Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from a recent session with career coach Don Orlando.
A lot of this week’s Ask the Coach call was about the economy and dealing with finding employment uncertain times. As Don says, when the economy is uncertain companies are reluctant to commit to a full-time hire.
Companies increase their return on investment by controlling expenses and increasing sales. With today’s economy, the easiest way to control costs is by cutting personnel, and smart companies are looking to hire the best core group of employees possible; staff who can build success today and lay the foundation for the future. The presence of these superstars attracts other star candidates.
You need to try to help others so they will see you as an asset; as someone who wants to help rather than someone who wants a job. You can present yourself to solve a specific problem and then use that as a stepping stone to another opportunity within the same company. Eventually, you will be able to leverage your consulting role into a full-time opportunity, after both sides have had a chance to kick the tires. This also allows you to update your resume and add some sterling references in the bargain.
If you are really serious about getting a job within a company, you need to network your way in. When a post is vacated, management goes to the staff and asks for recommendations long before they post the position to fill it. The employees have a vested interest in offering a solid candidate because it makes them look good. If you are networked in to these target companies, you have a better chance of being offered as a candidate.
Don notes that the paradigm shift today is that the jobs find the people. Hiring managers now can Google applicants before a position becomes available. They can search trade journals, blogs, and other resources looking for experts who match their criteria. They can see who is “visible,” who is contributing to the public conversation, and then reach out and talk to them. After determining if there is a comfort level there, a fit, the hiring manager can explore if the expert is a potential job candidate.
So how does this affect your strategy? Don advises that you become “digitally visible.” Make yourself and expert and be found. Use LinkedIn. Promote your brand online. But be wary of digital drivel. Demonstrate your domain expertise clearly and concisely and your online brand will lead to better opportunities, first in the short term, and then in the long run.
