British workers love to lead passive careers. In the past passive behaviour was about putting your future in the hands of agencies, and posting lots of applications. Now we sit at our desks and pray to St Google.
In previous recessions job-seeker had to stay at home in case the phone rang. This ironically meant that sales of home furnishings and home entertainment systems could do well even in a slump. Now that most people own a mobile phone and we’re contactable 24/7, job changers would surely always be out and about . Wrong. Faced with a career problem, many instinctively choose to sit in front of a screen. After all, it feels productive, firing off messages and gathering data, Tweeting away at the same time. More than anything else it looks like work.
Outplacement colleagues in the US give their clients a strict rule – use your PC outside working hours only. The thinking is simple. The Web is a fantastic research tool, but a poor tool for communication.
The first step in a creative career process is to go against your instincts. In a tough market an average strategy gives you below average results, and you need to use the full range of tools available to you, including social media which offers a lot more than an embarrassing over-supply of trivia. Why gain an online presence? The first is reason is visibility, the second is that it’s becoming a credible tool to help you find people. This only works if you migrate as quickly as possible to real conversations - your relationships needs to be with people, not with Google.
A poor communication tool, the Internet is proving to be a powerful connector. It won’t offer a magic solution, but not to use it is the equivalent of people who refuse to follow anything up by phone – if you limit the tools you use, you will still get a result, but it takes so much longer.
Use the standard electronic tools: use them thoughtfully, and frequently enough to maintain your visibility.
7 Tips to Sharpen up Your Career Communication Strategy
1. Use the tools your contacts and colleagues are using – whether it’s Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter or other channels, work out the cultural norm for the people you are trying to reach.
2. Keep abreast of developments – join relevant online discussion groups and forums, and be seen to be asking questions and making contributions.
3. Try Googling yourself and see how long it takes. Maintain a web presence - some kind of professional shop window somewhere on the web setting out a brief electronic CV.
4. Create networks – as soon as you have about 30 or so people visibly connected to you for professional reasons that shows you are serious about using the web for work purposes.
5. Think in terms of attracting interest rather than just chasing jobs. Become a content producer - review books or events, contribute to online discussions, recommend people and organisations.
6. Wherever possible, translate electronic contacts into real conversations and meetings. Spend at least one day a week wearing smart business clothes getting together with colleagues and contacts.
7. Don’t rely on the Internet to make you visible in the hidden job market – this only happens when you put the majority of your effort into face to face conversations with real people who are in real jobs.
