Before I get to the career stuff, think about your own neighborhood. If it’s like mine, there is an assortment of yards.

• The neglected (overgrown/starved) with random clutter added to the scenery…
• The somewhat maintained that need attention, but aren’t out of sorts enough to get a visit from the Homeowners’ Association…
• The unpredictable that might look great or terrible depending on the week…
• The perfectly manicured with a team of outsiders visibly doing all of the work…
• The groomed, but overdone, with so much going on what could have been appealing becomes an eyesore…
• The inviting, interesting and well maintained with the homeowners often visible with their hands in the dirt working on maintaining and improving…

Now it’s time to think about your professional development and job search efforts in relation to the yards described above. Like a yard, successful efforts to grow professionally and to secure meaningful employment rely on property owners (that’s YOU!) consistently weeding, watering and planting skills, goals, network, work strategy and professional messaging.

Professionally speaking, my goal is always to resemble the final bullet. No matter my job search status, I’m actively engaged in making sure I’m learning new things, keeping current on what I’ve learned before and pulling out what I no longer need. Because it’s a consistent focus, I have 24/7 curb appeal, the labor involved in maintenance is manageable and on top of others finding me interesting, credible and motivated, I have an easier time viewing myself that way, too.

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Not counting the abundant multilevel marketing opportunities making the circuit these days, if you haven’t been the target of a recruitment effort, you may be in the middle, or on the verge, of a professional crisis. A key thing we learned from the economic downturn is those fortunate enough to be visible and recognized as having in-demand skills fare much better professionally. Not only are they able to land jobs faster when needed, they are less likely to lose their jobs to begin with because their employers recognize their street value and appreciate their contribution to the company. If no one is trying to recruit you, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions.

1. Do you have skills with street value? For your profession, what’s hot at the moment?
2. Are you visible in professional circles relevant to what you do?
3. Is your employer, let alone potential employers, aware of your connections and abilities?
4. How unique are you compared to others in your field? Would it be easy to replace you with someone else?
5. What could your employer lose and your next employer gain were you to be recruited away? Are you the only one aware of these answers?

Whether you’re working or unemployed, a good sign you have valuable skills and are demonstrating them in a visible way is a call from a company attempting to woo you to join its team. It’s amazing to me how many people view a company attempting to recruit them as rude or off putting. It’s the opposite. It’s positive reinforcement your efforts aren’t going unnoticed. If strangers see what you’re doing and recognize your value, all the  more likely your current employer sees it, too.

Why is this important? For the unemployed, the answer is obvious. If you’re invisible and/or viewed as not having recruit-worthy skills, you’re not going to land a job easily. Quick work must be made of closing the visibility and skill gap, while dealing with the stress already a part of being without a job. For the employed, you are increasing the odds you might be viewed as dispensable by your current employer and missing out on the chance to build a solid safety net of connections and options should you find yourself on the hunt.

It’s great to get a plan in place for how to become a sought after recruit while you have time on your side. This doesn’t mean you have to entertain all of the attempts to recruit you. This doesn’t mean you have to be looking for a job 24/7. All this means is you should be taking care to ensure you remain in demand, because demand contributes greatly to stable employment and professional growth.

What can you do to increase your chance of being targeted for recruitment?

1. Keep current with in-demand skills in your field. If you don’t know what they are, network with similar professionals, research job postings for skills noted at your level and above and contact universities with your degree program and ask for course descriptions now required for majors relevant to your subject area.
2. Be visible to your employer and to prospective employers. If you’re the only one who knows the good work you are doing, it’s a problem. Join professional associations, create a LinkedIn profile, offer to speak or submit articles in your field and create reports noting the results of the work you are performing (or have performed) even if an employer hasn’t required you to do so.
3. Remain open to conversations about opportunity. Those who only talk to people when they are actually looking for a job miss out on the chance to be in the flow of valuable information and risk coming off as self-serving.

At the end of the day, know a company attempting to recruit you is a very good thing. It shows you are at the top of your game. It shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing by you or the company you work for. As a manager, I was always happy to hear when someone was chasing an employee of mine. It reinforced I’d made a good hire and kept me focused on making sure I was growing that person professionally so they’d want to continue to be a part of my team as their star continued to shine brighter.

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• build a diverse network of influential contacts quickly.
• act on leads and initiate an appropriate level of contact quickly.
• provide follow-up and requested documents quickly.
• identify and learn new skills relevant to their field quickly.
• articulate what they are looking to do and where their experiences and abilities would be useful quickly.
• get to the meat of whatever point they are trying to make at a given moment quickly.

