Thursday, May 29, 1997

Networking, being yourself is important

By MARVIN WALBERG / Scripps Howard News Service

At a recent reception I was introduced to one of my wife's friends.

"Oh! It's good to finally meet you. There were so many times I started to call you for job search advice ... ."

"But?" I asked.

"But," she replied, "I finally landed a very nice job, so ... . I hope I never do (call), in that way, but it is nice to meet you - and I continue to read your column."

"Thanks," I said. "Now maybe you can help some of my readers. How did you finally land that very nice job?"

"Well, I'm very social, and a pretty good administrator, so I serve on many civic committees and 'not-for-pay' volunteer groups," she answered. "As a result, I'm able to network with some pretty powerful folks and got plenty of opportunities to interview. But I panicked on 'for-pay' interviews. So I finally decided to relax, be myself and, when the time was right, somebody would hire me - and they did!

"Do me a favor, would you?" she concluded. "Leave my name out of anything you write. I don't need any more 'not-for-pay' opportunities!"

I thanked her for her information and promised to keep her anonymous. But what did she give me that could help you? How about some of the following:

-- She is very social and does considerable volunteer work, which improves workplace skills and offers proof of those skills to some pretty influential people.

-- The networking spin-off of civic and volunteer work offers you the opportunity to circumvent routine job searching paths that are so overcrowded. With strong networking, you eliminate competition, discover the "hidden job market" and get right to the hiring authority.

-- Relax and be yourself in interviews. This helps when you know yourself, truly like yourself, are sure of your skills and abilities and target jobs that you feel you can do right now, with minimum training.

As your confidence level rises, your blood pressure drops. Nothing very positive comes with panic; only more stress and negative anticipation. When your priorities are clear and your target well-focused, you can relax and be yourself - and that's exactly what employers want. You, as you really are; relaxed, confident and ready to get the job done.

(Marvin Walberg is author of "About Getting Hired: The Job Search," and offers individual job-search training and group seminars.)