You Just Don’t Know
I was recently a part of a Career Fair of which I have been a part of on a bi-annual basis for the last 10 years. Over the years, the Fair has helped provide guidance to many job searchers, (who happen to be Project Managers, as it is sponsored by a professional association chapter for PM professionals where I live in New Jersey), on recommended, best approaches to the job search process.
One such tool, that beyond dispute, is essential for those in job search that is spoken about at each Fair is the importance of having a robust Linked In profile. While many of the attendees may already have a profile, others either do not or if they do, have neglected it for many years. Others may treat the profile very cursory, (basically a listing of their name, job title they have held at each stop during their career), and the years they worked in those roles. If the profile is not treated as your professional presence on social media, with you looking to connect with the reader in the first person, as to not only who you are as a professional, but bringing out the problems you look to solve for the reader and your passion for doing so, you are doing yourself a disservice in terms of your profile.
A section of the profile which is extremely important is to have Recommendations from former colleagues, customers, and managers of what it is like to work with you, and to bring out what you bring to those who are fortunate enough to have you as part of their organization. During the most recent Fair, when the importance of Recommendations on one’s profile was bought to the attendee’s attention, one of the attendees followed with a comment that “floored me” as I read it in the Zoom chat of the virtual session where the Fair was being presented. The attendee while understanding that Recommendations may indeed have value, questioned how others would view them if they were provided at the present time from those that you may have worked with you six or more months ago. How would others view such a recommendation? Would it be counted as a “negative mark” against the individual by those reading the profile?
The reason why I was incredulous at the comment goes back to the very fundamentals to my training as a Career Coach. One of the earliest things I learned is any communication that you provide, a resume, a cover letter, a Linked In profile, a verbal pitch, etc., is as impactful as it relates to the person that is reading it. Will everyone like everything about your background and career? No, not necessarily, if they do not have a need for those talent and skills at that moment. If the reader has their own bias in terms of what they need, (be it industry experience, experience with certain technologies, skills, etc.), then yes, they will likely bypass you. However, if their focus is on other things, such as how you may fit into their organization’s culture, how you may work across functional areas, how you may have faced and solved problems that align exactly to the ones they are facing, then in our example, a recommendation from someone you worked with in the past, may be just the ticket to get them to want to speak with you.
A job search is a RESEARCH PROJECT. It requires a great deal of preparation, (and adjustments to that preparation), along with ongoing strategy approaches as the process goes along. Some steps may work well for the job searcher. The ones that do not, are NOT MISTAKES. They are LESSONS LEARNED along the way. The key factor in the whole search process is YOU JUST DON’T KNOW. The individual who is open to different approaches and techniques, and keeps in mind that the search is not always about what they want, but what is needed by those who have the job opening, continue to make progress in the job search process. So, if you find yourself in a process (such as a job search, but it can also be one where you are looking to influence others to consider you as the person, they need to solve their problems), remember, do not assume that you know exactly how they will react to you. Everyone you meet is unique, they have their own needs and preferences. Being open to using different strategies along with strong preparation will help you navigate the process that is in front of you to reach the goal that you seek.
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I am blessed to have an excellent memory, particularly of items that I may have been exposed to many years ago. That memory even goes to the level of remembering episodes of TV shows that I saw in my youth, and remembering the dialogue of the characters. One of those shows that I watched in my teens was “The Odd Couple,” the story of two divorced men sharing an apartment in New York City, with very different personalities.
