Connect with Us
BOLD CAREER COACHING
  • Home
  • About
    • WHO WE ARE
    • WHO WE WORK WITH
  • Blog
  • Services
  • RESOURCES
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • CONTACT

Getting Clear and Tapping Your Network

10/21/2014

0 Comments

 
The common wisdom is that it’s easier to get an interview when you are applying for jobs, when you know someone internally. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew the hiring manager, or the HR director who posted the job? Those are usually the people who have the power to bring you in or keep you out as you are trying to get your foot through the hiring door.  Of course it would.  But if you don’t know that person, you can usually get the necessary introductions if you know how to tap your network.

We all know someone who can open doors for us.  There are well known statistics that confirm that over 80% of job seekers get their jobs through someone they know. Oftentimes, however, we tend to rush the process.  How many of those people land the jobs only to find out a short time later that they again are at the wrong place?

Getting clarity about what you want takes time but is an investment that pays off in the end.  The same people that make the introductions are there, just as importantly, to provide us with valuable information about the nature of the job, or the culture of the organization where we want to work.  After all, that job that looks so good on paper may not sound quite so hot after you do a little more research. 

After I narrowed down my list of career options, I began to talk to people.  I quickly learned that the best way to find out if the job is the right fit (short of getting the job), is to do it for a really short time – a day to be exact – the technical name for this is shadowing.  Second best way? Informational interviews.  The shadowing and the informational interviewing took me to some fun places.  I spent time in an elementary school classroom.  A few hours was enough time to help me realize I would not survive long in a room full of little kids!

I had coffee with a social worker and a lunch with an HR recruiter.  I was attracted to the helping professions and it was becoming easier to visualize myself in those kinds of jobs.  The more information I got, the more I understood how my own personal preferences, interests and values would fit in with the various job descriptions.  Going through this brought me back to my days as a student-athlete, when my swim coach would have the team lie on the deck and visualize our next race in detail.  Seeing the picture of what you want to happen play out in your mind creates laser sharp focus.  And there are no better prerequisites for achieving your goal than focusing exactly on what you want.

These were great learning points, and as I got more information, I began to apply for specific positions in the non-profit training and coaching space.  I looked at traditional job boards, company postings, but tried to focus much of my effort on tapping my network and, if the position seemed like the right fit, asking my friends, former colleagues and acquaintances to pass on my resume.

In the end, though, I got my foot through the door in a very unlikely fashion. Cold call. 


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Natasha Kosoff is a career coach and advocate for women's growth and development. She is committed to helping women achieve fulfillment and success in their careers and balance in their lives. 




    Recent Blog Posts
    Picture
    5 Strategies to Help You Make a Successful Transition to a New Job
    Picture
    Reinvention Is The Name Of The Game
    Picture
    Weebles Wobble -- Get Back Up
    Picture
    New Year? New Career?

    Archives

    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Beginning A New Chapter
    Career Change
    Career Transition
    Discovering Values
    Facing Fear
    Getting Clarity
    Interviewing
    Job Satisfaction
    Moving To Action
    Networking
    Resume Writing
    The Aha!
    The What Ifs
    Work Life Balance

    RSS Feed

Connect With Us
HOME          ABOUT          BLOG          SERVICES          RESOURCES          TESTIMONIALS          CONTACT

                                                                                                                       [email protected]
                                                                                                             
© 2014-2023 BOLD Career Coaching