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Library speaker gives job seekers sage advice
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Library speaker gives job seekers sage advice
By Dave Heun | Daily Herald ColumnistContact writerPublished: 10/27/2007 11:24 PM
If you are on the hunt for a new job, take some care when walking that networking minefield.
That's what Scott Kane of Gray Hair Management, a senior executives job-search firm, recently told members of the Tri-Cities Unemployment Group at a meeting at the St. Charles Public Library.
It sounded a bit odd when Kane said, "Don't give anyone your resume."
In explaining that advice, Kane noted that job seekers too often take people up on what appears to be a sincere offer of "give me your resume and I will give it to a guy I know who may be hiring."
"Get that third person out of the loop," Kane said. "Because it never works when they say they will give your resume to someone."
It is far better, Kane advises, to ask that helpful person to speak to the potential hirer and ask if it is OK for you to call them.
Kane had plenty of other tips to share, but the bottom line was that networking is an art that takes strategy and effort. You have to pick the correct chamber, business or trades meetings, and also know where important social or church gatherings take place.
Mostly, Kane said, have fun when networking, and be prepared to listen and ask questions rather than talking about yourself nonstop.
More information about TUG is available at (630) 631-1871.
Jack Heyden and Scott Kane are executives with over 60 years of combined experience who, in early 2000, were out of work, did not know each other and who were forced to reinvent themselves to survive in the 21st Century workforce.