Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job (7 page)

BOOK: Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job
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Craft and rehearse your elevator pitch. You need to be able to confidently summarize who you are, what your background is, and what type of job you’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to be direct—communicate that
focus:
“Mr. Foster, my name is Florence Nightingale. I met your mother while volunteering at the hospital last week and she recommended I speak with you when I told her that I’m interested in getting into advertising. I just graduated from State U with a degree in communications, and I interned at
Adweek
last summer. I’m interested in new media and how companies like yours are using the Internet to reach young audiences. I’d like to ask you about this, and to talk to you about your job, your field, your path, and any job leads or career development opportunities you may know about.”

The tough thing about elevator pitches is that, for many people, unemployment and job-hunting create or heighten insecurity. When someone asks you what you’re doing, you can’t flail about and mutter, “Well, nothing much … yet” or “When I’m not surfing Internet job sites, I’m catching up on lots of old TV shows.” You’ve got to curb those self-defeating instincts and show off your best self, even if it’s a theoretical self at this point. Remember times when you’ve been dynamic, efficient, and motivated, and focus on those as you work out your elevator pitch.

Quaking in My Boots!

Q. I’m shy. Talking to people I don’t know is scary! Do I really have to do this?

A.
Many people get anxious at the prospect of talking to someone they don’t know, especially if they feel they’re asking for a favor. But objectively, talking is not like bungee jumping or messing with large spiders. (Okay, those are things
I
wouldn’t want to do.) No harm can come of networking. There’s nothing to lose. If someone turns you down, he wasn’t the right lead for you. You simply have to get over it. The more people you talk to, the easier it will get. No one is asking you to turn yourself into a social butterfly or accost people at bars or parties, but if you are going to launch an extended job search, you’ve got to talk to people. If you have a genuine interest in a company or industry, this kind of exploration should be a good experience. You’ll meet interesting people and learn a lot along the way. If you’re too paralyzed by shyness to get any enjoyment out of the networking process, I have two words for you: FAKE IT.

3. Be Prepared

If you meet someone through a chance encounter
and find out that she works in a place or field you’re interested in, be prepared to break out the pitch. Read her cues to determine how involved she wants to get. If
she wants to keep talking, fine; if not, thank her and move on. If she asks to see a copy of your résumé, make sure you get her business card or contact information and determine her preferred mode of communication so you can follow up. Ask her directly: “Is a call or e-mail better for you?” Note her preference on her card right away, but not in front of her. Have your business card on hand to give to her, too (see box, page 27).

EASING YOUR WAY INTO NETWORKING

If you’re intimidated by the networking process and don’t know where to begin, make it easy on yourself by starting small. Let’s say you recently graduated or are about to graduate from college. Use the Rule of Three and start with three people closest to you: parents (if they won’t hassle you), a roommate (she may have parents, relatives, neighbors, or family friends you should talk with), and other relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings). Next, you’ll move one layer out: a professor, an academic advisor, a boss at a summer job or somewhere you’ve volunteered. Once you see how easy it is, you’ll be emboldened to broaden the scope of your networking efforts.

The good news? The more people you talk to, the more you’ll have to say on your next call. Your questions will become more informed and specific. Without name-dropping or being indiscreet, you can use each informational interview to inform the next: “Last week I was talking with a dean at the Fashion Institute who’s a friend of my aunt’s, and he suggested I look into the Bloomingdale’s training program. Do you know anything about it or perhaps know someone who does?”

4. Foolproof Your E-mails

I
F YOU’RE COMMUNICATING WITH A POTENTIAL HELPER BY E-MAIL
—especially someone older who may not be as computer-savvy as you are—make everything as simple as possible.

Don’t give busy people the opportunity to forward messages you don’t intend for the recipient. If you attached your résumé to an e-mail that said
“Can you send my résumé to that cute guy I met at your party last night? His dad runs a contracting company I want to work for,” wouldn’t you die if I sent it on without editing it? Don’t make me edit it. The same goes for your cover letter. It should be addressed and tailored to its intended recipient (see
chapter 4
for more on this subject).

5. Don’t Go Too High Up the Food Chain

C
HOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE, AT THE RIGHT LEVEL
.
If one of your connections knows the head of a company you’re interested in, sure, meet her if the opportunity is offered. But be aware that, depending on the size of the organization, the head may not be in touch with some of the more day-to-day aspects of the organization. If you get the sense that this might be the case, ask if the head of the company would be willing to put you in touch with someone in a specific department or with an HR person. Do enough research to know which people you should be talking to.

