Three tips for maximizing your online connections

Today's internet surfers have a slew of online social networking tools at their disposal. These tools can easily be used to find and make connections with people in the fields or companies they want to work in. Why then do so many job applicants fail to utilize these networks to help find the job they want?

Back to basics

Tools like Facebook and LinkedIn make it easy to find people in your network to reach out to about career opportunities. But just because you are making the connection via a social networking site doesn't mean you should forget the basics of professionalism. Remember, social networking sites are just the latest mechanisms for contacting people, evolved from emails, phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and the ancient art of letter writing. If you wouldn't start out an email or letter of inquiry to a future job connection with a "What's up?", you probably shouldn't send a Facebook message like that either. It sounds obvious, but if you're polite, professional, and to the point, you're already a step ahead.

Make the ask

For most people looking for jobs, especially recent graduates, the first instinct is to fire off a round of emails to friends or former colleagues. The instinct to "tap your network" is a good one, but what you put in that email or LinkedIn message can make all the difference in the world. The first thing to consider is, what are you asking people for? I can't tell you how frustrating it is to get an email from a friend - no resume attached - who is looking for a job "doing anything." That leaves me wondering, what are they good at? What do they have expertise in? What are they interested in? Without having those details readily at hand, it's tough for a potential job connection to mentally sift through their own networks and make connections for you. If you make your ask specific, provide your credentials, and include details about who you are and what you're good at, your friends and connections will be better equipped (and likely more willing) to forward your resume or make a connection for you.

Move offline

Been Facebook stalking a friend's friend who has your dream job? If you live in the same city, use the internet to connect, but ask for a meeting in-person to get his or her advice. There's nothing more powerful than a face-to-face interaction. In “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion," author Robert Cialdini explains that there are key buttons that move people towards doing something they might not otherwise have done - and all of them work best when you're face to face. Since you're asking someone for something, why not do it in a way that optimizes their chance of saying yes and helping you out? Worst case, they say no to your meeting request, but in my experience, most people are flattered by the notion and are happy to sit down and chat.

Janessa Goldbeck is the Director of Membership for the Genocide Intervention Network, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization.

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Common mistakes. Easy fixes. (part two)

This post is part two in a series on common mistakes made by job applicants and easy fixes for addressing those mistakes.

Warning: Arriving early to an interview may adversely affect your chances of being hired.

It is important to show up on time for an interview. This is a rule of thumb that won’t come as a surprise for most readers of this post. Incorrectly, most job applicants believe it is important to simply not arrive late to an interview. However, it is nearly as important to not show up more than five minutes early either. With many employers, arriving too early for an interview is only a slightly lesser offense than arriving late.

Why is arriving too early a blow to your chances of winning the job? The answer is quite simple. One of the primary goals of the interview process is to determine a prospective candidate’s understanding of, and ability to operate within, the norms of a professional environment. One of those norms is an understanding of how your actions impact others around you and your respect for your co-workers schedules and time. Showing up early, or late, for an interview (or for any business meeting) is disruptive to the person you are meeting. To understand this, consider what occurs when you arrive early. The people with whom you are meeting will be notified that you have arrived. From a cultural perspective, most people don’t feel comfortable making someone wait for them as it is considered rude—so the person you are meeting now has two options: a) they can interrupt their schedule to meet with you early, or b) wait for the scheduled time and be made to feel anxious about making you wait. In either case, you have made a bad first impression.

As an employer, I understand the motivation to arrive early for an interview. As with any meeting, you want to build in enough time so that you can be reasonably sure that you can find the location, and be prepared if any unexpected transportation delays occur. Building in a buffer for these things is smart, but it means that you will often arrive at your destination earlier than the scheduled start time. If you arrive 10, 20, 30, or more minutes early, find something else to do with your time. Find a coffee shop and read the paper, tour the neighborhood, or check out the local bookstore. Just make sure not to lurk pensively outside the office suite—this just makes people nervous. You should not actually enter the office suite where you are interviewing until five minutes before the scheduled start time.

Following this rule of thumb won’t win you massive points with prospective employers, but it will start you off on the right foot.

Christopher Hertz is the CEO of New Signature, a Washington D.C.-based information technology firm.

Dear Sir or Madman

This short article from Reuters discusses how typos on your resume or cover letter can kill your chances of getting a job. The article sites the following results from a survey of Canadian employers:

A telephone survey of 100 senior Canadian executives showed that more than a fifth of executives said a single typo on a resume or cover letter could cost a potential employee a job, while 28 percent said two mistakes would kill their chances.

