Read Online Never Apply for a Job Again!: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest by Darrell Gurney, Ivan Misner - Free Book Online
Authors: Darrell Gurney, Ivan Misner
Tags: General, Social Science, Business & Economics, Careers, Job Hunting, Human Resources & Personnel Management
Ads: Link
that traditional, overt-search mindset. Look, anyone can do a typical job search. That doesn’t require any particular savvy. But think about it: you grabbed this book so that you could do something different than the rest!
CareerGuy Tip: Desperation works in job search as well as it does in dating.
Have you ever noticed that desperation doesn’t sell well in life? Whether you’re looking for a mate or a job, needy people are not that attractive…and can even be repellant. In the long run, being out on the road knocking on doors because you need a job will have you meet, get to know, and be known by fewer people than by using the stealth method. They’ll either have a job for you or they won’t, and off you go, never to connect with them again. Therefore, I say, the best way to get a job is to not be looking for one.
CareerGuy Tip: Your only task in stealth career management is to know and be known by people.
Notice that I didn’t say: Don’t be out there meeting people. Given The 4M Method of Career Management, you absolutely must be meeting people left and right. However, you’ll meet—get to know and be known by—many more people when you meet them for reasons outside of your need for a job .
Let’s talk a bit about human nature. Do you believe human beings enjoy helping one another? I do. But, I believe people also have a primary objective in life that can sometimes get in the way of helping others: to win. Everyone wants to win. Nobody wants to lose. As human beings, we naturally avoid situations in which we might lose and gravitate towards those where we stand the best chance of winning.
People want to win in their careers. People want to win in their relationships. People want to win in their health andfitness. People want to win in their finances. People want to win in bringing their goals and desires to pass. We all seek to win, and that doesn’t mean anyone else has to lose necessarily…we just want to come out a winner.
Applied to the job search, when you attempt to meet people because you need a job, you’ll generally meet fewer folks because they will avoid a situation in which they might lose. What if they don’t know of any jobs? What if they don’t really understand what you do, your field, or what you’re looking for? Of course, there are always the try-to-be-helpful-anyway types…but on average, people will shy away from a situation in which they don’t know the score, and face the potential of looking bad. Plus, people vehemently avoid being put in a position of having to say no. Do you like saying no to people? Nobody does.
So, paradoxically, in your quest for a new position, you must actually find reasons to meet people other than your need for a job . Many folks have heard the term “informational interviews.” It refers to the idea of gaining information from people through interviewing them on a particular profession, industry, or career path. It is designed to allow the job-seeker to try out a job (at least mentally, by what she can find out about it) before she tries to actually get the job. However, more often than not, it is used as only a thinly veiled attempt to actually get hired.
CareerGuy Tip: In a job search, find reasons to meet people other than your need for a job.
Though the concept has been around for 40 years or so, informational interviewing is still better than the standard, overt “Can I have a job?” approach that most people live by. But the traditional practice of informational interviewing requires a dramatic overhaul to be a truly effective tool for career management. To ask for an “informational interview” today has become cliché, as most people recognize this as a disguised attempt to get a job. And remember, if they think you are looking for a job, fewer folks will meet with you…no matter how you mask it.
Therefore, the approach I advocate is to forget looking for a job altogether. As counter-intuitive as it may be, just drop it!
CareerGuy Tip: Desperation works in job search as well as it does in dating.
Have you ever noticed that desperation doesn’t sell well in life? Whether you’re looking for a mate or a job, needy people are not that attractive…and can even be repellant. In the long run, being out on the road knocking on doors because you need a job will have you meet, get to know, and be known by fewer people than by using the stealth method. They’ll either have a job for you or they won’t, and off you go, never to connect with them again. Therefore, I say, the best way to get a job is to not be looking for one.
CareerGuy Tip: Your only task in stealth career management is to know and be known by people.
Notice that I didn’t say: Don’t be out there meeting people. Given The 4M Method of Career Management, you absolutely must be meeting people left and right. However, you’ll meet—get to know and be known by—many more people when you meet them for reasons outside of your need for a job .
Let’s talk a bit about human nature. Do you believe human beings enjoy helping one another? I do. But, I believe people also have a primary objective in life that can sometimes get in the way of helping others: to win. Everyone wants to win. Nobody wants to lose. As human beings, we naturally avoid situations in which we might lose and gravitate towards those where we stand the best chance of winning.
People want to win in their careers. People want to win in their relationships. People want to win in their health andfitness. People want to win in their finances. People want to win in bringing their goals and desires to pass. We all seek to win, and that doesn’t mean anyone else has to lose necessarily…we just want to come out a winner.
Applied to the job search, when you attempt to meet people because you need a job, you’ll generally meet fewer folks because they will avoid a situation in which they might lose. What if they don’t know of any jobs? What if they don’t really understand what you do, your field, or what you’re looking for? Of course, there are always the try-to-be-helpful-anyway types…but on average, people will shy away from a situation in which they don’t know the score, and face the potential of looking bad. Plus, people vehemently avoid being put in a position of having to say no. Do you like saying no to people? Nobody does.
So, paradoxically, in your quest for a new position, you must actually find reasons to meet people other than your need for a job . Many folks have heard the term “informational interviews.” It refers to the idea of gaining information from people through interviewing them on a particular profession, industry, or career path. It is designed to allow the job-seeker to try out a job (at least mentally, by what she can find out about it) before she tries to actually get the job. However, more often than not, it is used as only a thinly veiled attempt to actually get hired.
CareerGuy Tip: In a job search, find reasons to meet people other than your need for a job.
Though the concept has been around for 40 years or so, informational interviewing is still better than the standard, overt “Can I have a job?” approach that most people live by. But the traditional practice of informational interviewing requires a dramatic overhaul to be a truly effective tool for career management. To ask for an “informational interview” today has become cliché, as most people recognize this as a disguised attempt to get a job. And remember, if they think you are looking for a job, fewer folks will meet with you…no matter how you mask it.
Therefore, the approach I advocate is to forget looking for a job altogether. As counter-intuitive as it may be, just drop it!
Similar Books
