Never Apply for a Job Again!: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest (9 page)

And what about the people you don’t know well yet, but whom you know
of
? What about that person you’ve only seen or heard of who is in a field that you’ve always been interested in exploring? What about the speaker who addressed your community or trade group about a particular topic of interest to you? What about the owner of the shop down the street who is selling a line that intrigues you? What about the parent of your child’s schoolmate whom you heard has a home-based business that sounds fascinating?

There are folks to talk to about careers and interests
anywhere and everywhere!
There’s even the chief marketing officer or senior research scientist of SuperBig Conglomerate as well—folks you don’t have any connection to whatsoever and yet, with the proper methods, you could even get to know them and have them know you. The world is your oyster in terms of having folks to talk to! All you need is a savvy approach…to get in with them, and to get in
good
with them.

M
EMORABLE

To begin with, if you only started practicing meeting people in front of or behind you in the checkout line, you’d see how memorable that is to them! The sad truth is, most people don’t stick their neck out to meet, greet, and find the treat in those around them…so your doing so is already memorable. But beyond the “random acts of find-ness” that you can conduct every day, how do you make yourself memorable, say, to the chief marketing officer of SuperBig Conglomerate, when she doesn’t know you from Adam?

CareerGuy Tip: Conduct random acts of find-ness, finding the info exchange treat in everyone around you.

It certainly isn’t by telling them you need a job! That’s easily forgettable. Matter of fact, they actually won’t even pay it any mind. To be memorable, you have to do something other than what the masses do. Your approach must be one of earnest and sincere interest in something of interest to them, and it must be cultivated and conducted out of that interest alone…with no ulterior motives. (It doesn’t hurt to have in place some personal branding, which I’m a big advocate of…but that’s another book.)

Coupled with a meticulously managed follow-up system, a memorable approach can open doors to information, relationships, mentorship and, yes, even opportunities for employment or engagement that would never happen if you
were out in a me-me-me mode as many others are. Me-me-me isn’t memorable—but your interest in another person is.

CareerGuy Tip: Be interest
ed
, rather than interest
ing
.

M
IND
(T
OP-OF
, T
HAT
I
S
)

Your ability to gain knowledge, to create relationships, to open doors, and to step into new, exciting, and ever-more-perfect career opportunities for yourself will come from one place: the top-of-mind awareness of the people who need to know
you
for
you
to get where
you
want to go.

Phases 1 and 2 of The Evolution of a Hire prove the point. How could you be known by those “in the know” unless you were somehow located in their short-term random access memory? Therefore, your job is to both climb to top-of-mind status and to stay top-of-mind by going far beyond simple one-off meetings and idle coffee-line conversations by
creating ongoing relationships
. When you have relationships far and wide, your reach becomes far and wide.

Simple analogy: what if you were a radio station nestled in a valley with a mountain ridge surrounding you on all sides? Could people hear your broadcast in the valley? Sure. Could listeners call in to make song requests? You bet. But can they hear you on the other side of that mountain ridge? Nope!

But, if you get smart, you might decide to strategically place several antennae atop that mountain ridge. Can they hear your broadcasts on the other side of the mountain ridge now? Yes they can. Can those listeners call in with their song requests? Absolutely.

Setting up antennae is a smart move, and keeps broadcasting radio waves of awareness of who you are to the world. That’s what I call establishing your career tribe: the folks you want to know you, and whom you want operating as your antennae in the world.

M
AINTAIN

The problem with mechanical things such as antennae is that they get worn and rusty when the elements beat on them, and they start to fall apart due to lack of maintenance. That’s why it’s critical to maintain those career tribe relationships
even when you’re in the throes of your current position!

Most folks think of their antennae only when they are face-to-face with urgent need. It’s all too common, once landing, to submerge into the new company, new job, or new responsibilities and let those antennae go untended and neglected. Of course, you need to give your best wherever you land, but if you can take on the mindset that you need to keep a percentage of your attention reserved for the inevitable “down the road” that will someday occur, there’s always the capacity to do the necessary rounds of maintenance to keep those antennae buzzing.

If a concerned doctor asked whether you’d rather exercise one hour a day or die in the next month, which would you choose? Of course you would exercise. You’d find the time. The same applies to your career. Which fits your busy schedule better, staying in contact with your career tribe on
a regular and ongoing basis to stay abreast of news and opportunities that can move you and your career forward? Or being out of work for months and beginning yet another networking campaign from scratch?

An old oil filter commercial used to show a mechanic discussing how to best maintain a car to avoid costly major repairs. His advice was, “You can pay me now…or you can pay me later.” Depending on the analogy that works best, you can call it either maintaining your career fitness or your career mobility by continually investing time and resources on a steady and ongoing basis into your capacity to make a career move on short notice.

CareerGuy Tip: Build up your career fitness muscles and career mobility assurance by investing in maintaining your career tribe.

Here’s something to think about: Might there be lots of other opportunities coming up that it would pay for you to know about even though you’re currently situated in one? You bet. From the point of view that you own your own busy-ness, and therefore need to make sure you’re getting the highest return for your assets, it’s smart business to know what the market is presenting in terms of investment opportunities.

Just like physical health, though many people don’t “make time” in their schedule for exercise until they know how critically important it is, you’ll never know for sure how critical it is for your career to keep the tribe alive until you need it. Is ignorance really all that blissful?

With The 4M Method of Career Transition now providing a contextual foundation for our path, let’s look into the actual philosophy and practice of
10 Time-Tested Principles for Launching an Effective Stealth Campaign
to land you your next opportunity, and the next, and the next, and…

P
ART
2:
10 Time-Tested Principles for Launching an Effective Stealth Campaign

Principle # 1: The Best Way to Get a Job Is: Don’t Be Looking for One

In a
stealth approach
to career management, your
only
task is to
meet
and
be known by
as many people as possible. It is
not
to look for a job.

Let that sink in a bit. I know it sounds crazy, but you really need to begin to crack open that traditional, overt-search mindset. Look, anyone can do a typical job search. That doesn’t require any particular savvy. But think about it: you grabbed this book so that you could do something different than the rest!

CareerGuy Tip: Desperation works in job search as well as it does in dating.

Have you ever noticed that desperation doesn’t sell well in life? Whether you’re looking for a mate or a job, needy people are not that attractive…and can even be repellant. In the long run, being out on the road knocking on doors because you need a job will have you meet, get to know, and be known by fewer people than by using the stealth method. They’ll either have a job for you or they won’t, and off you go, never to connect with them again. Therefore, I say, the best way to get a job is to
not
be looking for one.

CareerGuy Tip: Your only task in stealth career management is to know and be known by people.

Notice that I didn’t say: Don’t be out there meeting people. Given The 4M Method of Career Management, you absolutely
must
be meeting people left and right. However, you’ll meet—get to know and be known by—many more people when you meet them
for reasons outside of your need for a job
.