ShareThisWe talk about networking a lot. In good times and bad, networking is usually the best and quickest way to get to the next job. You build your network constantly, starting with friends and family, and then adding new contacts from social and professional interactions.
When meeting with network contacts, treat their importance the same as a potential employer, and that starts with how to have a great conversation/interview. Call it what you will, but if you handle it well, it could lead to your next job.
Former recruiter -- and now CEO of www.topJobLeads.com -- Rick Probstein offers 10 tips.
1. Be very warm and friendly. Just imagine you're meeting an old friend from high school. Remember: First impressions are really key.
2. Really listen to the other person. People love to talk about themselves. Get the hiring manager to do most of the talking -- he or she will like you even more.
3. Use the hiring manager's name a lot. It will make you seem like part of the team.
4. Respond to what they say. Is the interviewer married with three kids? Say, "How'd you meet your wife? How old are your kids?" It builds a bond.
5. Make the interviewer feel important by complimenting him or her. Everyone has an ego.
6. Laugh together. Laughter in the interview will help you land the job.
7. Don't even THINK of arguing. Confrontation will not get you anywhere.
8. Ask questions that lead the interviewer to answer "Yes." This strengthens your position.
9. Say "Thank you." Show them you appreciate their time. People want to feel valued.
10. When you're done, ask yourself: "Was this just an interview, or did I start a relationship here?"
Whether you are meeting with a network contact or an employer, send a handwritten thank-you note after the meeting, preferably within 24 hours. Make it short and simple, but be sure to follow through by regular mail, e-mail if acceptable or hand-delivered. If it was an interview and you really want the job, say so in the thank-you note. If you think of anything relevant that was not covered in the interview, include it, briefly, in the thank-you note. Sell, always!
One last reminder from Probstein: "Don't forget to smile."
(Marvin Walberg is a job-search coach. Contact him at mwalberg(at)bellsouth.net, marvinwalberg.blogspot.com, or PO Box 43056, Birmingham, AL 35243.)
GETTING HIRED
This con of a list
Most of this list is pure nonsense. The other points are the obvious. No, I will walk in not being warm and friendly.
This is a con man, selling snake oil, to the gullible and desperate.
I wonder if he is related to Bernie Madoff?
The tips he raises are not going to work in many cases.
In an interview, you have to be yourself above all. You have to have the confidence that you can do the job. If you don't have this confidence, no amount of faking and chicanery, in laughing together, in calling the person by their first name ad nauseum, in referring to their spouses, significant others (anyone else?)and children, is going to make any difference. But the desperate, unemployed, depressed people will try anything so why not hand over a hundred bucks or more to this man, who promises what?
His premise is that you need to badger Managers for job openings that don't exist.
Wow.
So his premise is that you should ignore company policy. Yes, that is a good way to get on the right side of a company.
So managers just love getting phone calls all day long from unemployed persons, with their phone numbers handed out by this topjob leads.
It's madness. and counter productive.