Job search language counts: let’s be precise

Last night, I had a conversation with someone, trying to understand his job search efforts so far. Over the course of our chat, several job search ‘buzzwords’ were thrown around: networking, prospecting, marketing, to name a few. All three are absolutely central to an effective job search. That said, it’s important they’re used - and acted upon - with precision if you want your job search to be effective.

Networking

Networking, in my view, is about several things:

• Finding ways to serve other people and to add value to them

• Systematically staying in touch with people in your professional network so that everyone has some form of communication with you at least twice a year. You certainly don’t want to have to reach out and ask for help from people who you haven’t connected with for years. 

• Having built a significant level of goodwill in your network, it ‘s fine for you to ask for help; that is the other half of service.

• Expanding your network by adding interesting and relevant people who both you and your wider network will benefit from being connected to.

Networking is much more than just knowing lots of people in your field: it’s also about how you interact with them, genuinely and with regularity. It’s been a recurring blog topic - you can read more about networking here.

Marketing

There’s a good deal of crossover between this and networking but let’s make some distinctions. 

The goal of marketing is to make an audience aware of you and the value that you can offer. We can split it into two broad areas:

Internal Marketing

You have the goal of advocating for yourself within your own firm. You want to make yourself known to the leadership team and help them understand the work that you’re doing, how you’re adding value to the firm, and the triumphs and successes that you’re achieving. There are a number of reasons that you want to do this - getting fairly rewarded at the end of the year, getting shortlisted and successfully promoted, and being regarded as an indispensable team member, should they look to reduce headcount.

Internal Marketing

Using your interactions outside your firm with clients, suppliers, counterparties and potential future employers, you want to be known and recognised for what it is that you do. There are a number of ways you can do this, not least optimising your LinkedIn Profile and activity on the platform. This will mean that from time to time you’ll get in-bound messages from firms asking if you’d like to have an exploratory conversation about joining them. It also means that should you want to find a new job beyond your current firm, you’re not starting from scratch. 

Marketing might also contain any activity that leads to creating a great value proposition, which the audience will find very clear and easy to understand. Ideally, this needs to be compelling enough for your audience to want to reach out and meet you.

Prospecting

By this we mean that you’re fully engaged in a job search and are looking for a new position. Don’t forget that this might also mean that you want to manoeuvre internally to a different team or role. 

There are, we believe, as many as eight channels for getting in front of decision makers. In our experience, most people use just two or three, and not necessarily in the most effective manner. Some of those channels will seem to the recipient of your outreach to be soft, normal and natural - like it just ‘happened’. Other channels are more direct. It’s important to use a combination of both strategies to maximise your chances of getting in front of the key decision makers and ultimately securing a great role.

One final distinction here.

It might be that there’s a step before actually pulling the trigger on a job search. That’s to have an exploration phase where you’re seeking to test the market’s appetite and to confirm if the option you might want to pursue is in fact the right thing for you, and matches your pre-determined next job criteria.

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Precision matters when talking about and executing an effective job search. Marketing, networking and prospecting are all cornerstones to finding your next dream job. Approach each in a considered and well-informed manner, underpinned by a clear definition of what each entails.

If you’re currently in the midst of a job search, or considering starting one, let’s talk. You can schedule a 15-minute call here to find out more about how we can support you in making your next great career move.