I recently had a request for some help from a young woman who is graduating this spring from a nearby college. She asked if I could help her get started towards finding work in the communication field.
It got me thinking about a couple of different things. The first became even clearer while listening to Seth Godin’s latest book Linchpin. Most of us come out of school woefully prepared to make our way in the world. We offer a prospective employer only the promise that we’re not really as pathetic as our resume make us out to be. We almost never have any actual experience doing anything valuable. We generally think we’re smarter than we really are, and that we should be paid more that we’re worth.
The second was just how connected you can become by going out and actually meeting people. I’ve spent the last 18 months trying to build up my network in Raleigh. When I received that email the other day was really the first time I stopped to consider the awesome people I am now connected to.
So back to the first point. My advice to someone just getting started is hustle. If you’re unsure what that means, watch some of Gary Vanerchuk’s videos (or read his book). If you’re still unsure, go have lunch with Molly Buckley and she’ll explain it. Molly lives hustle 24/7, or watch how someone like Gwynne Murphy works her ass off for two different companies and still finds time to attend a ton of networking events and volunteer at still more.
Make yourself desirable. Make yourself memorable. Look at yourself from the other side of the table. Why should someone like Ignite Social Media hire you? There’s no doubt 100 other resumes in the pile with yours that are equal to, if not better than yours. I can tell you that the fancy typeface and extra thick paper you printed your resume on won’t be the deciding factor.
What if you already knew a person who worked there? What if you knew a couple of them? What if you had previously bumped into Jim Tobin and left a good impression? Then your resume might not even be in the pile with the other 100 people.
You’ve heard the old saying, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Often you hear that said in a derisive way from someone who didn’t get a job or promotion. Usually that person spends more time playing fantasy football at ESPN.com than worrying about what’s going to happen when her job goes away, so she’s unprepared and caught flat-footed.
There’s another saying, “build your network before you need it.” That is one of my favorites. Very early in my social media life, I was sitting next to Raleigh’s Mr. Hustle, Wayne Sutton. We were at a small tweetup because Jason Keath was in town. It was my first visit to The Pit BBQ and the manager came out to say hello because of all the chatter he saw on Twitter about the tweetup. Wayne and the manager chatted for a few minutes and left the door open to do something better planned in the future. After he left, Wayne said 3 important words, “always be networking”. There were a few other people at that dinner that I have since become friends with, all of them have large and influential networks. Knowing them allows me to connect with their networks if needed, and vice-versa.
Last week I met Sara Gilbert and Morgan Eberle at the Raleigh Media Leaders event. What impressed me about both of them is that they were smart enough to show up. They were hustling. I approached them right at the beginning of the event because I hadn’t seen them around before, and once they said UNC and Journalism I knew I could connect them to at least 2 other people with the same background at the event. I pointed out my friend Morgan Siem to them and saw them all talking a few minutes later. I’m not sure what, if anything, will come of that meeting for any of them, but it’s a connection all 3 would have missed out on if they had stayed home and watched tv.
So if you’re graduating soon, what are you doing to get a jump on your competitors? Do you have your Facebook page locked down properly? Do you have a Twitter stream that wouldn’t scare away an potential boss? How’s your LinkedIn profile? How’s your blog look?
If you think you’re going to be able to run past Molly, Gwynne, Sara and Morgan by simply emailing in your resume, you may want to apply to grad school tomorrow.
100m photo by Jonas Merian
Phil,
True words. When people ask me why I attend an event, the first answer is networking. Folks look at me purplexed still. The motivation is usually something else yes, but social networking + __insert context__ = “amplified serendipity.” That’s a little something I learned from Brian Russell while attending ConvergeSouth 2007. Guess who I met that day in the lobby while I was recharging in between sessions? Wayne Sutton. We were talking about this new thing called twitter. Everyone else was talking about blogs. That day we exchanged Twitter handles instead of business cards. 2 months later we had the first tweetup at Helios and I met Jeff Cohen, Ginny Skalski and Frances Shepherd.
