Though many professionals work hard on networking while in a role, it seems like the process stops in between jobs. Why? What better time to put yourself out there when you are unemployed? 

What product do you know inside and out and should be able to sell best? You! Yet it seems like many professionals only participate in networking when they are “validated” with a company title and business card.

 Fooey!

 Being unemployed, I’ve worked networking events at full force. It’s fun to get mixed reactions when someone asks, “Who are you with?” and I respond, “I’m with myself!”.  Some are very receptive to my proactive approach, while others remain confused or quickly lose interest. 

 Regardless, I think networking during unemployment always is a good way to distinguish from all the other fish in the pond. I’ve found that I’m the only job seeker networking for  at events filled with dozens (sometimes hundreds) of employers, decision makers and good connects. What odds are better than that!?

Because good networking involves an information exchange, I’ve had cheap business cards made to pass out to new contacts. And what’s better than being the only job seeker in a room full of employers? Being able to address them all at once! At a recent local chamber of commerce event I channeled the “force” and had my business card drawn in front of the whole assembly for a door prize. In going up to collect my prize, I also took the time to use the 30 seconds or so as a platform to address the crowd. I introduced myself, and then explained my qualifications and that I was looking for work. My announcement proved to be a great success– I was approached in swarms the rest of the night! (Unfortunately, it didn’t result in immediate employment). 

After attending an event, the work is not done.  I’ve learned how important it is to immediately follow up and keep communication open. What I generally do is gather business cards from all I’ve met, and then send personalized emails the next day. I try to find commonalities– and also offer my assistance and help– as many are more willing to help those that can help their cause.  

Here are some other tips to working the room as collected by some of my pro-networking contacts:

“Bring more than enough business cards. Always have a writing instrument handy. Never consume more than 2 alcoholic beverages. Do introduce yourself to as many people as time allows. Do politely excuse yourself and offer to follow up. Do follow up with a personal note either by snail mail, email or LinkedIn.com invite. Don’t try to close deals at networking events. Have fun, laugh and show genuine interest in others!”

-Michelle Stair (MyLink500.com), Executive Recruiter

“One of the rules is KEEP MOVING. Make connections, but do not capitalize people’s time.”

-Ray Miller ,Energy expert, educator, award winning sculptor 

“My strategy is watching and studying the room. Watching the top networkers network shamelessly and the reactions after they walk away. Listening carefully when I am approached and learning from each encounter. Some of my best professional relationships have started up that way. Approaching 2 to 3 individuals for new introductions and making sure that the next 2 to 3 times we meet I re-approach them again and continue to establish a professional business alliance. Those are my thoughts.”

-Louise M. Kidney,Strategic Business Consultant

“I think the most important aspect of ‘working a room’ is what happens later. Without systematic follow-up, these events can be a waste. Using a periodic follow-up strategy will keep your message and offering fresh, and will keep you present and available in the mind of the target customer when money is ready to be spent.” 

-Mark Meshulam,Poingo.com

“Never leave home without them…your Business Cards that is!” 

-Arthur Klein,Business and Marketing Consultant

“The strategy begins with the event itself. Who’s in the audience? You want to make sure that the event you’re attending will have people who are decision makers or are well-connected to decision makers, OR the audience contains people who will make good links for networking.”

-Doug Atherton [LION TopLinked.com MyLink500],Regional VP, Commercial Lending & Leasing

“I set an intention to meet 2 people that I want to go have coffee with and learn more about.”

-Maria Marsala, Motivational Speaker

“I never go to a network event trying to sell! I see the purpose of networking as connecting with others and helping them. This pay-it-forward approach always creates oppotunities in the future.” 

-Mark Lauterbach,Consultant & Speaker – Strategic Purchasing & Supply Chain Management 

Ironically, I think the biggest problem affecting the staffing agency industry is the lack of seeking and hiring top internal talent. Salaries offered to would-be talent is often low with less than attractive commission and bonus plans. Therefore, seasoned recruiters often opt to go to professional and executive search firms or corporate recruiting environments; leaving agencies with high turnover industry newbies and lazy or less skilled recruiters.

 Today I was speaking to a manager at “Brand X” recruiting agency regarding what seemed to be a high stress, high volume mid-level recruiting role. Though the position initially piqued my interest, I was turned off as soon as the conversation switched to compensation. Apparently nearly four years of experience, a BA degree, a personality and a strong understanding for the business earns you a salary in the rock-bottom $30’s with a chance to make an additional $2k annually in commission.

