Eight years ago if you told me that I would be a successful career woman I would not have believed you. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and all it has turned into so far but I never planned all of this. I was recently thinking about the pathway that led to this point and I realized that I have learned so many valuable lessons about work and finding a good job along the way.
I worked in the staffing industry for 6 years and many friends still ask me for job advice because I had a pretty broad outlook on the economy and had a lot of connections to HR Managers or CEOs that make their company's hiring decisions. Many of you have been employed by the contacts that I made while working in staffing. Some of you found a job another way. For all of you that have asked, here are some tips on finding and developing a lasting career:
1. First and Foremost - it is ALL about who you know. Do yourself a favor and build a network! This is less intimidating than it might sound. Start by joining networking sites - Facebook is a good start and most of you are probably already there. Then move onto other more business-related sites like www.linkedin.com. Everyone is there to make business connections. So many of the deals I have landed have either started or at some point been directed to LinkedIn. The value of a network is huge! Recently I came across another site that has helped me tremendously in this pursuit - www.LDS.biz. Many of you know I am a member of the LDS faith (Mormon). My first job out of college came from a man in my ward growing up that I greatly respect and admire. I have found that people like to help other people that they know and love. You are not using someone by asking them to help you find a job or give you career advice. LDS.biz launched a few months ago and already has well over 2000 members. It is free to join just like any social network, but the members all have several things in common. They are mostly LDS, and they are there to make business connections and help others make them as well. Utilize this resource! I have already connected with several talented people that have given me career advice as a mentor (being new to Public Relations I accept all the mentoring I can get), and a few of the connections are now clients of mine. I simply met them through joining groups on LDS.biz and reaching out to them through the site. It has been awesome!
2. It is a true adage that "people do business with people they like". For the most part they also hire people they like. So BE YOURSELF. That also includes trying to get in front of the employer IN PERSON, not just through a resume. I have had a great career since my BYU days and I haven't applied for a single job. Why? Here's a secret - most of the great jobs out there are never advertised. Employers start searching for an employee through the connections they already have. If you want to position yourself to know those people then get out of your comfort zone! Stop being a hermit and go meet people! Ask them about what they do. People LOVE talking about themselves. Let them - you will learn a lot and you just might make a connection that will help you down the line. If you are new to a city or want to get into a new industry completely, a great way to do that is by joining a Meetup group - www.meetup.com - these are groups of people with similar interests all around the United States that arrange groups and "meet up" in person to discuss or have fun together. This is what I did when I moved NYC and didn't know a soul. It helped me SO MUCH and everyone that I met was so nice!
3. Connect other people. If you bring value to someone their natural inclination is to help you in return. When you meet someone come up with some kind of system to remember who they are and what they are all about. I do this through LinkedIn, LDS.biz and a business card filing system that I have (let me know if you want me to share with you what this system is - erinnicoleelton@gmail.com). As you build your network you will become to "go-to" person for all your connections, and as you help them I promise you will ALWAYS have opportunities for work along the way. Your value as an employee in the right position is extremely high when you maintain meaningful connections.
There are more tips but I already feel like I have written a novel so let's just start there. The take away message from this post is that is really is all about who you know. Go out there and be yourself, make friends and start developing your network. You will be amazed with the professional results:).
The saying "It's not what you know, it's *who* you know" is definitely true. I think we're particularly lucky to be LDS - some of the best networked people in the world.
ReplyDeleteI always tell the steady stream of interns who come to me wanting career advice that you should just get to know as many people as you can and then work SUPER hard. I'm proof that it works-my dream job landed in my LAP through someone I knew...
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