I just spoke with someone who’s looking for a project/product management job in the Boston area (my area). He hasn’t been attending local dinner meetings of the PMI or the PDMA or any other professional society, so I suggested he start. Making contact with people, networking, is the single most important a hiring manager or […]
Too often, people think of conferences as boondoggles. As a frequent conference speaker, I can tell you that it’s possible you’d encounter a marketing presentation devoid of technical content at a conference–once. I doubt that speaker would be allowed to return. As a result, conferences are a great place to start learning about new things,
I’ve received at least a half-dozen requests for help finding people in the last week. So it’s certainly time to think about ways to find candidates. (I have a whole chapter on sourcing strategy and examples in Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds). In the meantime, if you just want to consider technical
I’ve said before that networking is critically important to finding a job and finding candidates in Use the Power of Your One-on-One Network. A colleague of mine has just sent me an email explaining her predicament, I am currently looking for a job and networks are important to me. If you are interested in the resume
My column this month on Fast Company/Inc’s Hiring center is Breathing Life into Your Employee Referral Program. You can’t leave comments there, but please do leave comments here. If you have a working and useful employee referral program, please do comment, especially if you take other actions than the ones I suggested. Most of the
Many companies think an employee referral program is a form of viral marketing. Most of the time, they’re not. Take a look at If your referral programs don’t spread from person to person, it isn’t viral for some great ideas to how to make an employee referral program work.I particularly liked the idea to RSSify
Via Fast Company’s blog, read Practical Networking: Make Your Own Luck. As Kevin Laws says, “networking is about serendipity not persistence.” You meet someone who knows someone who’s looking for someone and bang – you’ve got a new job. Read his six suggestions and then act on them. For you hiring managers, remember that every
I had lunch a few days ago with a colleague who spent almost two years looking for a job. He’s happily employed now, and told me his secret weapon: “All you need is a business card. “When he saw my surprise, he explained. “To effectively network, you need to give people your email address and
If you’re wondering how to network with people in person, take a look at Susan RoAne’s The Secrets of Savvy Networking, Chapter 4. I haven’t read the whole book, just the chapter she posted online. I like the part about magnificent minglers.For those of us who never made it to charm school, bring your self-esteem
Whether you’re a hiring manager or a candidate, read Staying Networked. (Sorry, link no longer exists.) If you’re a hiring manager, you’ll want to network to find people, otherwise you’ll be overwhelmed with not-necessarily-appropriate resumes. If you’re a candidate with more than a few years of experience, networking is your best way to find a