 I recently attended a networking event where Joe Graves shared some great networking tips. They are provided here for your consideration:
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 Sitting here on Sunday afternoon wondering what I could say that would be helpful for you in your search. I realize that it has been a while since we have discussed elevator pitches ... so let's do that now. There are a lot of different approaches being taught when it comes to elevator pitches. They tend to focus on your dumping enough information in a short amount of time so as to impress the person to whom you are speaking so as to hire you. Yeah, ...fat chance!
Let's go back to Job Search 101. Our sabbatical is a gift from God to provide us the opportunity to expand our network, sharpen our skills, and discover how our passion will be acted out in our next job placement. So how can we use an elevator pitch to expand our connections? What if we conducted our Elevator Pitch so that we were able to schedule a 20 minute coffee with whomever we meet "on the elevator"* What would that pitch look like? If we can construct our pitch in such a way that we cause the person to ask us a question, what happens? Well for one, they expect an answer, so it might get us some extra time with the person as we explain the answer. But wouldn't it be better to say, "I would love to answer your question, but I have an engagement, and I am sure you probably have one as well. Perhaps we could meet for 20 minutes over coffee and I could explain the answer to you. I also would love to ask you a question or two about your job/company/industry. When and where could we meet?" An elevator pitch can be a very powerful tool for generating coffee appointments for your job search!  What consists of a "true" option in your job search efforts? It does not mean "every job lead" that has been reported to me. It does not mean an application for which there has been no response for 6 months. Perhaps a good functional definition of an option is "a job lead for which you have had positive interaction with someone who has influence with the hiring decision maker or an employee of the company within the last 90 days."
Jobs you are pursuing that do not meet this definition ... or a similar definition you create, should not be maintained as options. Close them or take action to rejuvenate them. How do we rejuvenate jobs that have aged out? here are some ideas
One more word of caution/encouragement. We have a heavenly Father who has a plan for our career. Just because unemployment is low, the job He is preparing for you may not quite be ready for you. Or, perhaps you still have one or two key relationships that need to be established before your Sabbatical ends. Keep up the networking and the 20 minute coffees. Keep honing your skills and developing your marketing brief. Your next assignment will be delivered at the perfect time! |
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