6. Follow Up

F
OLLOW UP ON EVERY LEAD
, and don’t ask for leads if you’re not going to pursue them. I don’t like going out on a limb for people (especially people I don’t know that well), asking others for favors and then finding out that the job-seeker never contacted the people I alerted on her behalf. If you don’t want to talk to a person suggested by someone in your network or think you won’t really follow up, just say so:
“I know I won’t have time to contact everyone; of all the people you mentioned, the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of X, Y, and Z would be most useful.”
Also, make sure you know if
you
are supposed to contact a lead directly or if your intermediary is planning on doing it herself. Ask what the intermediary prefers; a heads-up call or e-mail from the intermediary to the lead is often best.

7. Don’t Pretend You’re Applying for Only One Job

W
HEN YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A JOB
, there’s no sense in pretending you’re applying to only one company; everyone knows you get jobs by talking to lots and lots of people and applying for more than one position. Monogamy is not expected until you accept an offer. If someone asks with whom you’ve been speaking, where else you’ve applied, or if you’ve already
had other interviews, be honest. He’s only trying to help, and he may know people where you’re interviewing; he may also be trying to get a sense of how much of a go-getter you are, in which case it won’t hurt to show that you’ve been making the rounds.

WORKING IT: A MODEL OF EFFECTIVE NETWORKING

Jonathan was moving from Boston to New York City and looking for a communications job. He e-mailed me his résumé; the first line of his cover letter read, “Dottie E. recommended I contact you.” “Dottie” was the magic word—she was a colleague I had adored working with over the years, and anyone she referred to me got red-carpet treatment.

I invited him to my office, spoke with him about his career history, and sent him off with a list of the organizations I worked with to see if any of them sounded interesting. He did some research and identified three; I forwarded his résumé to people I knew there. While I knew he was looking for a job, I made my request as general as possible. I didn’t ask my contacts to find him a job, I asked them if they knew anyone who would be willing to talk to him. Within twenty-four hours I heard from all three parties, all willing to provide a contact name or grant an informational interview.

As he pursued other job postings, Jonathan would contact me to find out if I knew anyone where he was interviewing. I was able to pass along more names: the sister of a colleague who worked at one organization, a college friend who knew someone who knew someone. All of this was done via e-mail, and within a month he had several interviews lined up.

What Jonathan did right: He gathered names before he moved to New York; he reached out to the names he was given with a résumé and an opening line that explained his personal connections; he focused his search; he followed up on the leads he was given; and he kept his contacts in the loop.

It helped that Jonathan was personable and ambitious, but you don’t need to be Mr. Popular to network. The truth is, most people remember how they got their jobs, and they’re willing to help a young candidate find his footing.

What’s more, when Jonathan landed his job and proved himself as a valuable employee, it reflected well on all of us who had passed his name along.

8. Be Appreciative

B
E SURE TO THANK THE PEOPLE WHO HELP YOU
.
Show them you’re making progress and following up on their leads by keeping them in the loop. Acknowledge the efforts they make on your behalf; don’t take their help for granted. When you get an interview or job—or even a rejection—through someone, let her know with a quick e-mail.
“Dear Ms. Lerner: I just found out that I didn’t get the analyst job you told me about at Number-Crunch Company, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciated the introduction to the HR person there.”
If you don’t use a contact or take a job offered, be sure to let the intermediary know. This way she won’t feel let down.

Thank the people who help you … and once you get your job, be sure to share the wealth.

Toward the end of the process, think about whether you should send a handwritten thank-you note in addition to an e-mail, or, depending on how much trouble the person went to, a small gift like flowers, cookies, or a bottle of wine.

9. Return the Favor

W
HAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
.
Once you get your job, share the wealth. Volunteer to be an alumni advisor for your high school or college or graduate school, or to talk with interns at your new company. Help friends and family in the situation you have recently been in.

“But How Do I Ask?”

How you approach people in your network depends on your relationship with them. Obviously, you can just call close friends and family and brainstorm possible leads on the phone. With more distant connections, though, you may want to reach out via post or e-mail.

If you’re stuck on graceful ways to ask for help, try some variation of the following scripts.

A Casual Networking Query

A Formal Networking Query
BOOK: Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job
9.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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