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Are You Able to Identify “Your Raving Fans”? 

Without a doubt, the Year 2025 has been a difficult year for those that I know who have been part of the job search process.  Some have gone the entire year, and not yet landed their next opportunity as the year closes out.  Others were part of job searches that went many months before landing their next opportunity.  And, whether their job search was even relatively short, (say 3 to 4 months, yes that is a short period in the present market), they found that the interview process they went through was like none other than they had experienced before.

Individuals will ask me those job searchers that were successful, was there a common theme I found that assisted them in their search?  And, while not true for every job searcher that I know that landed their next opportunity, many of them will say to me, “A person I know recommended me for the role at the company.”  Or others will say, “I saw this opening, and I noticed a person I worked with in a previous role, worked for that company.  I reached out to learn more about the role, and they offered to bring my resume to the hiring manager.”

RAVING FANS!  Ideally, we all have them.  They are the individuals with whom we worked at a previous role and established a bond that will last for the rest of our careers.  Or, they may have been someone who came into our work life as a customer we helped serve.  Perhaps they are a relative or an acquaintance of someone else we worked with, who has an excellent understanding of who we are and what we do to help others.

As I have said on many occasions, there are 4 basic ways to find a potential job role.  One is to find it posted online, apply for it, hope that your qualifications align well with what is being sought by the hiring company, and the you beat out other applicants to even get an interview, let alone be the one who is hired.  Historically, this has about a 1% to 5% chance of being successful.  Recruiters or staffing agencies are another route.  While chances of success get a bit better with this approach, you are only valuable to the recruiter or staffing agency if you meet the qualifications of jobs they are being asked to fill.  One can directly contact companies, to learn of possible openings that may not be publicly published.  At least you are looking to make a person-to-person connection.  You may be asked to share your background in case a need becomes available.  Also, you have taken some first steps to speak about yourself, and what you offer an organization in speaking about your background and skill sets. 

Networking has and remains the predominant way individuals in job search learn of opportunities that are right for them.  Historical data shows that when individuals determine what helped them to land their next job, that networking related activities is the response about 75% of the time.  Yet, there is a reality with networking.  The person who is recommending you is putting their reputation at risk.  If you are a hire that does not work out, their opinion may never be valued by the individual or company to which they made the recommendation ever again.  Also, if the person to whom you are connecting already has doubts about you, your ability, your character, they will not want to even respond to your request for help or to learn more about the opportunity.

So, as I asked earlier, are you able to identify your Raving Fans?  Do you take the opportunity at the beginning of a job search to identify whom those individuals may be?  Before applying do you look to have informational conversations to assess the job market, the needs at companies or industries, EVEN BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR YOUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY?  Have you displayed and do you have the reputation to be willing to help others when they are in search?

Your Raving Fans, will always be important to your career development.  Whether in a difficult job market such as 2025, or even in strong markets for job searchers, those who can speak highly of you to those that they know are hiring, gives you an advantage in the search process.  They help to provide you the credibility and recommendations you may need when looking to connect with that next opportunity in your future.