Chance favors the prepared and the open minded. I appreciate the mention. Glad to have met you through chance.
I think the blog for a new grad might be overkill for recent grads. I don’t think I could have consistently turned out well-written articles during the end of college in addition to my school work, and additionally, what would I have written about? Granted, I’m sure some majors would have something more interesting to write about than classical music.
I agree though, it is all about who you know. Having a positive internet presence can help, but it all comes down to connections, likability, and who you know.
Nice post Phil and good advice. I think it’s a mixture of all of the above: Have a good web presences, network everywhere, attend events and blog. It may not lead them to their dream jobs depending on their field but it won’t hurt.
@Ryan – great story. The thing is, you never know who is going to change your life. It doesn’t have to be Donald Trump picking you for his show, it can be someone who just happens to have the same goals, and a different set of skills.
@Jay – I couldn’t disagree with you more. I feel that you probably have more interesting stuff to write about during college than you do the 5 years out. When you’re in school you have the freedom to be an artist. I’ve heard you talk about your current job, artistic is a word you have never used in describing it. I’d rather read about a someones classical music training than the day-to-day of someone who is being beat down by the system.
I think of Avinash Kaushik. He somehow manages to make web analytics so damn exciting, you find yourself excited to start tweaking stuff. If someone can make web analytics exciting, you can make anything exciting.
@Wayne – agreed, but not doing then will most certainly not lead to a dream job. Think about your personal story from 3 years ago… are you closer or further away from your dream job? I’m going to go out on a limb and say closer.
Absolutely. I keep saying the best step I ever took in my career was coming out to the Raleigh SEO Meetup before I even got promoted to my current job. This led me to returning to Raleigh for more in-person networking as well as tweeting and blogging for my company. As soon as I took over duties, I had already built a bit of a network in the online marketing scene that helped me shape my company’s launch much differently than I would have alone. I have a wealth of knowledge that I otherwise would have taken years to experience without the help of the best and brightest minds online in Raleigh.
Coincidentally, as I had recently moved to the area, it’s also helped me build a personal life in the Triangle.
@Joshua – having a life is also important 😉 Luckily working in social media helps both thrive
To new grads, don’t be afraid to work a less than desirable job straight out of college. My first job was at a local film processing biz, but I developed digital imaging skills while I was there. I took a basic job and turned it into more.
I also saved my money and took a trip to Europe. Have fun while you’re young. Now that I’m married with two kids (and the Euro is currency in most of Western Europe), that same trip would cost 4-6 times as much!
@Nathania – indeed, any job is what you make of it. There’s no reason why you can’t become the best at whatever job you’re currently at. Great advice.
Phil – Thanks so much for the mention! I agree 100% with you and especially with Josh: ” I keep saying the best step I ever took in my career was coming out to the Raleigh SEO Meetup.” Me too! Attending the SEO meetup was the perfect networking experience for me because I (1) got important questions about answered, (2) met awesome ppl who are now good friends of mine and (3) met my future employer / got a job! It really is all about the hustle. Make the effort, put yourself out there. Meet people, then meet the people they know, then the ones they know. Remember people (it’s hard for all of us, but try your best!), respond to people, keep in touch with people and keep showing your face!
It was SO exciting for me to see Sarah and Morgan at Media Leaders because they have the same background as me (UNC J-School), but also because it meant that I hadn’t been speaking to deaf ears the previous week. Woot! I had spoken to their editing class (with Andy Bechtel of http://editdesk.wordpress.com/) the previous week, which lead them to make an appearance.
Props to Sarah and Morgan. I hope to see you two on the “scene” again soon. What did you two get out of the experience? How’s the job hunt? You should shoot me a line… 😉
@Morgan – you’re a great example of someone who has hustled their way to the top. There’s days where I know you’d rather be home “doing your knitting”, but you still go out and feed your network.