I’ve been going to a meeting of “High Tech Job Seekers,” which is attended by 50+ people twice a week. At each meeting, every member introduces himself or herself and asks for networking help. It tends to get pretty serious. So, today, I introduced myself as follows: “My name is Milind. It’s been six weeks since my last…job. I am a salary-holic.”
It took a while for people to start laughing. I figure they’re more likely to remember me.
Ever since my first days in college, I have sporadically made daily and weekly schedules for myself. (I make no claim to have followed them perfectly!) Still, a daily schedule is at least as useful as any other kind of plan:
The last points seem particularly important since I have been laid off. I have found myself neglecting exercise, obsessing over a promising lead, feeling depressed when a contact blew me off, and occasionally getting distracted from important activities. Acquaintances have recommended keeping a daily routine. Yesterday, I made a daily schedule for myself, and it made me feel less at the mercy of circumstances.
I don’t suggest that you run your life like clockwork. Without an office to meet people in, you are even more at the mercy of traffic, weather, and restaurant service. And sometimes, unexpected opportunities are what throw you off your groove. To accommodate these, it may be useful to treat weekends as your “slush fund” of time, when you catch up on missed exercise, reading or research (and not just sleep).
I have talked to several people about the job hunt, and they all recommend networking as one (if not the only) approach that really works. My own experience validates this: I have worked for just three different companies in my life, and two of those jobs came through networking: people knew me and also thought of me when they saw an opportunity.
Here is a brief article on networking. Several books on the subject (including two good ones below) promise numerous personal and professional benefits. (Indeed, I put matchmakers and investment bankers in the category of networkers who provide a valuable service to society by connecting individuals and companies, respectively.)
I plan to eliminate reason #1 by approaching people as a networking resource. My approach must not be, “Can you hire me?” but instead, “I am networking a lot anyway. How might my activities benefit you?” My plan to eliminate reason #2 is to make as many potentially productive introductions as possible, to follow up with people who make introductions for me, and to thank them for anything useful that might have arisen. This should encourage people to continue making potentially productive introductions.
Networking Plan
Here’s how I want to do things. You can try it, too…
The goal is for networking to be a productive use of everyone’s valuable time.
I recently got on a mailing list where people are discussing the pros and cons of a corporate dress code. The discussion was prompted by this article. Here is a summary of the discussion:
Pros
Cons
I must admit I started out my career on the “con” side but am now on the “pro” side. I’ve come to feel more professional if I change into business casual clothing. This is especially true now that I don’t have an office to go to. And I’ve come to believe that a uniform dress code is desirable precisely because it eliminates many of the “con” arguments. It reduces judgments based on appearance, focuses attention on accomplishments, and eliminates any concerns about how employees are dressed, because everybody dresses similarly! Much of my thinking on this topic has been influenced by this book. It certainly has some outdated ideas, but many thought-provoking gems.
The flimsiest argument I have heard against professional dress is that it should only be for “customer-facing” roles. Every job in a company serves a customer, whether that customer happens to be inside the company or outside. If you don’t know who your customer is, or if you almost never have visual contact with your customer, your job is probably at risk.
As far as dressing for interviews is concerned, I am the first to agree that people have the right to dress as they please, and really should not judge each other by their clothes. However, it is foolish simply to assume that you will not be so judged. I have a pet theory that human beings are genetically predisposed to pass judgments based on first impressions. (If my ancient ancestor had said, “I will really get to know this large, snarling, sharped-toothed creature before jumping to the conclusion that it’s dangerous,” then I would probably not be here today.)
In our modern business lives, snap judgments about the quality of an employee may frequently be wrong, but they still exist. In particular, when you are job-hunting, or even generally networking, you’re trying to make as many great first impressions as you possibly can. It seems only logical that looking your best will improve (and certainly never hurt) your chances of making one. By including professional clothing with professional behavior, you simply make yourself more pleasant to have around. You may protest that you don’t want to work for (or network with) some one who judges you based on your clothes. However, in order to meet your future boss, you may still need such people’s help.
Even if your future boss shares your ideals about snap judgments, he or she may need the help of people who make snap judgments in order to grow the business. Thus, by conforming to a professional dress code, you show consideration of the hiring manager’s needs as well. By insisting on non-conformance, you place the focus on your desire for self-expression and willingness to distract from the work at hand.
In the hiring process, great emphasis is placed on whether the prospective employee is a good “fit” for the job. A manner of dress that stands out like a sore thumb will naturally diminish the perception of “fit”. It is precisely because you want to be recognized for your actions and accomplishments that you should dress in a manner that conforms to the workplace. Uniformity of dress promotes uniform (egalitarian) treatment.
Finally, as a practical matter, wearing a suit and a tie to an interview is a safe bet. If you find the environment more casual, it’s easy enough to take off your coat, remove your tie, and roll up your sleeves. What will you do if you show up in jeans and a t-shirt and find yourself underdressed? It comes down to the old adage, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”
When businesses run into challenges, they take a hard look at their assets: They update their inventory. They look for things they could sell and consider how to extract maximum value from (capitalize) what they own, control, or influence.