OOoooh! Really!? Please, sign me up!!

I can understand if a position starts in the $30’s with an opportunity to double or triple the base in commission as a performance incentive– but with the structure offered, “Brand X” will either get a very green or very “status- quo” recruiter that probably will not ultimately serve the company’s goals and will turn over in 6-12 months. Apparently this branch of “Brand X” needs some TLC and can’t “afford” to pay a higher pay package. What I don’t understand is why such a large organization would not invest the money in a strong, seasoned recruiter to help boost that branch, which in turn would offer a much stronger ROI? I hate to break it to you, “X”, but a weak or green recruiter is probably not going to get the job done.

Unfortunately it seems that low salaries and unattractive commission plans are the culprits of why many agencies and recruiters have given the industry a bad name. As far as I can see, that is the root of all the agency evil.

I have found that most agency recruiters are over-worked, under paid and have very little training in what they do—and little to no training in what their clients do. Sure, there are obviously companies that are exceptions to the rule, but I am looking at it as a whole. As a result, recruiters are constantly pushed to “call call call”  and “sell sell sell” and often don’t have the time needed to get to know their clients, their clients business and  their applicants. This practice comes across to clients and jobseekers as rookie form, or unprofessional—or even worse…completely annoying.

And what is the incentive? Work work work, and maybe you’ll earn that $200 commission this month! After one follows this model for so long, with so much client rejection, so much applicant over-load and so little compensation, he or she eventually burns out and another recruiter takes his/her place. This cycle continues over and over again. Shocked? Surprised?

I offered the question of bad agency recruiting as debate to my list of contacts at www.LinkedIn.com and the answers literally flooded in. Apparently there is a wide-spread negativity in regards to agency recruiters– which all points back to, in my opinion, the hiring process and compensation. My hope is that with awareness, there is change. The good recruiters and companies out there need to set the example, not be an exception to the example. Let’s take our industry back! Let’s change the negative image of agency recruiting!

Here’s what some clients and jobseekers had to say in regards to agency recruiters:

[Recruiters have a] “Pushy attitude and little concern for actually arranging a ‘good fit’. Fill the job and get paid and do it as fast as possible seems to be the motto.”

-James M. Koenig AIA, Registered Professional Architect

“Like others, I’ve been finding that modern recruiters are (a) clueless, (b) rude, (c) ineffective, and (d) black holes. Worse, I have some historical perspective—recruiters that did that ten years ago were considered the bottom of the pool, but there were many recruiters that were attentive, intelligent, informative and showed a willingness to build a relationship, get to know their clients and contractors, and make good fits. Unfortunately, these days it appears that the only thing left is the bottom of the pool.”

-Ken McGlothlen, Information Technology and Services Professional

“Agency Recruiters for the most part are completely technically inept. They are usually poorly trained and are there to make sales. For these reasons, they do not provide quality. I find that they like to try the ‘throwing crap at a wall technique’ when sending CV’s – ie some of it might stick. They do not read CV’s properly, they lie to candidates and their clients, they are pushy and aggressive and untrustworthy. They also provide a completely unnecessary service in this day and age as hiring is easy.”

Emmanuel De Lophem, Independent Consumer Electronics Professional

“From a recruiter perspective, depending on the firm you work for, the companies focus on numbers vs. quality of placement. 

From the candidate side, it truly depends on your recruiter but simply not following through with what you said you would do or not being upfront and honest.”

-Denise Shea, Online Account Manager-Media Advisor at Sign On San Diego

“As a job seeker, receiving floods of e-mail about jobs that do not match my qualifications and then seeing the same agency has suitable openings they posted to job boards but didn’t send to me. Also getting cheery, impersonal messages about how much they want to help me while rarely receiving any response to expressions of interest in jobs they’ve circulated.”

-Leah A. Zeldes, Journalist, writer and editor

“As a client perspective, when they don’t really listen to my needs. Sometimes it’s really obvious that they are trying to place someone desperately, even when that person is not the best fit for my organization. As a jobseeker, I hate it when they say things like we’ll keep in touch. I’ll update you periodically on what we are working on. Nine months later and I’m six months into a new job that I found on my own, they call and present me with an opportunity or two that they have for me. Recruiting relationship?????????”