I would really put the probability of typos killing your chances even higher than this. The last few positions that I was hiring for each received well over 500 applications. Given these numbers, I only had a couple of minutes to look at each resume. I was simply looking for reasons to eliminate candidates, and typos are an easy one.

Advice from the field (work for Congress!)

This post is part one in a series on getting jobs in specific fields. Each post will feature writers currently employed in that field answering a set of questions related to the hiring process. Feel free to ask the writer questions by leaving a comment.

1) What is your current position and how did you come into it?

I am currently a legislative correspondent on Capitol Hill (in Washington D.C.) for a U.S. senator from the Pacific Northwest. I came to Capitol Hill by way of a district office internship with my local senator. After graduating from college, I interned under a constituent service representative for about six months. Inspired by my time there, I decided to move to D.C. to find a job on Capitol Hill. A former staffer in the district office where I interned worked on my current senator’s 2006 reelection campaign and connected me with contacts on Capitol Hill.

2) What are three tips and tricks specific to getting a job in your field?

First and foremost, you need to make connections. Congressional offices rarely hire individuals who don’t already know someone in the office. The best way to make worthwhile connections in a Congressional office is through an internship. You should apply for an internship in each of your home state’s senate and house offices (depending on your party affiliation), as constituents get priority. Available internship and staff positions can be found at www.senate.gov/employment.

If you live in Washington D.C. (or know someone that does), you can also put your resume into circulation through the U.S. House of Representatives Resume Drop-off (Longworth House Office Building, Basement 227).

Along with internships, informational interviews are also helpful to making connections. An informational interview is simply an interview where a job seeker asks for advice as opposed to a specific position. While an informational interview may not ensure that you will be hired in that particular office, it is a good way to get your resume into a staffer’s hands, ask questions, and hear about possible openings on Capitol Hill. Constituents, interns, and recent college graduates come through local and capitol offices frequently and can generally meet with high-level staff for a few minutes. Simply call the member’s front desk to request an informational interview.

If you want to work on Capitol Hill it really helps to be living in Washington D.C. There is high job turnover in the Senate and even higher turnover in the House as staffers are promoted or move into different roles in the government. Offices are looking to fill positions quickly and there is an ever-growing pool of interns ready to start yesterday for any given position.

Finally, it’s important to be aware of a member’s committee assignments and priorities if you want to work on particular policy issues. Congress.org’s Congressional Directory is a great place to find contact information and committee assignments.

3) What is the most common mistake made by applicants in your field?

If you are applying for your first job out of college, do not expect interviews for legislative aide positions right away. Some people are able to jump into policy positions right out of college or off of a campaign, but most people pay their dues by starting out with a lower level congressional position.

4) Is there any other advice you would offer to someone looking to get a job in your field?

Work on a campaign! Understanding the political process (as well as the priorities of a state or district) starts with understanding how a representative gets elected.

Anonymous Staffer is a legislative correspondent in Washington D.C.

New look, new features, new series

Welcome to the getpickd blog! We've got a new look and we're starting a great new series on getting jobs in specific fields. Each post will feature writers currently employed in that field answering a set of questions related to the hiring process. Also, you'll be able to ask each writer questions using our new comment system.

Guarantee a phone interview!

As an employer, I have a policy of conducting phone interviews with any applicant I receive a reputable recommendation for (assuming the applicant’s resume is at least passable). This is the case even if I don’t know the person making the recommendation (although that certainly helps). Recommendations provide instant credibility and show that the applicant is serious about the position. I know of a number of colleagues that have a similar policy.

So how can you use this policy to your advantage?

First, try finding someone in your personal network that might know somebody at the organizations where you are applying. Consider sending your contacts an email with the names of your intended places of employment and politely ask if they have any contacts there. It’s a small world and you might be surprised by the results!

Second, if you can’t find a connection using the strategy above, consider asking a couple of your key supporters, such as former employers, mentors, and professors (but not college roommates) to send an email to the hiring manager at the organization where you’ve applied and provide a recommendation. Here’s an example:

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing in regards to Jane Smith, who recently applied for the communications associate position at Strategic Communications Limited. I was Jane’s supervisor during her internship with our organization last summer. She was an exceptional talent who excelled in her position and was a pleasure to have in the office. I strongly encourage you to consider her application.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

John Doe
Director
Human Rights Organization

If you do decide to ask someone in your network to provide a recommendation, make it easy on him or her. Provide the appropriate contact information for the hiring managers and consider providing sample language for the actual recommendation (like the example above).

Don't forget, we’ll be launching our new online resume service on June 23 at getpickd.com, but in the meantime, be sure to follow our blog for updates, resume ideas, and interview tips. You can also follow us on Twitter @getpickd.

Adam Sterling is the founder of getpickd