Wonderful Wednesday - it is wonderful to let your network know you are looking for work.
Each Wonderful Wednesday throughout the month of December will dedicated to dealing with what you should do if you find yourself out of work unexpectedly. Last week I wrote about adjusting your budget once you and your employment are separated. Future Wonderful Wednesdays will be dedicated to exploring other options when you are separated from employment including:
- starting something new
- staying positive and focused
Today's Wonderful Wednesday article is all about using your networks both in person and social to find new sources of employment. If you are serious about finding new employment, it is important to use all your resources to find new sources of income. This is not a time to be shy. Instead, shout your accomplishments to the roof tops and let everyone in your circles know you are looking for employment. You may be surprised to find out the resources that people put together for your benefit.
- photo credit: qthomasbower via photopin cc Wonderful Wednesday, network, job search, friends, employment, Golden Rule, unemployment
I am dealing with this issue personally now. My business is slow at this point so I started looking for employment in order to earn extra income until things picked up. I told my friends in the real world and several of them asked for copies of my resume to pass on to people they know. I told my friends on various social networks. Several of them have referred me to different opportunities. One fellow blogger offered me a way to earn income while blogging. It was fun because it gave me an opportunity to work on an advertising campaign with comedian Kevin Hart and Verizon. While this opportunity will not make me financially stable by any means, it was some extra income for my family that I would not have received if I had not told my friend I was looking or employment.
If life happens and you find yourself in need of employment, reach out to your networks both in person and virtually to get help looking for work. Tell your friends you are looking for work. This is important because they may have friends who know about openings that may be of interest to you. Let your Facebook and Twitter connections know you are looking for employment and ask for leads to opportunities. Used your LinkedIn connections to seek opportunities and advice.
When speaking with those in your network about potential employment opportunities be gracious, sincerely gracious. Do not get upset if you seek employment with someone and it doesn't work out. I had one Facebook friend tell me to ask another one about a position in her company. I contacted the Facebook friend who was a woman I had met once and respected. After two weeks I still had not heard anything about my interest in the position. I sent the woman a message asking about the position and told her that even if I was not the person she ultimately chose to fill the opening, I wished her and the successful candidate every success. This was not idle chit-chat. I actually hope that she finds the perfect candidate to meet her needs and help her take her business where she wants it to be.
- wonderful Wednesday, job search, network, social network, employment, job hunt
It is important for you to have that type of attitude. Every job opening is not the perfect job for you, but you must still be gracious and kind to those who do not hire you. Why? This is because you reap what you sow. If you want people to be kind and gracious to you, then you must treat other people the same way. In addition, once you find satisfactory work and the job search is over, you will want you networks to remain in tact.
It is wonderful to have a network of friends in both the real and virtual; worlds who can help you find employment if you find yourself out of work. But in order to have your networks want to help you, you must be a friend to those in your networks. So, the question for you this Wonderful Wednesday is are you the kind of person people want to have in their networks?
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