The holidays are a great time to reconnect with family and friends and to take a moment to relax and be ourselves.
However, as I was reminded by several things in the past 24 hours, this is also a time to make connections and keep your network alive.
An editorial in yesterday’s Dallas Morning News made the point that now is not the time, as a job seeker or a business person, to sit back too much. Holiday time is a key time to connect and reconnect via cards, parties and the phone with those you do business with or are potential employers or clients. We need to make our own hay.
This last point came home to me when a job-seeker friend of mine posted on their Facebook page that they wanted “Santa to bring me a job.” To which someone posted the reply, “you’re asking the wrong Big Guy.” Truth is, it is not all about asking–it’s not called job “seeking” for nothing. Putting together the pieces to get you an income and potential visibility with those employers (who really should be viewed as clients in this economy) takes fortitude and a positive forward push. When interviewing remember it is just as much you interviewing them as they you.
In the last interview I had for a real job I actually asked if they would consider me on a contract basis. There was a need that had to be fulfilled and with the long-term approach they were taking to hire someone as an “employee” they really needed help with the “work” during that 90 to 120 days they were taking to decide. Push back: bring a W9 and a sales tax number to interviews along with your resume and that new suit.
So, here it is December 26 at 9:30 am and the tree is down and things packed away. Thanks for great day off. But it is time to plot the next step. Tomorrow is just over there.
Relentless
Thanks for the great reminder Paul!