking. Now that they are all scrambling to revive their network of professional allies, and they are counting the pennies so they don’t want to pay to build their list of contacts. Unfortunately, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for.
There are any number of free job sites (Monster, HotJobs – you know them), and free networking services (LinkedIn, Plaxo, Spoke, etc.). While these sites have value, you have to remember that as a free member you are just one of the countless millions trying to connect with other faceless professionals. To get ready access to the real decision-makers, you have to pay for the premium service. You get what you pay for!
That is why it’s important to invest in your professional network BEFORE you need those contacts. Think of it as career insurance. If you invest in the right coverage, it’s there when you need it. And a solid network of professional contacts can help shorten your job search substantially.
To better understand the need for career insurance, consider the hidden cost of unemployment. A recent article in The Career News estimates that it costs an unemployed executive an average of $77,000 to find a job with a $100,000 salary. This calculation is based on lost wages and money you can’t get back, assuming that it will take one month of dedicated searching for every $10,000 in salary. That’s why you need career insurance, so you can shorten the time of your search when you find yourself on the street without a job.
If you think about it, you know you’ll be looking for a job sometime in the not-too-distant future. I sometimes think that job search is like riding a motorcycle. There is a well-know truism that there are two kinds of riders: those who have fallen and those who will fall. Job search is inevitable at some point in your career, so buy the career insurance now, while you can easily afford it, and invest in those networking services that can really help you stay connected. It will make all the difference when you really need it.
