10 Oct 06 What I Love About Searching for Work

Agreed! Networking is so fun (when done right) that it doesn’t seem like a job search at all. I think the key to networking is really doing it before you are in a job search and definitely continuing after you land your job!

BTW, what is your e-mail, to invite you in LinkedIn?

I have two questions related to your post.

1) Even though I am completey comfortable asking for ideas/help about a problem I’m working on at work “Has anyone else ever hit this error?”. I simply can’t bring myself to make me,myself or I the topic of the conversation, as in “I’m thinking of trying to start….” I am just completely uncomfortable with it. I can do it over the Internet, but not face to face with friends/relatives.

I’m not sure why I feel that way, but I think it’s because with people I already know I’m worried that they will either feel obligated to ACT interested/enthusiastic OR that if they are in any way negative before I’ve gotten off the ground with my idea, that I won’t have enough momentum to keep going.
Any suggestions?

My second question is, can you give me an example of why you like LinkedIn? I just wasn’t inclined to type in a pile of info about myself unless I had a more specific example of how I might benefit.

Thanks in advance.

CCW – I’ll take a stab at your 2 questions, which are great questions.

First question, to start your networking ditch the idea that networking is about going out and talking about yourself. You want to meet people, learn about them and see if there is anything you can do to help them. I’ve found this is, 99% of the time, hooking them up with others. You don’t talk about you that entire time! Also, this is just the beginning of a relationship – you don’t need to cover everything at the beginning. Usually they’ll turn it around and ask you about yourself, but it is quite different when they as (than if you just start telling about yourself).

Second question, LinkedIn is a funny thing. When I first signed on earlier this year it was a LONELY PLACE because I didn’t know anyone on it. However, I’ve learned a lot since then and I encourage people to begin their cyber-networking right now (before they need it). It is a great place to find and build relationships, but it DOES take a lot of work and a strategy. One of the best things about LinkedIn for job seekers is that I know a bunch of recruiters that use it to find candidates.

My 2 cents