26
Nov

Quit Waiting Around For Your Job Search

Seven years ago, before I moved to Indianapolis, my family and I hit a rough patch thanks to some serious embezzlement by another employee at my job. I worked hard trying to find a new job, sending out resume after resume to Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and different corporate websites.

Nada.

I applied to over 600 different jobs in 12 months before landing one in Fort Wayne, 40 miles from where I lived. I found it on CareerBuilder.com, and the only reason I got it is because the company was doing a hyperlocal search, not a national one, and I was one of a few candidates who happened to find it. But if it hadn’t been for that 1 in 600 stroke of luck, I may have gone another year without finding anything.

Nearly two years ago, I ran into a similar situation. I was laid off from my job, and had no other offers on the immediate horizon.

“I’m not waiting around this time,” I told my wife. “I’m not waiting for the opportunity to come to me, I’m going out to find it.”

So I started my own company, but surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), I had a job offer 6 weeks later, thanks to my networking and blogging. I ultimately became the owner of that company. Ever since then, I’ve owned my own ghost blogging and social media consulting company with my good friend, Paul Lorinczi. And while it’s been a lot harder than having a regular 8 – 5 job, I’ve enjoyed controlling my own destiny.

I only wish I had thought to do this seven years ago. I only wish I had decided not to sit on my ass, feeling sorry for myself, and submitting hundreds of resumes to companies who dehumanized the entire job search by turning it over to a piece of screening software whose sole reason for creation was to say “no” to job seekers. (Not that I’m bitter or anything.)

I know people who are still doing this. They’re still applying to jobs with hundreds of other people. They’re still pinning their hopes on a phone interview, or seeing a lack of a rejection email from a company as a good sign. (And shame on you, if you’re an employer who doesn’t see the need to send a rejection email letting those people move on. How lazy and soulless can you be?)

These people are still sitting around, moping and waiting, sulking and worrying. They spend all day filling out applications, and attending meetings and support groups for other unemployed people. (I have been to these groups — they stink of fear and desperation. They are not the place where people who are looking for jobs should be.)

If you’re looking for a job, quit looking. Quit putting in those resumes on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, and all those gateways that make it possible for thousands of people to dump their resumes into meat grinders that will grind you up and spit you out without ever pausing to consider you for more than a nanosecond. Quit hiding under the covers, waiting for the repo man and the boogeyman to come and find you. Rather than cowering in the corner, or sitting on the couch, lamenting your lot in life, get up and do something about it.

Start your own company and work hard at it. You may fail, but you failed at trying something new. It beats failing to get off the couch. You won’t make much money at first, but you’ll make more money than if you just sat around feeling sorry for yourself. And you added some new skills and met some new people along the way.
Attend business networking events, not unemployment support groups. Go to the places where people who have jobs know other people who have jobs (and job openings). People in networking groups live to help people make connections to other opportunities and people. If you are clear about what you want — “I want to meet the decision maker in a company who hires people with my skills and experience in __________” — they can search their own networks and put you in touch with those decision makers.
Ask people for informational interviews. Pick someone who is fairly prominent and well-known in the industry you want to work in, and talk to them for an hour. Ask them who else you should talk to. And ask them if they know anyone who is hiring someone like you. That person may not be able to help you directly, but he’ll know someone you should talk to. That person may not be able to help you directly either, but she’ll know someone to talk to. Eventually you’ll meet the person who can help you.

There are a lot of other ways to find jobs using networking and social media. In fact, Kyle and I wrote an entire book about it. It’s over 300 pages long, and nowhere in any of those pages do we suggest you should watch TV and wait, hide under the covers, sulk and pout that life isn’t fair, hang out with other unemployed people, or submit hundreds of resumes to job boards. (You’re free to do any and all of those things. Just know that they all work equally as poorly.)

You need to network online and offline. You need to create your own personal brand, and associate with people who can help you. You need to actually take action, not pin your hopes on one phone call or one interview. Join Twitter and LinkedIn, and connect with people there. Go to networking meetings, and connect with people there too. Have one-on-ones with those people, and connect more deeply. Get those people to be your advocates and your agents. Have them help you find your new job.

This is your life and your future. You’re the only one who is going to make anything happen with it. So get up and actually do something useful for yourself. If you sit at home and wait, don’t be surprised when nothing happens for you.

Photo credit: ToniBirrer (Flickr)

Filed under - Job Search, Personal Branding 20 Comments so far.

Tags: entrepreneurship, job search, Personal Branding, startup

20 Responses

Thomas Ho on 27 Nov 2010

I tried to get my students at IUPUI to realize this and they just didn’t get it! I guess that’s one of the reasons I left. I hope Kyle has had better luck at Anderson.

I’ll try again here in Florida so wish me luck!

Reply
- edeckers on 27 Nov 2010
  
  Definitely wishing you good luck, Thomas. The ones who get it will be special indeed, so guide them well. You helped me get Twitter, and I can see how that has paid off many times over.
  
  Reply
  - Thomas Ho on 04 Dec 2010
    
    I never realized I helped you to “get” Twitter, but I guess because I’ve been on it for so long, I’ve already forgotten many of my early experiences. Only one student has “stuck” with Twitter long-term. He’s @JamesCochran (with that handle, you can see I “got” to him rather early…it was 2007!) Just about everyone else has stopped tweeting as soon as they no longer had to do it for their grade…pity, isn’t it?
    
    I DO recall Scott Wise telling me that I helped him to “get” Foursquare so I’m glad I was able to have some impact in Indy. One of the reasons why I left Indy is because I felt that I wasn’t making much of a difference! I was especially frustrated by the lack of vision in the public sector for using social media to improve quality of life in central Indiana. I hope people like you will be able to make some headway in that arena.
    
