Lemonade from Lemons (Responding to the ol' Bait-N-Switch)

I try not to post too much "negative" stuff here, for a variety of reasons: 1 - I believe positivity breeds positivity; and 2 - as someone else recently told me, it's enough for people to know I'm unemployed; I don't need to drive it home with negative stories.

But, despite that, I see this next story as having a positive outcome (on two levels) despite the fact that it was among the most appalling situations I've ever seen.

I had submitted an application as a director of communications to a NYC-based non-profit; one I was exceptionally excited about. I'm always wary of non-profits, because salary isn't usually consistent with the corporate world's titles; but the mission of this non-profit -- educational reform -- was something I found particularly near-and-dear.

Like many applications, I didn't hear anything -- something I've come to expect; although, I do have plans to revisit many of these organizations in August, in a more ambitious marketing campaign (where I'll be marketing myself). In any event, then, last week, I got an email from the organization. They were going to be having a "recruiting open house" this past Tuesday -- the founders of the organization would be there. The email identified me as "as a highly qualified candidate for one of their open roles."

I had two quick reactions to this. First - I thought I should reach out to them and ensure it was "worth my while" to attend; second - I thought this was an amazing, innovative and unique opportunity (although, if multiple people were attending for the same role, it's a little 'gladiator'-like.

I then decided, the OLD Chris would call first; the NEW Chris would just show up, full of confidence, basically saying, "of course it's worth my while; because I'm clearly the best candidate for this role. And, thank you for noticing!"

I hopped on the website, printed out the job description for the director of communications and headed into NYC: $26 in train fare, and about six hours of my life (between train and event).

I arrived and made my way to the 11th floor. The elevator opened and I saw -- maybe -- about 40 people there. Not too many; but still more than I would've liked. I signed in and saw about 15 percent of the people had "communications" listed as their profession. Again, my confidence was strong. I knew I belonged there.

The founder (maybe 23-24 years old?) went through a brief synopsis of the organization and its beginnings; and then she introduced the interim director of talent to go through the open roles. One of those roles was a director of talent (because the current one has a full-time consulting gig; and was only 'helping' out here). She also discussed the director of finance, director of operations and the communications coordinator.

Huh?

So, after the intros, I headed to the founder. Introduced myself; gave a brief synopsis about my background, and explained I was there for the director of communications role (assuming the current director was -- like the talent director -- interim only).

"Oh, yes, we filled that position five days ago." she says. "Well, it's still on your site, as of today?" I inquired. "Yeah, we haven't had a chance to take it down."

I then asked, why was I even invited? Oh, well, we have the coordinator role that we think some of our candidates would be great fits for.

Wow.

I made my way to the talent director; because I wanted to speak with her (since she also works elsewhere). And relayed my story -- I even told her about my initial apprehension in coming, but, "Of course the role would still be open!" I said. "Why would an organization invite people to an event for a role that's not longer available? That would be appalling and complete organizational failure."

Even with this, I still took some positives from last evening. First, that I even just went, without couching my expectations first. Sure, it backfired; but it's still a sea change for me to do something like that.

In addition, I made a great contact. I noticed a gentleman with his own name badge there. His badge identified him as a communications professional; and the look on his face was exactly how I felt (although, I suspect I'm a better poker player, since I wasn't quite as evident!). When I spoke with him, my presumptions were confirmed -- like me, he had applied for the director role; his pedigree is probably even more impressive than my own. In no way would he be able (or willing) to take on a coordinator role.

We talked for a while there (and on the way back to Penn Station), and I think he'll become an outstanding connection. He has some great skills (in terms of job-seeking) as do I, and we figured we'd swap our 'systems' to help each other out. He also recommended I look into publishing my job-seeking system as an eBook, which could potentially help bring in some cash flow.

It's an interesting time for me. For some reason, I'm still *amazingly* positive; but I'm also completely undecided in what makes the most sense. My networking meetings have gone exceptionally well (and I still have many, many more to do).

Only one person, so far, has shown any resistance to meeting (which is incredibly odd, in my opinion); although many haven't responded yet. Fear not; if you're one of the ones who hasn't responded, you'll be getting another invitation from me in a few weeks!

But, the advice I've received has been all over the place. I guess that's what advice is ... it's up to the individual to parse it out and decide what makes sense.

I've been advised to:

• Start my own company as an internal communications consultant
• Partner with a friend to offer my services in conjunction with hers
• Become a career coach
• Publish eBooks on my job-seeking systems

And, this is only after a handful of networking meetings! The career coach is an exceptionally intriguing concept. I *love* helping people figure out what they want to do. I've created systems that are hands-on and practical (and not simply inspiring or general). And, I write a pretty damned good resume. In fact, my own resume will undergo a *massive* change, based on advice I've received from people so far.

Most importantly, I'm still positive. I know - even if I keep on my path - I have a good road ahead of me, with some really good ideas. I know I'm not looking for a 'job,' but for a career. And, I know the efforts I'm expending *will* pay off. I haven't always been positive this time around (unlike the last time, where I was almost exclusively positive), but I feel my old self coming back. I'm helping people, connecting people and making great connections myself. And, it only takes one ...


PS - I've now added "share" buttons (so, if you read something you like, you can share it on various social media sites) and -- for the RSS-feed resistant among us, I've now added a "subscribe via email" form, so you can be updated via email whenever a new post is made!

New Readers and Upcoming Highlights

In the past two weeks, this blog has really gotten some legs, apparently. People in my network have been sharing the posts and I've gotten a lot of new readers.

It's tempting to say blogs are already passe; but the truth is, there are very few channels that allow for such long form conversation *and* interaction (especially in this day of Twitter, where messages fly back and forth rapid fire, but with no more than 140 characters).

