Most of us have life insurance, health insurance, home and car insurance. But, how many people invest in JOB insurance?
What do I mean by that?
Keep Your Network Alive
It begins with your network. When you have a job, it’s pretty common to ignore your network. Chances are your next job will most likely come from your network, so invest in yourself. Keep in touch with people outside your corporate firewall too.
Linked In
That’s the reason Linked In is so successful. They make staying in touch fairly easy. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to endorse their talents. It keeps your name closer toward the front of their mind.
- Keep your edits private. Log in and look for Privacy Controls. Turn off the Activity Broadcast.
- Every 4-6 months, you can update your experience or profile without broadcasting it to the world.
- Edit your Profile to customize your URL. It’s a setting on the right side of the screen. Look for Your Public Profile URL. That’s where you can easily customize it, so you end up with just your name and not a bunch of meaningless numbers. It looks much cleaner and more professional. You can copy the link and add it to your email signature.
Ex: www.linkedin.com/in/chrismelching
Friday
I like to do outreach on Friday’s because people are usually in a good mood right before the weekend. Try it.
- Schedule 15-20 minutes every Friday morning to pick up the phone and call 2-3 people.
- Just say hi. “It’s been a while. I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to say a quick hello and let you know I’ve been thinking about you. I hope things are going well for you.” That’s a small investment that over time will pay off.
- If you’d prefer to stay in touch via email, do it that way. You could find an online article to forward their way. Or ask if they’ve been in touch with someone you both know. Maybe you’ll find another reason to hook up.
- It’s much easier to ask for help or a favor (down the road) when you’ve been in touch within three to six months. We’re much more likely and motivated to help someone we’ve been in contact with, even if it was a quick call or email interaction.
- Open your Contacts and make a note of the date you pinged them and possibly what you discussed. Keep it simple.
Lessons Learned (the hard way)
I can’t tell you how many execs I’ve coached who regret not keeping their network active. Hopefully you don’t have to learn this lesson the hard way. Don’t wait to lose your job to begin your outreach. Your mojo might be off and you’ll come across weaker. Keep in touch before you have to ask for people’s help.
These are just a few ways to maintain job insurance.Here’s some advice one of my gym trainers once shared with me; it applies to our professional networking skills too. “It’s easier to keep up than to catch up.”
Thanks for your time! If you’d like to work on identifying your Professional Brand or Elevator Pitch, let me know.
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