When it comes to a job search, the cliche’ “analysis is paralysis” reigns supreme. Yes, you want to do your homework and get your approach right. When researching equals waiting a week or so to act on a hot lead or reach out to a new contact, your well informed effort is destined to be dead on arrival.

If you aren’t doing things quickly, you are at risk at being perceived as doing things slowly. I don’t know of many organizations right now who value a turtle’s pace. Push yourself to ensure you radiate progress. If you’ve got too much on your plate to be efficient, strip off the things that don’t matter as much. You’ll experience better results providing quick and meaningful output with a smaller workload than being slow attempting to do the same with more than you can handle.

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My response to that is, “so what?” Great, you’ve proven you can do the job. It’s highly likely other candidates have, too. Making it into the “can do the job” pile of applications isn’t enough. You’ve still got to differentiate yourself from others who meet the basic capability requirements. What have you done to emerge as the “can do this job better than our other options” candidate? Above that, what have you done to inspire potential employers to view you as the best thing since sliced bread versus the best of whoever happened to apply for the job? Keep in mind, being the best of the bunch doesn’t matter if the bunch as a whole was a disappointment.

It’s unrealistic and unfair to think companies are going to make a choice solely by someone being able to do a job as it’s listed and that they’ll pick the best of what comes their way even if it’s not really what they want. Why? Because no one really makes choices that way when it comes to something important. Take buying a car or a home. As buyers we list off general features that are important to us. We note our requirements and preferences. Think of how many options we often have to weigh before we can pick the one that’s right for us. Though car dealers and realtors present us with a host of possibilities that “would do,” we don’t pull the trigger until the option that excites us comes our way. Sometimes the decision is immediate and other times there is a long series of starts and stops until the winner surfaces.

In a nutshell, quit expecting employers to approach a decision of how they want to spend tens of thousands of dollars with less consideration than you would. Remind yourself it’s normal to lose out to personal preference. Challenge yourself to look for the chemistry, on top of the capability fit, in the opportunities you chase.

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Diane is a wonderful woman with a solid professional background. I met her recently at a networking event. I sat beside her, actually. She immediately struck me as professional, smart and kind. During that meeting I was impressed enough to suggest she contact a company I might be able to help her gain some traction with.

Shortly after that meeting Diane did the right thing and followed-up with me so she could figure out the best way to move forward with my suggestion. Her call landed in my voice mail. When I played her message, her introduction made me want to weep.

“Hi Lisa. You probably don’t remember me. This is Diane. I met you at the (blank) group…” Probably don’t remember her?!?! How could I not remember her? She sat right beside me…3 days prior. We had a conversation.

So here is this fabulous woman who either doubts  my memory capabilities or, as I suspect is the real problem, doesn’t value herself enough to believe she’s memorable.

Diane is hardly alone. I get the same type of lead-in on emails and voice mail messages frequently. So many of the job seekers I encounter are struggling to believe they could possibly matter to others. This economy has done a number on the egos of countless professionals. The trouble is, once individuals convince themselves they aren’t valuable to others, they are susceptible to having those thoughts affect their actions. They pull back on applying for jobs that seem out of reach. They refrain from reaching out to people in influential circles because they are concerned about wasting those individuals’ time.

Perhaps Diane’s choice of words was a one time slip. Hard to say. What I want her to know is that I do indeed remember her. The impression she gave me from the start was solid. If she has any doubt in her mind that people she meets will hold on to the fact they did so, she can stomp on it. It doesn’t belong in her job search. She can skip the “you may not remember me” with the next person she follows up with.

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Other people are not responsible for your enlightenment. Sure, they can be involved in helping you learn new things, but they are not the ones ultimately accountable for your professional relevance. You are! Considering the abundance of inexpensive resources available these days (many even free) there is no excuse not to get on board the DIY bandwagon and teach yourself what you need to get to where you want to go.

Over the past few years most of the new things I’ve learned have come from my own efforts. Curiosity led to exploration. Exploration led to experimentation. Experimentation led to understanding. I’ve learned all sorts of things from books, You Tube, Google, playing around and getting nosy with friends & acquaintances. I consider myself to be a decent blogger, Twitter/LinkedIn user, turkey chef, parent, PowerPoint presenter, Angry Bird master, etc…all self-taught.

I’m not special. I know lots of people who can  make the same claim. My concern is for those who can’t…those who are in the habit of waiting for others to prompt them to learn something and then see to their eventual education. It matters for a couple of reasons. For one, if you’re not putting the responsibility to learn new things squarely on your shoulders, who else is there who cares enough about your success to own the process? Second, how do you convince employers you can take initiative on their behalf when you’ve failed to do so on your own? Third, when those in the habit of trying to teach themselves new things are on the receiving end of excuses from those waiting for others to lead the way, the impression isn’t great.