So, if you're a new reader -- welcome. This blog has gone through a lot of iterations. It's focused on jobseeking, customer service, guitar solos and American Idol voting. But, it's always been true to the title of the blog.

Now -- following a blog isn't that tough (but it will be tough for the next week or so). For those who don't know, blogs use a subscription service (known as RSS), which enable individuals to subscribe to content and have it delivered to them (almost like email, but less intrusively).

One of the reasons I chose this platform is because the RSS engine is built in; so -- in your browser, if you want to stay current, simply subscribe to the RSS feed, and each time I post something, you'll know about it.

The reason I say it'll be a little touch-and-go for the next week is that the RSS world is undergoing some massive changes. The leader -- Google Reader -- is being retired next Monday; and a host of new replacements (all with some positive and negative characteristics, in comparison) are waiting to take over. I've been doing a lot of research on this (because I use RSS feeds pretty heavily to keep up with internet content), and almost certainly, my next post (this week) will consist of my findings and my recommendation for a replacement.

In the meantime, if you're new -- look around; kick the tires ... you can skip most of April and May's posts (which dealt with an ambitious guitar solo tournament). Interestingly, this morning, I was thinking I should do something special for my 100th post (and then, I realized my 100th post had come and gone already). Terrified, I wanted to ensure it wasn't something like the third round of the guitar solo tournament; but it wasn't. Instead, it was a piece bemoaning the fact that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. If you're new -- and all you've read are the past two posts (on networking and LinkedIn), that 100th post is a good place to start.

Welcome, again!

Why Do You Have So Many LinkedIn Connections? (aka, The Art of the Referral)

Most job seekers know it's important to be active on LinkedIn. The networking site provides a wealth of information and opportunity (that is valuable all the time, but especially when you're in the market for a new job).

But, I think some people don't really know how to use it effectively.

Let me preface this, by saying - this doesn't apply to recruiters. Recruiters have a different purpose on LinkedIn, and they need to be able to see as many full profiles as they can. Because of LinkedIn's policies (that you can only see full profiles of your second degree connections), it's nearly imperative that recruiters make as many connections as they can; so they can better see full profiles of potential candidates.

Everyone else, though, I think is missing the boat.

Each week, when I send out resumes, I head to LinkedIn to check out which companies I may be connected to. I'm only looking at second-degree connections -- that indicates someone who shares a mutual connection with me. I'll then email my connection and ask them if they wouldn't mind recommending me to their connection.

A lot of times, I get back a response of, "Yeah, I don't really know that person."

And, this confuses me. Why would you be connected to someone that you don't really know? And, far more importantly, what's the purpose overall? You're certainly not getting anything out of that relationship.

Last week, I went through my LinkedIn connections. I have more than 500. Some I realized were recruiters -- those are necessary, even though I don't know them as well. I need to see when they're posting jobs. The remainder were people I knew well, and people I didn't know well. Rather than chalking up the people I didn't know well, I emailed them, one-by-one. I said, "We don't know each other very well; and that should change. We're connected on LinkedIn (I don't always remember who reached out to whom), but, in all honesty, if we don't form a relationship, the connection is useless. For me, right now, I'm looking for work. I don't expect you to have a position for me; but it's far more likely you'll know someone who might. And, I cannot expect you to recommend me, if you don't actually know me."

Some have responded already, and I've had a handful of sitdowns and phone conversations. To me, this is more valuable than "growing" my network; I'm fortifying it.

And, I think my connections recognize this value as well -- after all, what purpose do I have to them, if I don't know them really well? So, it's win/win.

I'm not someone who gets into having thousands and thousands of connections. I'd far rather have 500 really strong connections who have strong bonds with their connections. By extension, *I* have strong bonds (because, a connection who's willing to recommend you is someone that can be that vital liaison for you).

And that brings us to the referral.

My last post discussed the need for a networking wingman, and, in truth, a referral/recommendation is just an extension of that. Honestly, if you were looking to hire someone, which approach would impress you more?

1 - a candidate approaches you at a networking event (or online) and tells you he's awesome and you should really get to know him, because he'll help out your business, immensely.
2 - someone you trust approaches you at a networking event (or online) and tells you about an awesome individual you should get to know, because he'll help out your business, immensely.

If anyone DIDN'T say #2, I'd be amazed. We trust the people we trust, and we expect them to give us good advice (and we're more willing to take a chance on their advice). The same candidate (as above) is perceived differently, depending upon the way they're introduced.

So, when I ask people to make the referral for me, I'm basically asking them to do something I'd be happy to do for them.

"Hi Bob, so a friend of mine is really interested in working with your company. He's an award-winning communications executive, and he's got a great track record of helping companies reach goals -- both internally (he's increased employee engagement and morale and trust) and externally through press releases, getting his companies more well-known. He's bright, he immerses himself in the company (so he can be even more useful than just in communications functions -- he's worked in organization development and efficiencies) and he's been a valued and trusted confidant to the CEO of a company. Maybe even as importantly, he's friendly and really funny ... he's a great fit for your organization."

And, Bob, is almost certainly going to want to meet me, because *his* trusted friend/source/colleague has just done the most awesome networking wingman/referral one could hope for.

Think about your own contacts on LinkedIn, and then ask yourself -- which of your connections could you writing something like that about? And, which of your connections could you send that referral to? Because, if you can't write about a connection and you don't know a connection well enough to make the referral, why are they a connection? I don't care if you have 13,000 connections -- I'll always take the 500 quality connections.

And, if *I'M* connected to you, and you don't feel comfortable writing something like that about me; reach out to me. We clearly need to "fortify" our LinkedIn relationship.