The Job Search

While I have yet to actually ‘start’ my new job, I’m not above the idea that I could possibly ‘jinx’ the whole thing. Still, I wanted to talk about this job search. I know that I loosely chronicled my experience with filing for unemployment and collecting checks from the Georgia department of labor – but I specifically chose not to describe my actual job search in detail – because as our blog grows in readership… the less we should write about actual ‘important’ things in our life.

Obviously, any real analysis of interviews/meetings with any of my prospective employers jeopardizes being hired – regardless of any defense – if it’s out there and they find out about it, no matter what it is, they can use that against you in the same way that they don’t need ANY reason at all to not select you for a job. (I know, that was terrible sentence structure.)

So we’ll talk about my job search in semi-broad terms. 

One of the main differences between this job search and all of the other ones I’ve ever conducted in my life was my networking – well, the fact that I actually ‘have’ a network. I have honestly NEVER had any network resembling the one I have now. Every set of ‘tips’ always list ‘networking’ – And I/we did – both of us, Leah and I networked as much as we could. 

The biggest step was to actually mention my job hunt in any conversation with a new person. Clearly, this can be done poorly and you’ll come off as desperate if you bring it up first. One of the easiest methods was to simply talk about what THEY did for a living – and then when they ask you what you do, you have the easy opportunity to let them know you’re looking for a job. See? Easy. 

Most people who have ANY inkling that they can help you, whether with their own company or by passing your resume through their own networks – will offer to help you. About half the time I wasn’t even the one who moved the conversation in that direction. However, we almost always handed out our ‘Friend Cards’ to keep up the contact. Now, clearly it’s tricky to hand out our Friend Cards as a way to find a job – but most of the time it was a secondary concern – the contact/association/possible friend was the main pretext for handing them the card. Even then, the content here isn’t exactly scandalous or offensive (well, except our Proposition 8 posts I suppose.)

I would say that Twitter was a very useful tool. I got several interviews specifically through twitter-friends. And even if I didn’t first meet these people on twitter, that connection through twitter and our blog, actually helped to build enough of a relationship that they would take the chance on me. One person in particular could have been my boss – and we ONLY knew each other 1st through his finding us here at LeahAndMark.com back in April, and then the relationship we’ve built strictly through twitter. Even though things ended up not working out job-wise, the very real possibility that I could have gotten a job through someone who only knows me through our blog and twitter? – that’s kind of amazing.