It's connecting with people that counts the most

By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service

Thirty years ago when you looked for a job, you conducted research, made contact, followed up, were persistent, and applied common sense and good manners in conversations and correspondence. A couple of recessions, a few economic downturns and one dot-com boom and bust later, it's the same drill.

And if you haven't looked for a job in a long while, you're probably asking the same thing other job hunters are asking: "How do I get my foot in the door? What's the trick?"

For starters, throw out the notion that there's a down and dirty, quick way to discover jobs and get interviews. This includes answering advertisements — online or in the newspaper. This is not the answer to your prayers. Ads listed in a newspaper or online have never been the best way to find a job. Yet this is still how most job hunters insist on spending their time.

For one thing, most jobs aren't listed in an advertisement in the newspaper or online. Many jobs never even get advertised. Some jobs don't exist until a decision-maker of a company meets someone they realize can help make their company run better.

Second, when you answer ads or apply for a position online, you go through a screening process. Someone on the other end is deciding whether you make it to an interview. All they have to go by is an application and maybe a cover letter. They're looking for a reason to screen you out while you're competing with hundreds of other applicants.

A better route is to go directly to the people who do the hiring. When many decision-makers are looking to fill a need, they call up peers they know from professional associations or former jobs or other professionals to ask if they know of anyone. As in most areas of life, they rely on referrals.

That's why you hear that networking — a systematic and strategic plan for meeting and talking with people — is the best way to find a job. Live human beings were, and still are, the best link to discover jobs.

This is where those old-fashioned rules come in handy. People will be receptive to you when you demonstrate common sense and courtesy by taking time to learn about them and their company and build a relationship. By doing little things like sitting down to type letters and thank-you notes.

Answering ads in the paper and online is fine. But it's only one fraction of your strategy. Get to people who do the hiring. Dig them up by talking to people you know and through research — which today is a cinch compared to 10 or 20 years ago.

In just a few keystrokes, you can learn a breadth of data about companies, their decision-makers, culture, financials, strategic plans and maybe even job openings.

One thing hasn't changed. The main part of a job hunt — especially in tough economic times — is connecting with people. And when it comes to dealing with live humans, keep in mind that old-fashioned good manners, follow-through and persistence are the rule of the day.

Career consultant Andrea Kay is the author of "Greener Pastures: How to Find a Job in Another Place," "Interview Strategies That Will Get You the Job You Want," and "Resumes That Will Get You the Job You Want." Send questions to her at P.O. Box 6834, Cincinnati, OH 45206; www.andreakay.com; e-mail: andrea@andreakay.com