Starting today, we are publishing Job Search Handbook – a guide to finding your next job.
Here’s Part I in this series.
Allies for your job search
One of the first steps towards finding your next job is to make a list of the people that will be your allies in this process:
Current and Past Employers
This one’s a no-brainer. Your current employer and past employers are excellent sources of reference for you work and also they can point you to people in their professional network that might be hiring.
Friends and relatives
Your personal network can be a powerful ally in your quest since their level of commitment to your success is very high. One more tip to boost this network – get them to introduce you to their current and past employers. There. You just tripled your connections 
Headhunters, recruiters and executive search firms
These are the people that can exponentially increase your chances of getting a job. Here’s how to work with them:
- Identify the headhunters and exec search folks that are relevant to your target market (more on target market in a later chapter)
- Introduce yourself to them and ask for a time with them either in person or over the phone
- Spend at least 20 minutes providing them a walkthrough of who you are, what is your target market, and what do you bring to the table. This will ensure that the other person has a very clear understanding of what you are looking for
- Create an agreement that no resume will be sent out without your prior consent
- Develop a summary or a tombstone that is specific for this headhunter / exec search firm
- Keep in touch with them regularly over email and develop a warm relationship. Go beyond just a dry email. Get them a cup of coffee before your next meeting or even better, buy lunch.
- Ask for frequent feedback and check in weekly with them to see which companies have they been talking to about you.
Google is your friend
As you might know, every blog posting you create, every word in your LinkedIn profile, every comment that you write on online forums – all that is slurped up by Google only to show up in search results when people Google. We’ll cover ‘Job Search Setup’ in a later chapter that will help you to develop content that enables recruiters to find you when they use Google.
Social Networks
We continue to be raving fans of LinkedIn and Facebook – leverage their capabilities to network with the right people and communities. LinkedIn Groups is a great tool to find network within a set of communities, you can use LinkedIn Answers to establish your eminence and your can display recommendations to enhance your credibility.
My friend Jason Alba has created a great resource to use this effectively.
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