02 July 2009

Cold Feet


Early this week I was on twitter and came across a tweet from "Sandwiched" asking for LinkedIn help and talking about the agony of updating a resume. Sandwiched included a link to a blog post as well.

I read the post and realized cold feet was getting in the way of a great opportunity and decided to leave a comment to hopefully warm things up. Here is the advice I offered based on my own job hunting experiences:

Before you call: Look up the contact person and company on LinkedIn.com. See what you can learn about the person’s background that you could potentially comment on during future conversations. By searching for the company, you may be able to identify other people you could contact / get to know and it may give you a feel for your future co-workers.

Call! You have the inside scoop and should take advantage of it before someone else does it for you.

When you call introduce yourself, mention who referred you (if appropriate) and ask for more details regarding the position. Once you get the details (even if you think you know them), offer tidbits about your professional experience and skill sets that tailor fit to the roles & responsibilities provided in the details.

Close the deal by saying you would love to come in to put a face to a name and have a more detailed conversation on how you can add value.

Be prepared to send your resume before your in-person interview. If you call in the morning, let the person know you will send it to them later in the day when you have access to your files. This will give you time to finish updating it if not yet complete.

Would you do anything differently? If so, what?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks again for the help. It really focused me! Resume is close to being ready; just need to call job contact in the morning. Have name and phone number on pad of paper sitting by the phone on my nightstand. No Excuses!

1Epiphanee said...

That's great! Keep me updated. Note that with the holiday weekend in the U.S., you may have to follow up again later next week as well. I'm excited for you!

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