How to ask about available jobs without ticking off the world.

When I was laid off, I panicked. A emailed a number of people, let them know I was laid off and asked for a lead on a job. Most of these people I had not spoken to in months, sometimes years. The only responses I received from my emails were sympathies and shrugs. If you are in the same position, please read the following and consider an alternative.


How do I ask people about work?

Good question. It seems simple enough - "Hi, ya hiring?".

Here are two ideas.

One, call someone you know with another company. Let him know you were let go/don't have a job/just got out of school and ask if they have any openings. Direct and to the point.

So, what's the problem? It might work, but let's look at how this sounds:

I am out of work, I need a job, please give me one, I have nothing for you.

How about this approach?

Call your acquaintance at another company. Explain that you are back on the streets looking for a new opportunity.

Ask for advice.
Would they mind helping with your resume or cover letter?
How about some career direction or advice on what your next move is?

What you are doing is complimenting this person by showing how much their advice, (which should be true of most anyone you would call in this situation, so this is not dishonest).

People love to be complimented, praised, consulted with, and validated in any way possible.

Nearly everyone loves to give advice and offer support and understanding.

At worse, you will receive invaluable information and feedback on your resume. Better would be an introduction to someone who may be hiring. Best would be an actual interview or job offer.

Leverage this facet of human personality to your advantage.

A word to the wise and soon-to-be wise: There is a commitment angle here.

You are going to have to call and speak with people.
You are going to have to meet with people face to face.
You have to be polite, personable, friendly, sociable and persuasive.
You have to dress correctly, bathe regularly and practice overall good hygiene.
You have to shake hands firmly, look people in the eye, act genuine and behave ethically.
You have to have decent social skills for acceptable public behavior.
Most of all you have to followup religiously and vigorously with anyone who is giving you anything.

There is nothing I cannot stand more than someone who wants my time and energy but then fails to demonstrate proper manners and let me know if I was helpful with solving their problem.

All in all, this will be a lot of work especially if you are not comfortable dealing directly with people.

But it can also be fun, rewarding and maturing. And it is far better than sitting at home waiting.

The talk radio caller sobbed into the phone about how two years after completing his degree in computer science, he was unable to find a job and the net result would be homelessness in the next two months.

The caller had tried in vain to locate a job; he had applied for over 4000 positions and had landed only one reply, but no interviews. What was going on?

Prodding from the show host revealed the caller had applied for over 4000 positions over the internet and the response had been one email. I think after the 100th submission I would have tried another method, but you know how some people repeatedly do the same thing over again even though it does not work. There are specialists I have heard who attempt to fix this sort of thing.

You know the drill. Set up an account on Monster, Dice or Techies, fill in few boxes, create or upload a resume and surf thousands of tech jobs online. Appying for any of these positions requires one click and its off to the next vacancy notice. It's easy, isn't it?

Then how come the phone's not ringing? If you apply for a dozen jobs a day, there should be at least one email, phone call or interview, right?

Ah, but here is the problem: You are one of millions doing the same thing every day, worldwide.

And every job you apply for, hundreds, if not thousands of others are doing the same thing as well.

And if that doesn't lift your spirits, consider this: every job posted online is not always filled by an online applicant. In many cases, jobs are filled internally, through personal networks, through a placement agency, newspaper ad or past applicants.

Consider this diagram below. (Sorry for the spacing).

! Job !
The boss's kid
Current employees
Friends and relations of current employees.
Business relations, vendors, internal recruiters, company Human Relations department.
External recruiters, headhunters, contracted placement agencies Web ads, employment boards, newspaper and trade ads, newsgroups and mailing lists

Now, the top rung is the job - that is what you want. The bottom rung includes Internet employment sites.

If you are not in of the upper levels, you are on the bottom - the internet submitted resume. But don't feel bad, you are not alone, there are millions of others down there with you.

You are competing with other candidates not only in your town, state or country, but with those in countries you may never had heard of, (hint: the Internet is global, monster.com can be viewed in India, Ireland and China too).

The odds of landing that perfect job through an Internet job board are not as promising as one would think.

The reality is although the economy is recovering, hiring is still sluggish. Sitting in front of a computer all day may be your line of work, is not the way to get work.

So what can you do? Read on and follow, weedhopper and maybe one day you will snatch the pebble from my hand. Then you will be ready to leave.

Why am I writing this?

Hi, my name is John. For over several years I worked in Information Technology for a public company based in the US. Then I got laid off. It took a number of months and mistakes before I landed at my next position. I had alot of time to think and learned many things that you need to consider when looking for your next job.

Whether you are fresh from school, recently unemployed or simply looking for your next position, there are some basic tenets of finding a job you need to know. Knowing these simple rules and practicing them regularly could make the difference in landing your next position.

Thanks and keep reading.