Never Apply for a Job Again!: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest (19 page)

Of course, you can take more than three minutes, but it’s a good start as a game. When participants come up with anywhere from 30 to 60 names within those three minutes, my encouragement is for them to then go home and give it a good 30 minutes—because they’ll likely come up with 10 times as many! Whether you take three or 30 minutes right now, the point is to get them all out so that you can begin to think of creative ways to tap into these networks for research.

Contacts Wish List

If you took the time to analyze your Sweet Spot in Principle #3, as well as engage in the Freebird, Classifieds, and Resparking Exercises, you undoubtedly came up with some areas of passionate interest that you would like to explore.

They could be within your current field, perhaps involving some cutting-edge aspects of the industry you hadn’t allowed yourself to reach for. It might involve a role or position that you want to investigate. Or, perhaps you got clear that where you’re at is considering an area or function totally unrelated to what you’ve done in the past.

Either way, now you want to create a Contacts Wish List of the folks you’d like to engage in conversation around these items of interest. You also want to take into account the coaching of Principle #4: to reach for the higher-altitude connections. If you’re going to create relationships out of thin air, you might as well have them be with folks who have the attitude, aptitude, and amplitude to best help you.

In your Career Transformation Insights Journal, write out each area/item of potential exploration along the top line of a sheet of paper, allowing three items per sheet. So, if you have six items, you want to write them out across two sheets.

Then, start doing some basic research (online and by talking to your friends), to find out which top organizations are involved in each of those areas, as well as the best resources to tap into. Begin by listing at least 10 organizations and resources that stand out in that field or item of inquiry.

For example, using the few potential areas for research that came out of the Classifieds Exercise demonstrated in Principle #3, I took just a few minutes to simply search the first few Internet page results for these phrases. I found industry summaries and a plethora of links that allowed me, in virtually no time at all, to quickly compile this list of 10 organizations or resources to possibly research, either for contacts or further information leading to contacts. (This is not an endorsement of these organizations or resources, only a possible list of organizations to mine for contacts. There are thousands more that one could find and mine in each area of this particular example.)

Your sheet might look like this:

The breadth of your search results can be narrowed, if necessary, by putting in your city or area after the specific search term. Of course, some top search results could be simply due to savvy search engine optimization, so it pays to dig beyond the first few pages.

This isn’t rocket science, as many folks perform Internet searches every day. However, as you’ll see, I have pulled out various organizations and resources in which to dig to find contacts to connect with.

If it’s a local business, such as a particular health club or travel agency, I could research or call to find the name of the manager or owner.

If it’s a corporation, I can research the company Website or call to find out the name of a high-level executive in charge of my area of expertise.

If it’s a trade or professional association, I can find out the name of the person who directs the local chapter.

If it’s a major Website or governmental organization located elsewhere, I can call for guidance on who would be a designated person to reach in my area.

The point is…the world is your oyster once you know what you want to become question-able about. All you have to do is dig up the folks you will question. Then, you simply put together an Approach Letter outlining your request to meet with them based on your questions.

CareerGuy Tip: The world is your oyster, when you know what to be question-able about.

In Principle #1, I asked if you believe people really want to help others. I hope you agreed with me that they do. If you didn’t, this method will be very challenging for you…but you can shift that mindset. I offer some affirmations at the end of the book that can help.

If you agree people want to be helpful, great. But remember, as I said before, they will only engage their helping nature in situations in which they believe they can win. They will avoid situations in which they think they could lose.

An additional barrier to people being helpful to others is time: nobody has enough, and if you need a lot from them, you’re out of luck. Therefore, in approaching others to assist in your research projects, you must dismantle these two barriers from the outset— their desire to win and not lose, and their time constraints.

To demonstrate by example, let’s take a situation in which you are an engineer and have decided to explore the renewable energy field. It fascinates you and is a cause/movement/industry that you’re passionate about promoting. Perhaps you currently know very little about it; only enough to jump on the Internet and perform a simple subject search.

Let’s say you find solar, wind, and alternative fuels development companies in your area and you want to gather information about those sectors of the industry. Which of the two “Approach Letters” will net you the best chance of meeting the chief engineer, Thomas?

Approach Letter #1

Thomas O’Malley, Chief Engineer

EcoFan, Inc.

11467 Hillcrest Drive

High Pointe, OR 97031

Dear Thomas,

Having spent the last 18 years in the field of engineering, I am a seasoned professional with experience in both design and operations.

I am interested in EcoFan’s positive impact on the environment and believe my skills and capabilities would be of value to the company and its direction.

I would like to schedule a time at your convenience to meet and discuss my background and how it may serve the continued progress of EcoFan. I have enclosed my resume and will call your office in the next week to set up a time that will work for you.

Sincerely,

Joe JobSeeker

Approach Letter #2

Thomas O’Malley, Chief Engineer

EcoFan, Inc.

11467 Hillcrest Drive

High Pointe, OR 97031

Dear Thomas,

I am writing to you because of your unique position within the renewable energy industry. I have observed the development of EcoFan as a significant player within the wind energy field, and am particularly fascinated by the new technologies being adapted to wind turbines in the Central Valley.

Frankly, I don’t know as much as I’d like about the direction wind energy is headed in the Pacific Northwest, which is why I’m seeking information. I’m specifically researching the engineering requirements for municipalities to take advantage of these growing technologies.

Because of your role as a leader within this burgeoning field, I thought you might be able to give me some information regarding my research. Please be aware, I don’t expect you to have a job or to know of any. However, five to 10 minutes of your time would be most helpful as I gather information on the subject.

Hoping you could offer me five to 10 minutes of your time when most convenient for you, I’ll call your office in the next week to schedule an appointment. I have enclosed my pertinent information, just so you know a bit about me.

Sincerely,

Rita Researcher