    I’ll be trying here in central Florida so let me know if anything happens up there…
    
    Reply
    - Erik Deckers on 06 Dec 2010
      
      Thomas, it was at a MediaSauce presentation at the Junior Achievement HQ that Sarah Robbins (@intellagirl) was giving. I decided to try to tweet on my Blackberry, a few months after you had showed me Twitter at one of the Southside Tech Club events.
      
      Reply
    - Gayla Baer on 28 Jul 2011
      
      Ironically, Dr. Ho, you are the one who helped me “get” Facebook and I’m very appreciative for the lessons.
      
      A small nudge can go a long way.
      
      Reply
Lorraine Ball on 27 Nov 2010

Well said! Of course everything your write is usually Well Said. In nature, energy creates energy. So while I wouldn’t suggest giving up the search completely – some people are just not cut out for owning their own business – you will never know if you don’t try.

And, as you say, along the way you may meet someone who will offer you that perfect opportunity.

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- edeckers on 27 Nov 2010
  
  I never thought I would be a business owner, but started my own company the first time more to be a contractor or freelancer. That grew into Pro Blog Service. I finally realized that people who started successful businesses were certainly no smarter than me, they just worked harder. I had to be willing to work just as hard to make mine a success. And even if it doesn’t work out, owning my own business has given me a new set of skills (and a bigger network) that will help me find new opportunities in the future.
  
  Reply
Muhammad Yasin on 27 Nov 2010

This post came at exactly the right time for me, Erik… thank you.

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- edeckers on 27 Nov 2010
  
  @Muhammad, thank you. I’m glad I could help you.
  
  Reply
Jeff Rothe on 27 Nov 2010

I couldn’t agree with you more in relation to the job boards. A complete and utter waste of time. Use that time to either, as you said, start your own business, or to be the absolute best at your USP – whatever that may be. Which, can be an outcome from starting your own business.

But don’t be a lemming and apply online with the rest of the herd, there are many other methods with such a higher percentage of success, and much more effective with your time.

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Austin Stroud on 28 Nov 2010

This blog post sounds a lot like me now. I even have a blog solely focusing on the job search highs and lows. I have been wanting to start something myself for a long time, but need something to pay the bills in the mean time until I am successful. I definitely could do more networking, because it’s easy to get down on yourself with the constant rejection brought on by the resume/cover letter job boards routine. Great advice and blog post!

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Randy Clark on 29 Nov 2010

In over 40 years, 4 careers and 5 jobs I have never interviewed for a position. I have been recruited, invited and offered jobs. This is not meant to be braggadocio. It is because I am an outgoing, friendly, never met a stranger type of guy. I have been networking before it was called networking. (We used smoke signals). With unemployment hovering around 10% it is more important than ever to get off the couch and use the strategies Eric lists.

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- edeckers on 29 Nov 2010
  
  Randy, I would love to be the kind of guy who has never had to interview for a job. The only one that happened with is this one, where Mike Seidle (who originally owned Pro Blog Service) hired me over the phone because he had seen my stuff on Smaller Indiana. It was that event that became the one of the motivations behind the book: If that can happen to me, why can’t it happen to anyone else?
  
  In all those other jobs, I have had to apply, interview, and go through the whole process. Well, except for my second one. That one involved me marrying the boss’ daughter. Jokes on him though. We’re still married and I don’t work there anymore. (That was the job that went through serious embezzlement.)
  
  Reply
Nancy Myrland on 29 Nov 2010

GREAT post Erik! Wonderful advice, and a great, honest story that I am sure many can relate to.

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Stephen G. Barr on 01 Dec 2010

Ok, so I fouind this via LinkedIn while I was up late posting my resume on CareerBuilder and Monster. Thanks! Good pep talk is all I needed.

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Cheryl Gustin on 30 Jan 2011

You are an inspiration. It so well written that I will share it frequently with those that are “stuck”.

Thank you for communicating the concept so well.

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Debbie on 13 Mar 2011

I gotta say is THANK YOU! Hoosier Ingenuity and determination + hard work = Real Results. I applaud you!

Nice article. Great inspiration for folks ‘waiting for some outside force’ to fix your own problem. I am passing it on so several friends AND putting it on my refrig to help me remember the one thing I CAN control (me).

Oh…and please keep sharing!

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Gayla Baer on 28 Jul 2011

While I’ve been working exclusively online for 13 years, this is still a lesson I ‘know’ but have yet to ‘practice.’

I’m guilty of falling into the mindset that I have to work for someone else and have the proverbial ‘secured income’ in order to plug away on my own ventures.

Procrastination? Maybe

Fear of stepping out on my own? Absolutely!

While I arrived on your blog via a link to your most recent post – I am certain this one was the reason I was drawn here.

I’ve spent the last few days sending out dozens of resumes in effort to secure my ‘backup plan’ gig/job.

That’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way over and over – when you do rely on someone else for that ‘secure income’ you should always have a backup plan because in the blink of an eye, that income can be gone.

Thanks for the pep talk Erik!

Reply
- edeckers on 28 Jul 2011
  
  You’re welcome, Gayla.
  
  I know exactly what you’re talking about with the need for a secure income. That’s still a big fear for me. There are some days that I wish I had the secure income that I didn’t have to sweat over, but someone else did. It would be nice to know that I can show up at 8, leave at 5, and as long as I do my job, I’ll get paid for it. Of course, with the economy the way it is, doing my job is no guarantee that I’ll get to keep my job. And while owning my own business is scary as hell some days, I do know that I control my own fate. It may not be ideal, and I may work harder than I need to, but it’s my company, my efforts, and therefore, my rewards.
  
  Reply
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