What goes around...comes around. Life in the professional realm is not that different from that in the "real world." People will lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead.
The professional arena has been made more accessible to the masses thanks to the internet and social networking. Monster and CareerBuilder were the pioneers of this online job-hunting world. Made simple, just upload your resume and apply to jobs via the web.
But now everything is more personal. It's all about branding for employers and future employees alike.
Thanks to LinkedIn, your resume (or profile) can be viewed by millions of people. Your dream job (and the accompanying interview) may only be a few a clicks away through LinkedIn. But be careful on embellishing that profile: what goes around...comes around. The web is great, but YOU still have to interview.
For those out there searching for jobs the old-fashioned way via career fairs and the like, this may sound familiar:
Me: Hi, my name is...(Insert Elevator Speech)While it may be discouraging, you are still presenting your brand. Be cordial and professional and understand how the game is played. Go to the company website, create your profile, upload your resume, and apply to that job you want. Now use LinkedIn and do your six degrees of separation. Leverage your network, and if you did it the right way, you will find that your connections will gladly lend a helping a hand in getting your resume out of the gutter and into the right set of eyes. What goes around...comes around.
Recruiter: Nice to meet you. Now go online, fill out a profile, upload your resume, we'll get back in touch with you (perhaps in 2013).
It turns out, there is no all-in-one tool for this job hunting and networking process, it's a do-it-yourself mentality that will get you ahead. It's levering your relationships in ways that are meaningful to them, not to you. What better way to enhance your reputation than by having your story told for you, not by you. I like to think of it as branding.
Lastly, I will leave you with this commercial from The Ladders. (When you let everyone play, nobody wins). I just find it hilarious.
Image from How I Made My First Dollar.
Very true about coming full-circle in the job process. I definitely agree with leveraging relationships to progress forward.
ReplyDeleteGreat commercial!
You are right; one must understand the entire process and not get discouraged with the cliche speech about uploading your resume. I think that this way at least everyone and anyone gets a chance to apply. At the end getting a job depends on how you develop and maintain your relationships along with your qualifications.
ReplyDelete