When I was laid off, I also took inventory, looking for unused items I could sell on eBay or craigslist and even items like digitizing equipment I could sell services around. Sometimes, this involves fairly minor investments that “goose” value before you sell, like painting your house, detailing your car, or buying some cartridges for that old video game system. However, it may be even more important to take inventory of your skills, expertise, and experience and discover ways to capitalize on those assets. Job search books, readily available at your local library, guide you in creating such an inventory.
Meanwhile, several experts on job hunting recommended that I develop an “elevator speech,” “personal value proposition,” or “30-second commercial”.
I agree with all of this, but there are some problems with it. It is quite self-centered. The skills inventory may be fine for figuring out what you love to do—what you do naturally, whether you get paid or not. The elevator speech may be fine for expressing what you do extremely well. And focusing on yourself certainly reduces the anxiety of being buffeted by circumstances beyond your control. But these exercises are not very good at figuring out how to pay the bills. If you do a good job at the skills inventory, you may end up with an overwhelming number of capabilities that are useful to some one, somewhere. Are you going to develop an elevator speech for each one?
I decided to put my own twist on this problem. My goal is to employ my assets in the creation of maximum value. Thinking purely financially, value and price are the same (or highly correlated). So “maximum value” is defined by the economic law of supply and demand: the fewer of something there are, and the more of something people want, the more valuable that thing is. If I assign a supply and demand level to each of my assets, then I can rank them by value, and develop an elevator speech for the most valuable one (or few).
First, you make a table that looks like this. In the asset column, you fill in your skills, abilities, and experiences. Don’t worry too much about what you write. Just brainstorm. Here’s a small example:
| Asset | Supply | Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio management | ||
| Market testing | ||
| Prototyping | ||
| Managed an organization of five managers and 21 software engineers | ||
| Fluency in two languages | ||
| Object-oriented design and development |
You get the idea. Next, you assign a supply score and a demand score to each asset. One way to do this is by asking yourself a question like, “Out of 100 people, how many might possess this asset?” for a supply score. For a demand score, ask yourself, “Out of 100 people, how many might want this asset?” However, this can be quite difficult. You may end up with duplicates that prevent you from finding the most valuable asset.
All you really need to do is rank them. Give the rarest assets a small supply score, and the most highly-desired assets a large demand score. When considering supply, it is important to consider only how rare or common the assets are. When considering demand, it is important to consider only how badly people need or want the asset. Also, don’t try to guess demand, and don’t presume to know “what people really need”. Focus on what they are asking for.
| Asset | Supply | Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio management | 1 | 2 |
| Market testing | 4 | 3 |
| Prototyping | 3 | 6 |
| Managed an organization of five managers and 21 software engineers | 2 | 5 |
| Fluency in two languages | 5 | 1 |
| Object-oriented design and development | 6 | 4 |
Now sort your assets by increasing supply score:
| Asset | Supply | Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio management | 1 | 2 |
| Managed an organization of five managers and 21 software engineers | 2 | 5 |
| Prototyping | 3 | 6 |
| Market testing | 4 | 3 |
| Fluency in two languages | 5 | 1 |
| Object-oriented design and development | 6 | 4 |
Now comes the interesting part. It is possible to eliminate many assets from consideration. Go down the sorted list of assets. For each one, if there is another asset with the same or lower supply and the same or higher demand, then you eliminate the one under consideration:
| Asset | Supply | Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio management | 1 | 2 |
| Managed an organization of five managers and 21 software engineers | 2 | 5 |
| Prototyping | 3 | 6 |
As you go down the list, you’ll eliminate more and more, and you’ll end up with quite a small number of assets remaining. I recommend creating an “elevator speech” for each. You may then want to come up with some qualifying questions that determine whether your listener has a demand for one of your assets. You then give the most appropriate elevator speech to that person.
But what about doing what I love?
This method is strictly rational and takes the emotion out of selling your skills and expertise. I don’t recommend that you ignore your love of something—just be realistic about the financial aspects of pursuing it. One way to accommodate your love of doing something is simply to append “Love of” in front of your beloved skills and expertise. This might raise the demand and lower the supply, making the asset more valuable. However, it is entirely possible that lots of people love doing what you love, and no one else much cares. If so, then love is not going to pay the bills.
What if the method made me eliminate something I know is valuable?
Consider carefully that this asset may simply not be as valuable as you thought, especially compared to the others in your inventory. It is also possible that you stated it in a way that mistakenly raised the supply score and lowered the demand score. If you make your statement more specific, it is likely that supply will be lowered, and demand might be raised.
What if my most valuable assets aren’t that valuable?
If this is the case, you may want to consider the value of combinations of assets. You may also want to invest in other assets (e.g. education) that will dramatically raise the value of what you currently possess.
