Monday, August 10, 2009

Awesome advice from an interesting source




hey all!

So, since my laptop died somewhere between Chicago and Pittsburgh, this is my first post via iPhone. This method may take twice as long, but my desire to post this awesome info well overides the extra time.

Start: The Story

This person remains nameless due to prior agreements, but she is very insightful and has quite a bit of experience under her belt. She found this site via a spray painted URL in the financial district of San Francisco. Please note that I was not the individual who tagged the URL.

Anywho, she contacted me and was interested in posting. This goes to show you, connections happen in very strange ways. The following is her raw, emailed advice to me, and now to you... Enjoy!

I've interviewed countless people and here are
some of my tips to interviewing,resume/cover letter
writing,networking,and networking sights like
Twitter,Facebook,LinkedIn.

Smiling is so important if you forget to
smile it goes hand-in-hand with eye contact when it comes to making a
good impression.A smile can make the difference between otherwise
equal candidates.

Eye contact is the best way to connect with the
person on the other side of the table. Use it to your advantage and it
can win you the job. Avoid it and it looks like you are hiding
something.

Asking no questions this is critical. If you don’t ask
intelligent, informed questions, it will appear that you are only
there for the job and not to become part of the team. Giving long
answers relates to respecting the employer’s time. Give short, concise
answers to avoid rambling. It will help to reinforce that you know
what you are talking about.

Don't Be Needy or Overbearing: coming off
desperate is a major turn-off. Employers want confident, capable
candidates who are easy to get along with.Don’t talk about how hard
you worked. Stress what was achieved ,and what you can bring to the
table.Be nice to everyone.The receptionist may be more influential
than an oral board member they are often the first point of contact
before meeting anyone in the company .The main goal of a cover letter
is to get you noticed and convince an employer to look at your
resume.While personalizing this letter cannot guarantee success, not
personalizing it will (almost) guarantee failure.

Send out more resumes. A job search is often a numbers game.A long with
personalizing a cover letter it would be interesting if a "creative"
got creative and personal with their resume as well. So it goes
without saying that I don’t have to remind you to be careful about
what you post on social networking sites
(Twitter,Facebook,LinkedIn,Myspace,Blog Sites).I am in fact on most if
not all those websites just to check on prospective employees purposes
only.Most prospective and employers check these sites to see what
their employees are writing or up to! No one wants to read that they're
going to "hit up" their boss for a raise, or that they dislike a
fellow coworker or matter of fact their job.

Now this brings me to networking you have to start networking it is
crucial. This market is starting to change, starting to slow and you
need to be ahead of the curve. Looking for events going on in
different cities that you want to work in,go to local art shows,and
local community events to ensure you meet the right people.I
interviewed a gentleman in Los Angeles awhile back he said he didn't
have time to network or go to social events to land him a job,and even
with the market slowing down you have to able to get your next gig.
And then he started marketing himself AFTER gigs had ended and slots
were filled. Projects were planned and staffed. He found himself on
the outside looking in,don't let this happen to you. You should always
make time even if you feel you don't have the time to network,it will
pay off in some way,shape or form.Here are some important key things
when making connections within a networking event or community.Never
forget the old adage about putting all your eggs in one basket. Where
networking is concerned, quantity is everything, so make sure that you
just keep adding as many new contacts to your list as possible. Never
provide your fellow networkers with any information.Remember,
information is power, and you don’t want to be giving all of yours
away.

Never be sociable with your networking contacts.Don’t meet with
them for drinks, meals or social occasions or otherwise mix business
with pleasure.You will only be running the risk of them thinking of
you as a friend - and you don’t need any more friends,right? Never
offer advice or support to your contacts.They might be going through a
rough time and need help, but if you are there for them, how are they
ever going to learn to stand on their own two feet? Never demonstrate
your expertise – doing so is only likely to make your fellow
networkers feel insecure about all the stuff they don’t know.Besides,
you could be running the risk of them pumping you for information
which they then use to their own advantage.I believe networking to be
wonderful and exciting and a great social link don't get me wrong,but
it's ultimately about you and getting you where you want to be,not
helping others.

Don’t bother about keeping your contacts updated on
your job search.It will just take away valuable time from your job
search efforts.Save your contact until you really need something from
them.

Love ya all!

Alex

6 comments:

  1. hmm... the advice about not being friends with your network is a little opposite of how I go about things. I firmly beleive you can and should become friends with those people in your network. But with that said, it is a very fine line and you have to be careful. If you do take an approach like I do, your going to have to pick your battles so to speak, and be smart about who you choose to pal around with.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you like it. The spray painted madness that genereated this post amazes me. I think I may post a video about this story.

    -A

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I spray painted the Finacial District,North Beach,and tons of parts of the Mission,and you know that. Fuck my anonymity. I stand proud by what I did and hope my efforts will help you. Fuck the Law and Fuck everything that stands in your way. Rise Above Buddy! Punk Rock Politics will rip through! Don't Stop! I believe in you and so do your fans!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have to say, I really disagree with the last paragraph of this post. Although the rest of the advice is fairly sound, the last paragraph sounded like a blueprint for wrecking your network, personal or professional. The truth is, your professional life and your personal life tend to blend over time. Your friends are your initial network, and your coworkers will probably become your friends. As Carl said, just don't be stupid about it. By all means go to happy hour with a coworker or 'professional' contact, but don't get trashed or talk too much about the intimate details of your life. Just use common sense.

    Another point I'd like to raise is not offering advice or your expertise to your contacts. This sounds like the poster had a bad experience doing this and has lumped the whole situation into one pile of assumptions. Absolutely offer advice... WHEN ASKED. Absolutely share your expertise... WHEN ASKED. There's a difference between being the guy who always has an answer for everything and simply being a good friend, or a good person.

    Finally, I wholeheartedly disagree with not keeping your contacts up to date with your life and your work. Why else would you have contacts in the first place? So you can take advantage of them only when you need something? No. You occasionally meet for coffee, you email them, you meet for lunch. The point is, you stay in touch. Otherwise they don't really know you, you don't know them, and when you do really need something, you'll just sound desperate asking them for assistance. People generally don't steal your ideas, either. It takes a rare idiot to do something like that.

    The bottom line is, networking is an art. And it is a fine line. But like most things, use common sense, your own judgment, and the situation at hand. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and take risks, it's the only way to grow.

    And speaking of growing (up), Chris, this is a professional blog and your comment is a perfect example of how *not* to handle one's contacts. If you want to help Alex's efforts, I suggest you find a more productive means of doing so than illegal activity or obscene language.

    ReplyDelete