MOVING FORWARD INTO BREAKTHROUGH CONVERSATIONS

Level 1 conversations and positive, informative and encouraging discussions with friends and colleagues can help move you forward (see Chapter 7). Why wait so long in the book before introducing you to level 2 conversations? The answer is simple – you need to have the right method at your fingertips, and the right information in your portfolio. In other words, a reasonably well-developed CV and a clear answer to the question ‘what are you looking for?’

I’M STILL SUSPICIOUS ABOUT NETWORKING

Of course you are. If you weren’t, you’d be out there doing it now, quite naturally, without even thinking about it. Most people looking for a job hate the idea of networking (see Chapter 7), but most of them will learn do it some of the time, and many will learn how to do it well, in a way that impacts the rest if their career. If you don’t want to talk to strangers, then remember the advice of career coach Al Owens of Albion Insight:

Identify the ‘ultimate stranger’ – your next boss. All of your job hunting efforts should then be focused on how to introduce yourself to that decision-maker.

JOB OFFER ROULETTE

When I am working with a new client I imagine we’re sitting in a casino looking at a big roulette table. Each oblong on the tabletop represents one way someone might land a job. One is labelled advertised positions, for example, and others direct applications, job boards, recruitment agencies, internships and word of mouth. Where do we place our chips? Looking at the roulette table it’s clear that some squares give much better odds. To some these facts are obvious, to others a mystery.

Then I ask two questions. The first is ‘how are you looking for a job right now, and how is that working out for you?’. Usually this is the moment when I hear about CV problems and difficulties getting interviews. The second question is: ‘Imagine it’s three months down the line and you’ve got a job. Tell me, step by step, how you got it’. Even the most ardent non-networker will usually tell me, unprompted, that they found the job through word of mouth.

Putting your money on the word of mouth roulette option isn’t guaranteed to work every time. People still find jobs through other methods as well (well-pitched unsolicited applications can be great door-openers, and recruitment agencies can get you in front of people very quickly). However, unlike any square on a real roulette table, this one pays out most of the time.

HIDDEN WORLD

There is little research data available on exactly how people find jobs. In the age of social media, channels overlap – Twitter might lead you to a person who over coffee tells you about a job about to be advertised on her organisation’s website. In most economies the rule of thumb is that on average one third of jobs are filled through word of mouth. Of course, that’s an overview picture of all sectors and levels. As soon as you move above entry level jobs or look at specialised sectors, or you look at new, small organisations, the proportion of jobs filled by conversations and connections can be anything up to 80%.

In any market, no matter how transparent on the surface, a large proportion of jobs are either not advertised or already have someone’s name on them before the first interview. This unadvertised market has long been described as ‘hidden’, and there are consultancies, websites and even apps which promise access – an absurd idea, because hidden jobs are by their nature not catalogued. Hidden jobs are filled, and found, using a different mindset. Often an employer appears to be operating openly and transparently, but behind the scenes is trying to get the right people quickly, at minimum risk. This inclines employers towards people they know something about.

It’s easier to work with people who have no preconceptions about how to look for a job. They tend to have a much more direct buyer/seller approach. They instinctively look for opportunities to meet decision makers because that considerably improves their chances.

Some people express ethical objections to the idea that you might talk your way onto a shortlist, or the way young people with great social connections secure top internships. Surely all jobs need to be advertised, if not just for fairness but to guarantee a strong talent pool?

You’ve heard the cynical line ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. It’s a good phrase to hide behind; a good excuse not to find anyone to help. The sentence should end who you get to know. The process is about making an active choice to get to know more people. You’re most likely to get any job through somebody you talk to in the next three months – people you already know, people you have yet to meet. Yes, some jobs are still given out by family, friends, people who went to your school or share some other tribal allegiance, but far more often the job goes to someone who is just plain visible. No matter your age, class or background, the best tool for finding things out is talking to people, and building long-term relationships with the people you meet is often the key to a satisfied career.

So is the hidden job market unfair? Yes, in the sense that in any competition some players understand the rules better than others. Applying only for advertised jobs because that’s somehow ‘fairer’ is a great way of extending your job hunt time, and a watertight strategy for avoiding some of the most interesting opportunities on the planet. They won’t be in the Help Wanted section, because right now they’re brewing away in the brain of someone you might just meet, pretty soon, if you simply start asking the best career question ever: ‘who else should I be talking to?’

PLANTING MESSAGES

The problem is that we don’t really know how or why word of mouth happens, and it comes as a surprise to most people that we have a large influence over it. You know your hidden jobs strategy is working when your name comes up for the right reasons when you’re not in the room.

Picture the scene. Two people meet at the coffee machine. One of them is someone you know. Your name comes up in conversation, perhaps because the organisation in question has a problem that needs solving. How much will your contact say about you? Your CV contains up to 200 pieces of information. At interview you might communicate 30 or so key points. Think about the last time you recommended someone – how many pieces of information do you mention in casual conversation? In everyday conversation even if we are strongly recommending someone we tend to communicate no more than three or four pieces of information.

What kind of information comes up? When asked this, many candidates suggest that people will talk about their personality. This is possible, but in order to add value to the conversation your contact is far more likely to talk about what you know, what you do well, who you are connected with, and what makes you distinctive. The final card in a five-card hand might be that you’re easy to work with, or it could be a personal ‘hook’ (perhaps you support the same sports team or come from the same home town). See the Referral Checklist below.