-Doug Hering [LION], Creative and Fun Strategic Leader

“I work at the Big Four. Very frequently, there are blind cold calls immediately jumping into what it is that THEY need, rather than trying to establish a relationship, and find out what it is that I might be interested in or who I might be able to put them in touch with. Why would I recommend someone, when the person on the other line is just ‘trying to fill a spot’?”

-Tajana Surlan-Mesic, MBA, Senior Associate Global Tax Compliance

“Dishonesty! Daily phone calls to make sure that you’re still available because the client loves you more than anyone they’ve ever interviewed and then, silence and a refusal to take your calls. I don’t deal with agency or independent recruiters unless I know them very well after several of those. I don’t understand the purpose of tactics like that. It doesn’t seem as if it serves their client, the job seeker, or their own long-term needs.”

Joy Montgomery, Process analysis, development & documentation

 About 50 more answers to this topic are posted here: What Annoys You Most About Agency Recruiters?

Being unemployed for the better part of the last two months I’ve learned that one of the most stressful adult activities is looking for a job when you don’t have one. If you have a job and are looking, it’s a whole different world: you are often not rushed or pressured and most importantly you already have a paycheck coming.  If you don’t have a job, you already have one strike against you in your job search. Employers want to know WHY it is you aren’t working. Many employers won’t even hire someone that is unemployed. As a recruiter, I often subscribed to that philosophy; but after being unemployed I’ve learned how disadvantaged this philosophy can be.

I began my job search with energy, enthusiasm and confidence. I had no doubt in my mind that employers would be flocking to me in the hundreds—all wanting a piece of what I bring to the table.

Wrong!

Given that I moved to Nowheresville, USA, at least an hour outside of any respectable job market, the economy is down, I’ve technically had two jobs in the past year,  and I bear that curse of being unemployed, I’ve found that I have had to be much more proactive in my job search. Where some will post their resume on a few job boards, sit back and wait to be called, I’ve had a much more aggressive strategy. If you are unemployed, searching for a job is your JOB. If you are unemployed and forget that… well… you might just be unemployed for awhile.

Accustomed to a 9-5 workday, I set up my unemployed “workday” in the same fashion.  I organize my days into reactive and proactive job seeking. I usually start with a cup of Starbuck’s finest and the local paper and dive into what is a farce of employment classifieds. Though I’m pretty certain my next career won’t result from a 4 liner about sending faxes and answering phones, I read them out of curiosity and amusement. At times I’ve even sent my resume to a few of them, but often get called back about selling timeshares or working a $40k job for ten bucks an hour. No thanks.

I often wonder if there are deranged psycho killers out there that post to the print classifieds simply to get resumes to target new victims. I know it sounds horribly morbid—but you have to admit it would be a great idea if you were into stalking and heavy breathing on the phone and then hanging up.

I also give the classifieds on Craig’s List a daily nod, but there actually ARE documented cases of psycho’s and rapists using the site, so I generally take all postings with a grain of salt.

After I’ve pondered the finer points of classified advertising, I usually move on to the internet and scope out the newest job postings on Indeed.com. If you are in a job search and not familiar with Indeed.com I suggest you tattoo the site into your arm. Or just remember it. Your choice.

Indeed is a search agent that does a sweep of all the job boards out there. Therefore, instead of logging into Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com and anything else.com, you can do a quick sweep of all these sites with Indeed. It really is quite fabulous.

Next is where many jobseekers quit for the day, and I move into proactive job searching. Using tools like LinkedIn.com (another one to tattoo/remember), chamber of commerce websites, association websites (SHRM, etc), the Yellow Pages and actual face to face networking I target companies I’m interested in working for a jobs that aren’t made public. More than half of the jobs out there aren’t made public—so how do you find them? Like so:

Not sure which companies you want to work for? Do some Google and Yellowpages.com searches to find the companies in your area that would be of interest. If you have Microsoft Access or Excel create a database or spreadsheet of the companies, locations and contact names. Otherwise just write it all down. You will NOT remember everything so make sure to keep a record of your research. Start calling into companies and ask for human resources or the hiring manager, etc. Introduce yourself over the phone—keep it simple but sell yourself, and always get an email address to send a follow up email—regardless if they are hiring or not.  Should your search extend beyond a month, you’ll want to follow up with them again in a month. Also it’s always good to ask who their biggest competitors are to get more job leads.

