How to Connect with Important People, Part 3

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Participate in Job Search Support Groups

Similar to hobby, service, or professional organizations, the members of job search support groups can help you move your job search forward by providing information, leads, and encouragement. They might be coordinated independently or run by a local job service organization.

Typically, job search support groups meet one or more times each month. The meetings include informing each other about job search objectives, learning about and practicing effective job hunting techniques, and troubleshooting job search roadblocks. Most groups allow job hunters to participate for free or for a minimal fee. To locate job search support groups near you, input the keywords, "job search support group (your city)" into a search engine, or phone your local job service center for suggestions.

Partner with Employment Services and Recruiters

Deep down, most of us wish that we had a Career Fairy who would fly around locating great job opportunities and then gently drop them in our lap for our consideration. Although the Career Fairy doesn't exist (as far as I'm aware), there are professionals whose job it is to link candidates with job opportunities. These professionals are called recruiters.

Many people mistakenly believe that it's a recruiter's role to find positions for job searchers. This, however, isn't true. Rather, it's the role of a recruiter to locate personnel resourced for companies. This might seem like a minor difference, but in reality, it's huge. Here's why: A recruiter gets paid by an employer company to find candidates for a job opening. The recruiter's loyalty is to the company, not to the job searcher. Unless a recruiter sees how your background might be a fit for a position he or she is filling, you are of very little interest to him.

For this reason, if you choose to connect with recruiters, it's important that you approach them from their perspective, rather than from yours. The following scripts demonstrate "wrong way" and "right way" methods.

Wrong way:
Mr. Recruiter, I'm job searching. What positions do you have open?

Right way:
Mr. Recruiter, I'm job searching for a position as a (state your job search focus). If my background is a fit for one of the positions you're filling, I'd like to provide you with information about me. If my background isn't a fit for one of your searches, I'd like to be on the lookout for other candidates that might be good resources for you.

To find recruiters that fit your specialty, ask the membership coordinator at your professional association for ideas. You can also connect with employment agencies, listed under "Employment Services" in the Yellow Pages, to locate potential employment services and recruiters.

A note about employment services as compared to professional recruiters: Employment servicessuch as Manpower, Adecco, Apple One, and so onare typically focused on filling positions locally, from entry-level openings to specialty technical positions.

Professional recruiters, often working independently, are usually focused on filling higher-level (CEO, VP, and so on) or more specialized positions, recruiting from nationwide or worldwide candidate pools. At one time, they might be supporting companies located in Bangkok, Buenos Aires, and Boston. For this reason, candidates need to be open to relocation.

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