The Dead Company Club

Ouch! The job market bites right now, but there’s no excuse for despair. If I can get a job, you can too. There is just one secret and here it is:

Network smarter than your competition.

Here’s how.

• Stretch yourself. If you’re not already hooked into social networking sites, get online now. Twitter and LinkedIn are my favorites for business networking. Get a free account, poke around and then start working it.
• Be bold. If you’re already socially networked, start connecting to a lot more people beginning with former colleagues. Set a goal to expand your connections by 10 per day.
• Ask a salesman to lunch. If you used to have people trying to sell you their products or services, call them. They’re probably still calling on others in your line of work, and they may know who has job openings or just got a budget approved. They want to do favors for their customers, and if they can connect you with someone who has an open position, it’s a feather for them.
• Ride the train. Huh? Get up early, get dressed for work, and get on the train. You are now among people who are probably employed and going to work. Start a conversation, ask for a business card. Don’t despair if your mark doesn’t do anything like what you are looking for. Return to your starting point and repeat.
• Set up a “sidewalk display.” Find a place where your target employers hang out and show what you do. For example, I write white papers for companies. For less than $2 a day (coffee), I can sit at a lunch place and cover a table with marketing props. Get there early to get a high-traffic table, take your business cards, put on your energetic thinker face, and make eye contact.


Marketing props for networking

Take colorful presentations with big lettering, magazines, models, photos, whatever, and stick ‘em where people can see them. If you’ve picked the right place, they will approach you. It really works.

For best results, combine these methods. I’m sure there are more. What has worked for you?

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