Create a LinkedIn.com professional profile. Use all the emails you have collected from already calling into companies and invite these people to connect with you on LinkedIn. Use the search feature to look up the names of companies you want to work for. Find out who is the director of HR, or marketing, or graphics or whatever department you are interested in. Either connect with that person directly on LinkedIn, or find out the company’s phone number and call directly in for the person and introduce yourself. If you are more introverted, you can be introduced to other people through your established contacts. Also check out the LinkedIn job board and questions and answers section to make more connections and increase your visability.

Another way to search for local businesses and get contact information is to check out your local chamber of commerce website. Usually you can scroll through companies by industry, so you can target the industries you are looking to work for. Connect via email or call the contact person listed with companies on the chamber. Mention that even if they cannot help you with your job search, you’d appreciate any job referrals or industry connections. 

You can also use the local chamber as a means of face to face networking. Most chambers are more than welcoming of guests and visitors, so either get a current member to invite you to a networking event or just show up ready roll! I’ve made numerous connections this way! I even printed up some free business cards at www.vistaprint.com with my contact information and have passed them out at these events. Among a pull of decision makers and business owners, I am usually the only jobseeker—and thus I am received well for my efforts!

Apply the same to local associations related to your career—check out their website and make connections with members as well as try to attend some events.

An approach that might scare some is what I like to call “cold calling myself”. Having some experience in outside sales, I got used to scoping out buildings and going floor by floor stopping into offices and leaving information. If you are brave enough, you can do the same thing with your resume. Scout out buildings that look like places you could see yourself working, dress professionally and arm yourself with dozens of resumes. You might even get some really friendly results when it is realized you are not there to actually sell something (besides yourself, that is). Many employers might find this to be a daring and creative move as well. Other times, you may be asked to leave or met by a sour-faced gate keeper that hands you a business card and sends you on your way. It’s really luck of the draw.

Some other interesting and creative proactive ideas:

“Here in London a woman once released 100 balloons with her CV (resume) attached and a message that she’s looking for a new job. 

Someone found one of the balloons and offered her a job in an advertising agencies, as she proofed to be very creative.”

- Eugene Rembor, MBA,Senior Partner of Rembor & Partners Ltd.

“Looking to relocate back to the Bay Area from Seattle, I used the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s ‘Book of Lists’ to find perspective companies to work for. It was a wealth of knowledge. 

I went through the book page by page, sending out a zillion resumes and cover letters, followed by numerous phone calls and emails. 
One of the companies listed on the Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies List was a relatively unknown company called “UniDirect”, currently called Rainmaker Systems (RMKR). 
I got the interview, the job offer, moved back to California and the rest is history!”

-Heather Gardner, Recruiter

“When I was in college some enterprising lad about to graduate from the business school put on his best suit, made a nice sign touting his education and potential then went and stood at a prime intersection near the business district. 

I don’t recall if he got a job, but he got an interview and he made the local newspaper.”

- Mark Ernest, Florida Certified General Contractor; Developer; Entrepreneur

“The most successful strategy I’ve seen in the last couple years is where the candidate doesn’t send a resume, ever, because that’s what all the other candidates do. You must clearly differentiate yourself from the throngs. Instead, send a 2-page value proposition letter that outlines the 3 specifc ways you will bring value to the target firm. For example: new clients, new funding, new employees.”

-Gordon Miller, Executive Coach, Boomer Careers, Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker

“Examine every affinity group you are part of and join or start new ones. Sites such as www.corporatealumni.com, and www.classmates.com are great places to connect with people who already know and trust you. Supplement on-line networking with a strong in-person campaign that includes visibility in professional organizations, college alumni groups, and community affiliations. 

Add a mix of social and business on-line networking tools to your search and start blogging on your area of expertise or leave comments on blogs that are relevant to your profession or industry. 
Build professional profiles on Zoom Info, Ziggs, and Naymz. Do something for your network and professional network every day and make it fun so you stick to it.”

-Barbara Safani, President, Career Solvers. Certified Professional Resume Writer and Career Coach

“Find 5 companies you want to work for. Rank them from 1 – 5, 1 would of course be your top choice. Start at 5 and call the person who heads up the devision you want to work for. Give them 3 reasons why you want to work for them and 1 reason why they should hire you. 

By the time you get to the interview with company 3, 2 and 1 you should have the pick of the lot!!! 

Good Luck!!!”

- Rebecca Sargeant, Professional Placement Recruiter at Volt Information Science