Isn’t it strange that even with an unemployment rate of nine percent, people still feel uncomfortable saying that they are looking for work? It seems to me that people hesitate sharing this information because they think the only way to tell someone they are looking for new employment is to use words and phrases like, unemployed, seeking a new position, and between jobs which have negative connotations. So, often times the approach is to say nothing… but as a recruiter, I can’t help but argue the exact opposite.

Admitting that you’re looking for new employment doesn’t make you any less desirable than everyone else in the job market, especially  if you know what to say, how to say it, and who to say it to. 

Each of us has countless interactions every day with a wide variety of people. We talk to family, friends, neighbors, the Starbucks barista, the owner of the local dry cleaners – the list goes on and on. But what people forget is that any one of these interactions could result in their next career opportunity. Rather than keep quiet, you should tell anyone and everyone who is willing to listen you’re looking for a new job. You never know, your neighbor might work at a company that is looking to hire someone with your exact skill set, or a family friend may have a great contact for you to interview with. The key here is to get out and talk about it; explain to people your current situation! 

Now, I’m not telling you to go shout it from the rooftop and sit back waiting for job offers to flood your way – you’ve got to think strategically.  Simply telling people that you’re looking for work isn’t enough.  Here are a few tips to help you get started thinking about what to say and how to say it:  

• Be straight forward
• Be specific
• Be Authentic
• Never Assume
• Focus on the positive
• Ask for advice, not a job

Now that you have a better idea of what to say and how to say it, who do you tell? I recently read an article stating that 60 percent of all new hires come from referrals and a recent study conducted by Facebook and researchers at an Italian university found that 92 percent of Facebook’s users are connected by four degrees of separation. So, that means that at any given time you are only three friends away from connecting to the hiring manager at your next job! With statistics like that, what are you waiting for?  

Social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide a superb platform for referrals because you can easily keep people in your network up to speed on your current job situation. It is vital to utilize as many of these tools as possible to further your ultimate goal of securing a new position. Additionally, more and more recruiters are using the same tools to seek out new talent.  For them, it’s a cost effective and efficient way to secure candidates and for you it’s a simple change to your profile that will undoubtedly increase your odds of finding you next job.  

So, what are you waiting for? You know what to say, how to it, and who to say it to – tell someone! 

Donal O’Donoghue is an account manager at entreQuest who specializes in expanding work forces by finding the best talent with the ideal personalities to place in a wide range of positions across all types of industries.

About five years ago, city and statewide networking events were all the rage.  We here at eQ actually built a concentrated sales strategy around attending them.  We had two support staffers research every happy hour, committee meeting, holiday party, and fundraising benefit in a 100 mile radius and then we would divvy the tickets up among our three top salespeople and send them off with boxes of their business cards.

We shook a lot of hands, collected a lot of contact information, and drank many a cocktail but in the end we converted very little of our efforts into new sales.  The activity was not measuring up to achievement.

Rather than demand a refund from every host, we decided to return to our corporate values instead and “grow regardless,” meaning we’d at least learn a lesson.  And we did – that eQ earns most of its business through tending its network as opposed to attending networking events.

A while back, eQ published an article called “You Are the Company You Keep” in which we discussed why it is that 20% of a company’s workforce usually generates 80% of a company’s revenue.  It’s because these “twenty percenters” nurture their network and cultivate their relationships.  They give freely to their contacts.  Their air is one of abundance without an agenda.  In due course, when these people they know are then presented with an opportunity to hand out a referral or find that they need a certain product or service themselves, guess who’s at the front of their mind?  The twenty percenter!  Read more about this phenomenon in our article that was published in SmartCEO Magazine at this link: http://www.entrequest.com/wp-content/pdf/SalesQuest.12.05.pdf?phpMyAdmin=d2c4aa6766ft5760658.

In terms of the company you are currently keeping, you have one of the best networking tools literally at your fingertips – the social network!  And we’re not talking about the Oscar-nominated film.  Social media sites, particularly Facebook and LinkedIn, might still be a mystery when it comes to converting connections into clients but they afford all of us the easiest and fastest means of staying on top of our contact’s lives.  In an instant, you can see what books someone is reading, movies someone enjoys watching, news items someone is interested in, and jokes someone thinks are funny.  When you connect with what your connection is saying, you can jump right into their conversation with your two-say.  Your interest in their material alone is a complement to them.  And please note, it’s NOT stalking if you’re reading and commenting on information and pictures that are publicly posted so don’t feel awkward paging through profiles.

The one caution here is that you have to be genuine while cultivating your social network.  If you give the thumbs-up to everything posted on your Facebook newsfeed, then you become “that annoying friend who should get a life.”  If you start posting updates on every action you’re doing from deciding which variety of bagel you want for breakfast to what’s going through your mind during every commercial break of “The Bachelor,” then you become “that annoying friend I just de-friended.”

Take note of what is going on in your network because you are the company that you keep.  Share in the joys of your partners, show sympathy when you peers post sad news, and let someone know you laughed out loud when they passed a hilarious link along.  You don’t have to do it publically on Facebook.  In fact, we recommend you use social networks as a platform that will give you a reason to pick up the phone and reach out to someone or give you an opening line to start a conversation the next time you see that someone face-to-face. 

