By Bill Glover
No one really has a secure job right now. Even if what you do is critical, your employer may be two missed loan payments from going out of business. Your customers may be in the same boat. And what about their customers? Any link in that chain could break. If you have already lost your job, you are probably seeing first hand how difficult it is to get an employer or client to take on any more risk right now, and hiring is always a risk. What can you do to make hiring you a zero risk proposition for a potential employer? Build a solid local reputation.
Gather references. Who knows how good you are? Ask them for a short note or email about your experience, qualifications, accomplishments or reliability. Don't forget to ask your teachers, customers, local heads of charities you've supported, people you've helped for free and anyone else who has seen the effort and diligence you put into everything you do.
Give a speech. You already do this all the time. Your friends and family ask for advice, and you give it about the things you know best. Write up a twenty minute speech on something interesting about what you do and offer to speak at a local university, trade school or library. Get everyone you know to come and ask them to bring friends. Make up business cards and make sure no one leaves without one. Get someone to film the talk and post it on YouTube and Metacafe.
Write an article. You've already written and organized enough material for a short article, something about the same length as this one. Offer it to the local paper, or a trade magazine. You can find how to do it under "submission guidelines" on their website. Remember you aren't trying to say you are an expert, you are someone with experience sharing it with other people it might help.
Start an organization (and a community website). If you aren't a member of a great group of people who meet once a month to talk about what you do for a living, start that organization. Ask the people you respect most in the field to talk about what they do best. Share news about job openings and new tools and technology that effect your members. Ask some local customers or employers to come and talk about what they are looking for in your trade or profession. Have a few free meetings, then vote on a small membership fee and some simple rules for running meetings. Congratulations, you are the founder or a growing trade organization in your field! If you are already a member of that sort of organization or see one starting in your area, join and start volunteering to do more and become more visible. A rising sea raises all boats, and building a good, visible reputation is only helped by associating with people doing the same.
The people you have worked with and for know how good you are. Get them to write it down, then make sure it's not a secret. One of the best strategies for finding real job security is building a reputation for reliability and knowledge not just with your employer and customers but in your industry and your community at large. The most valuable reputation is local, where the people who need what you have to offer live close enough for you to be the one to provide it, but a national or even international reputation is easier than ever to build and can help you build that local reputation even higher. Getting a job can be as easy as asking for references and getting in front of the right people in the right environment. The best way to do that is to make that opportunity yourself by giving speeches, writing articles and starting the organization to which you would like to belong. Make it happen now!
For twenty years, Bill Glover has been a consultant to companies like American Airlines, Boeing, Visa, American Express, Sun Microsystems, Sabre and for the U.S. Government. Learn more at PowerLevelYourLife.com.
Source:www.isnare.com |
