Courageous Leaders Don't Make Excuses...They Apologize

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/06/05/courageous-leaders-dont-make-excuses-they-apologize/?utm+campaign=forbespicks%3Dforbespicks&google_editors_picks=true

The Essence of Successful Networking

What is networking?

We are already always networking.

Networks are communities of like-minded individuals building together toward common goals.

Networking for a job is simply the act of realizing where it is you belong and joining forces with people who share your same common interests. As your goals change, the role that people play in your life changes. And as you refine your goals your target companies take shape. So, networking is just this:

Define your Brand: 

What do you love to do? What are you good at? And what jobs are out there that match up?

Narrow down your target companies:

Only focus on those companies you are excited about and that share your values. Company culture matters more than job descriptions.

Recognize the specific role people play in your network:

Strategize about how the people you already know relate to your Brand and Target companies.  

Live your life so that your Brand is visible:

Give people a chance to connect you to your target companies. This works best by finding ways to help those who are already in your network.

As you develop your brand, narrow down your target companies and define the role that people play in your network, you will start to find opportunities to meet people with common interests. As you build upon those interests, you will network into a meaningful job and long term career.

(Along the way, if you need to get a survival job, it will be much easier because the passion that drives your long term job search will shine through in the survival job interview.:-)

The primary purpose of a job interview is not getting a job…

The primary purpose of a job interview is not getting a job…

My mentor Duncan Burgess always says, “People hire peoplethey know.”

We know that is true because 80% of all jobs are filled by networking.

What we tend to ignore is that the whole point of a job search is not to get a job. It is to secure an interview with an employer.

And the whole purpose of that job interview is to have a productive conversation that allows for you both to get to know one another.

At the end of that conversation it may turn out that you are not the best fit for that particular team. However, if you have had the right kind of conversation, that employer will remember you and the next time a job comes open and they ask themselves, “Who do I know?”

They will think of you.  

A job interview is not about getting a job. It is about telling your story and presenting your brand.

…The primary purpose of a job interview is networking.