Twenty percenters are attuned to their social surroundings and accordingly act in abundance.  They know their network and in turn, their network knows them.  Hence why they’re usually the ones behind 80% of the business.

Joe Mechlinski is the President of entreQuest and has partnered with countless leaders to effectively improve their team’s performance, their clients’ experience, and their company’s profits.

3 things to think about before you say YES!

Inspired by the Beatles, the entreQuest tag line, “Revolutionize Your Sales™”, was a call to action and a gut check all wrapped into one. Pretty smart, right?

(Don’t believe me, listen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrkwgTBrW78 or read the lyrics: http://lyrics-a-plenty.com/r/revolution.lyrics.php)

To be or not to be revolutionary?

For companies considering growing their companies in 2010, that is the question. It’s one thing to go start the new decade with a new sales plan. But it would take a revolution of commitment and follow-through for most companies to keep momentum going after the first 100 days so what should you do?

1. Be Honest
Be honest about your company and your team. Is it a lifestyle business, or a growth business? There’s nothing wrong with either one, as you long as you understand what you want and can plan for it. And when judging your company and team… think of Simon Cowell not Paula Abdull – BE REAL HONEST! You know you are being honest if you have more than 1 difficult decision to make each day. This is living on the edge and pushing your company to GROW.

2. Be Willing
The second consideration for companies to keep in mind when choosing whether or not to be revolutionary is how willing you are to engage with your market, community and customers in the powerful, meaningful new ways available. The access to audiences that has become available through social media within the last 3 years is staggering. Online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In, etc., can help you keep the relationship going like never before – and can even put you in position to win new business. Don’t be scared of the net… or that social media fad. If 300 million people are using it already… it’s not a fad, it’s THE new reality.

3. Be Consistent
The third choice Companies need to make about being revolutionary is to decide whether or not you can be consistent. Talk is cheap. There is a HUGE difference between doing it once and doing it all the time. In fact, one of our favorite quotes is: “Don’t take an action to create a result, take an action to create a habit and let your habit create your results.”

It’s not easy, but can be fun!

Be YOUR best,
Joe

It’s a pretty hot topic right now… what to do when it snows (oxymoron: hot topic – what to do when it snows… get it?).

And nobody wants to be this guy, right?

All of us smart, intelligent, experienced and seasoned business professionals know we must adapt & overcome.

A little (or a lot) of snow can’t get us down, right?

So WHAT if it is snowing… its time to make lemonade out of lemons or snowmen out of the 30”+ of snow we all have.

And as they say in Hollywood… “The show must go on!”

Use this time to:

1. OVER-COMMUNICATE! To your clients, teammates and community. No one likes to be left in the dark… or the cold (ok, another corny one huh?). Let people know exactly what to expect from you and vice versa. Some companies have not even communicated what their office policy is this week yet. “Should I work from home or make the treacherous journey to work?” Of course – SAFETY FIRST!

2. PLAN AHEAD! Use this time to schedule 4-8 weeks out. When was the last time you could do this? Get check-in meetings, trainings and lunches on the calendars. This is a great time, while things are slow, to nail down these meetings. Our team has booked over a dozen meetings so far this week alone.

3. BE PROACTIVE! Look for business development opportunities for yourself OR one of your clients. We had a client reach out today for an introduction to someone who was recently in the business journal. They did research and found we were connected through Linkedin. Within minutes we made the introduction. (Picture Emeril saying this) BAM!

4. ASK FOR A REFERRAL! While everyone is home in the snow this is a perfect time to reach out to your community and make the bold ask: “Do you know of anyone who is looking to grow their sales? Someone with a company who is looking to hire sales people? Someone with a company who wants a higher performing sales organization?” (Not a hypothetical here folks – throw us a bone!)

5. GET ON TWITTER! Yes, that social media stuff we all talk about but don’t have enough time for. If you have not spent time on Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter this year and seen value… GO DO THIS IMMEDIATELY! Your community is screaming to hear from you and for you to pitch in.

6. GET ON TWITTER! Yes, I know this is redundant… I just want to make sure you DO IT!

7. EXERCISE! I went there… you betcha. We all could use a bit of exercise so take it slow and get that sidewalk smiling back at ya!

8. SHARPEN YOUR SAW (thanks Stephen Covey)! When was the last time you read something for professional development? Since we are the self proclaimed SOURCE for Sales Growth… check out one of our articles (Yes, another shameless plug for our content that sits on the Microsoft site) – https://community.dynamics.com/blogs/marketingarticles/archive/2009/12/16/working-backwards-from-the-client-experience.aspx

9. KEEP MOVING FORWARD! Don’t get stuck with anything. Handle it, file it, or get rid of whatever is sitting on that to-do list.

10. GRATITUDE! When was the last time you said thank-you to someone. Write a note… don’t send an email. You will be glad you did.

One of my favorite quotes says it best:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

- Charles Darwin

Adapt to your environment and make the most of YOUR time.

Stay home, work hard, and be YOUR best,

Joe