Referral checklist

Ideally, when your name comes up, so does a short burst of focused messages along the topics outlined above. Why on earth would these messages come up? Because you are going to plant them. You are going to make sure the right things are said when you are not in the room. You do this by:

• Talking about these key messages whenever you get the opportunity.
• Making sure this information is in the first 50 words of your CV and in your LinkedIn profile.
• Reminding people of them, using bullet points after meetings rather than sending a CV.

HOW DO YOU GET LEVEL 2 MEETINGS WITHOUT LEVEL 1 INTRODUCTIONS?

Sometimes there are people you want to reach quickly, for example a key person in a target organisation. You are not trying to position yourself for an interview, but you would like to know a lot more about what the organisation is looking for. However, you don’t know anyone and you’re following this book’s advice and not going in cold. What do you do?

• Firstly, look again to see if you have a level 1 contact who can open a door for you. Ask if anyone knows someone who has ever worked in the organisation, even as a temp, intern or consultant.
• Look at the LinkedIn profiles of people you know, and search using the organisation name. Names of people in your network may pop up as suitable intermediaries.
• Thirdly, try to spot the names of decision makers you would like to reach. Again, use LinkedIn to see if they are connected to people you know.
• Finally, if all else fails, ring up and ask to speak to your preferred contact. To prevent your call being excluded immediately, it’s often a good idea to start with a question about the job, but you might decide to be open about the fact that you are really interested in the organisation and believe you have something to offer. If you have a clear reason for your conversation that might just work.

I’D RATHER SEND AN EMAIL …

Of course you would. Just as you’d rather try to deal with things on the phone rather than ask for a face-to-face conversation. It’s easier to hide behind technology than go to the effort of setting up a meeting. It even has advantages of speed. It takes less time to set up a telephone conversation, and just seconds to fire off an email. When you had to walk across the street to buy stationery you probably had a chat with real people and got to know them just a little better each time. When you can email your requirements you tend to minimise the pleasantries. Technological short-cuts sideline real world relationships.

If you’re tempted to try to undertake level 2 conversations by telephone or – worse still – email, think about outcomes. You remember an email for only minutes. You might remember a telephone call for 24 hours. A face-to-face conversation, however, has a huge number of reinforcing elements (visual, auditory, tactile, social, remembered shared interests, the sheer novelty value of seeing someone new); we remember meetings for months, even years. Think about the difference between someone posting you a birthday present, and someone arriving on your doorstep with a present, a card and a smile.

If you want to be remembered, and if you want someone to pass on positive information about you, meet in person. Seeing people in their actual working environment also teaches you a huge amount about organisations, cultures and subtle things like language and culture – great preparation for job interviews. Be honest about what you want: ‘I wonder if I could actually come in and see you. I find that I learn so much more by having conversations face to face.’

WHY LEVEL 2 CONVERSATIONS PUSH YOUR JOB HUNTING INTO A NEW GEAR

Face-to-face conversations with the right people move you forward, ever closer to decision makers. The key, according to coach Steve Preston, is ‘being targeted and focused to find good connections and people who can open doors’. And what goes wrong with most networking campaigns? According to John Whapham it’s ‘not being selective enough and trying to network with too many people’.

Jo Bond writes:

You need to think of yourself in marketing terms as you take your product/service to market. Your prospective customers need to be clear about your mission and vision – who you are and what you want to do. They also need to understand how you can be of benefit to them, i.e. how you can add value to them. If you cannot explain this in an effective, easily understandable and enthusiastic way then why should they pay you any attention?

Career coach Kate Howlett advises you to:

Spend 70% of job search time on networking in direct proportion to the effectiveness of all the routes to market. Never ask for contacts to let you know if they hear of a job – how many of us hear of a job that often? Instead start genuine conversations to further research into the job market. People try to ‘sell’ themselves or feel that, once they have asked friends to look out for a job, their networking activity is then exhausted. You may also tend to qualify contacts and so reject them if you feel they aren’t in a useful position, but clients of mine have got jobs via networking at Yoga classes, playing Bridge, a flat management committee meeting and their 4-year old daughter’s birthday party whilst handing out the jelly! Most jobs seem to come from left field so don’t qualify – just extend invitations to people you like.

TAKING OFF YOUR CAMOUFLAGE

In today’s labour market jungle, camouflage is the last thing you need. Visibility is what counts in the hidden job market. Level 2 conversations help – focused explorations which provide a huge increase in information, connections and job leads. They require you to reach out to people who can get you in front of decision makers.

Breaking into the hidden market isn’t about old school tie networks, nor is it only for those who are great self-promoters. If success was about the people you already know, there would be little in level 2 conversations. This method is much easier than the textbook networking model of pitching yourself to people you don’t know. Level 1 conversations are all about encouragement, support and idea building. They help you test out ideas in a safe environment. Level 2 conversations give you valuable information about sectors, organisations and jobs, and will lead you to decision makers.

So, if you skipped level 1 conversations (in Chapter 7), time to revisit it now, because these give you the very best start to conversations at the next level. If you get level 1 right you have painless introductions to level 2 people.

Who do you want to talk to at level 2? You probably want to talk to:

• people doing jobs you believe are fascinating;
• people working in sectors you want to know more about;
• people working in organisations which look like potential targets;
• people who are at the heart of great networks;
• people who will continue to provide encouragement but could also give you professional feedback on your messages to the marketplace;
• people who can connect you directly with decision makers at level 3.