One idea I have been toying with is recruiting my family to help me find a new job. I got an amazing lead just Friday from my brother. From a product marketing perspective, your family is a captive “direct channel,” with a stake in your income, aren’t they?
If you’re in a high-tech industry like me, there may be members of your family who have little or no idea what you do. (And why should they, if you’ve had a fairly satisfying high tech career until now? Maybe this is just the opportunity for you to become a secret agent like Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies or Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.)
But this is just the challenge product marketers face in a large organization. They need to educate the sales force on how to sell a product based on its value and benefits to markets they can access, without (necessarily) a detailed understanding of how the product works. They need to work with the sales force on developing a value proposition that is compelling in markets they access. They need to educate the sales force on how to rapidly qualify leads, so they don’t waste time on frustrating, improbable leads at the expense of better ones.
There’s no reason you can’t do this with your
On top of everything, when leads dry up and frustrations mount, there is nothing like a pep talk and some sympathy from a loved one.
After getting laid off, one of the first pieces of professional advice I received was, “Get business cards with your contact information on them!” I had a box of 500 business cards from my employer, so it was, frankly, strange to think that they would be completely useless just when I needed them most.
The first thing I did was print up basic, black-and-white cards on a sheet of Avery Business Cards (5371)
Lo and behold: what in my inbox should appear but an offer from Overnight Prints for 100 free business cards! (Sorry, the offer expired on January 11th, but keep an eye out!) Unlike other vendors, they would not print their own logo on the back. I could design my own card, and I would only have to pay shipping. Similar offers are available from VistaPrint, Prints Made Easy (Coupon code: First One Free), and GigglePrint.com. A couple of people have also recommended MOO.com.
When you think about product marketing, you naturally think about marketing collateral: pamphlets, brochures and data sheets that help spread the word about your product. If you treat the job search as an exercise in marketing and selling yourself, you start to think about establishing a personal brand, creating a memorable impression, and making your collateral stand out from the mix. I’m fortunate to have talented graphic designers among my friends, and I tapped them for design suggestions.
For excellent examples of straight graphic designs, this series of books is available from the library:
Here’s another favorite from this site:
Here’s what I settled on for myself:
I may do something more low-key next time around.
As I suggested in my last post, updating my list of contacts seemed even more important to me than updating my resume. Furthermore, as word spread that I had been laid off, people all around me began referring me to job postings, companies, and people they knew. It became clear that I had to have some way to track all of this. Otherwise, I might forget to follow up in a timely fashion on opportunities and let them “fall through the cracks”. I also wanted to be able to thank and update people as I progressed on leads they had generated for me.
A couple of people with experience with the job hunt had tracked their progress in a spreadsheet.
The need to track progress on multiple leads and opportunities reminded me of what a sales organization faces. So why not look at a salesforce automation (SFA) tool?
Sure enough, Salesforce.com offers significant SFA functionality for free to a single user. This allows you to
Not everything is relevant to the personal job hunt. For example what does it mean for a job opportunity to be “new business” vs. “existing business”? However, if you think of the job search as selling your skills, expertise, and services, then Salesforce.com is a great way to stay organized and on top of things.
I found out on December 10 that my last day would be December 19. I thought I took it pretty well. The company had had one round of layoffs (15%) in November. Although I did not expect the second round (18%), I had seriously confronted the question, “What would I do if I were laid off tomorrow?†I think it prepared me mentally.
Everyone around me, especially my boss, naturally had a very sorrowful look. I tried to stay cheerful and walked around and told everyone the news. I received numerous offers of a variety of help, and expressed my gratitude for them. Having heard horror stories of employees being escorted out by armed guards and even losing some personal possessions, I knew I actually had it pretty good.
The cliché is that when you lose your job, you update your resume and start sending it out. However, years ago, I had read this wonderful little book:
The second was the author’s application of corporate product marketing principles to the personal job search. As a fractals geek, I’ve always enjoyed seeing similarity at different scales, and it was satisfying to see this principle at play. Plus, I have much more experience doing (or seeing) product marketing than I do searching for jobs.
Another book that had impressed me recently was this one:
So my conclusion was, rather than focusing on my resume, focus on my contacts list: Who are all the people I could contact? What were their interests and needs? How might I help them?
That’s when I hit on the idea of doing a segmented marketing campaign, leading my contacts to a personal web site. I divided my contacts into five segments, tried to guess general needs within each segment, and sent each person an e-mail appropriate for his or her segment. I directed each segment to a separate tab on my web site, where I described problems relevant to the segment and how I had solved them.
I won’t say the campaign has been a resounding success until it leads to income. However, it has met my expectations. There were many bouncebacks, but numerous people have responded with excellent job leads, lunches, coffees, illuminating experiences, wise advice, recommendation offers, and encouragement. Writing the software kept me busy for three weeks after I got the news, and handling responses to the campaign has kept me happily busy for another two.