Are there things in this world we can’t teach ourselves? Sure. But much of what I see holding people back doesn’t fit in that category.

Need to learn software? Buy a Lynda.com training subscription for $35 for a month and train from home, go to your local library to practice, install the software on your own computer and practice by trying to recreate your junk mail, etc.

Need to understand social media applications? Watch some You Tube videos, read articles on the applications, check out the appropriate “How to (blank) for Dummies” book, use the “help” function on the actual website, attend free workshops in your community and ask friends known to be users.

Need to figure out how to write grants? Google grant writing, attend an evening college class on the subject, volunteer for a non-profit willing to expose you to the process, print out existing grants to review content/format and network with those who write grants for recommendations.

The list goes on…

If you haven’t embraced the DIY movement, it’s going to leave you in the dust.

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So here goes…

1. They have magnetism. They have a positive outlook and demeanor that makes them approachable and pleasant to be around. Logic dictates an individual is more likely to land a job if the prospective employer actually enjoys the thought of being in his company 40+ hours per week for the foreseeable future. Seriously, who wants to be in the trenches with others who are negative, boring, pest like and more focused on problems than solutions? “Not I,” said the spider to the fly.
2. They network. They reach out to others consistently and effectively in search of opportunity. When potential employment options present themselves, they reach out to their network again seeking additional insight and connections that might increase the odds of a successful outcome. Firing off a resume in response to an internet ad without making some well placed phone calls first is unheard of.
3. They are busy. Activity in a job search is a must. Those with more balls in the air at any given time end up with more options. The lottery people like to say, “you can’t win if you don’t play.” Well, the same can be said for a job search. Those who don’t play the game and make sure they are networking regularly and applying to multiple positions relevant to their background per week aren’t going to hit the jackpot.
4. They have a clear understanding of what they are willing and able to do. It’s okay to be little and not know what you want to be when you grow up. If you’re a displaced worker who needs to land a job, like yesterday, not having a clear idea of what jobs you are chasing is unacceptable. You can’t aim at and hit a target that isn’t defined. Not to mention, job seekers who aren’t sure what to do next often end up leaving prospective employers not sure what to do with them.
5. They move past rejection quickly. Yes, getting a no thank you letter from a company you really want to work for is the pits. That said, dwelling on the hurt does no good. Too often job seekers dedicate much more time to trying to win over or get a response out of those who aren’t interested than focusing on finding individuals receptive to engaging with them. Maintaining forward momentum and keeping the focus on connecting with those who truly have an interest in what they offer increases the odds of winning dramatically.

So, there are the five things I feel many who have had successful searches have in common. If you’ve been looking for some time and aren’t having much luck, ask yourself how you’re doing in all of these areas. I can’t say one is more important than another. All matter. Get these points down so you can increase your odds of being the next person with an offer in hand.

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How does one go about finding this kind of stuff out? Follow the lead of successful companies and put together your own focus group. Your focus group should include individuals from your target audience or who come close enough to be able to appreciate the perspective of that audience. Too many job seekers rely exclusively on advice of those who aren’t really part of their target audience. Why is that a problem? Imagine a restaurant turning to vegetarians for their take on a new burger. Imagine an automaker asking 18 year old drivers to evaluate a new mini van versus moms with kids. Doesn’t make sense, right? If the restaurant or automaker followed the suggestions of the vegetarians and 18 year old drivers, imagine how unappealing the end result could end up being to the target customer.

Having individuals with no real need for or understanding of what you do as your sole source of guidance in your job search is problematic. Sure, consult resume, interview and job search strategy professionals for overall concepts, but turn to your focus group for refinement. Ask former colleagues, fellow members of professional associations and decision makers in your networking circle from companies similar to those you are chasing for a moment of their time. Your search efforts will benefit.

By the way, thanks to my friend Dave Isbell of the Michigan State University Alumni Association for inspiring this post. Check out a post he wrote last week for a deeper discussion on the matter. You can find the post by clicking here.

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The next time a company gives you the cold shoulder, try asking the hiring manager what recruiting agencies the company is likely to turn to for projects or interim staffing solutions. Reiterate your interest in the company and express your willingness to demonstrate your abilities in a temporary capacity. If the company gives you the names of the agencies it partners with, contact those agencies, let them know you are aware of their relationship with ABC Company and ask them what you need to do to qualify to be an option for assignments with them. Let them know you are also willing to consider opportunities in similar settings.

Many companies are relying on temporary agencies right now. If your situation is such you are able to consider project work, don’t miss out on the chance to make a good impression with the companies you’re targeting through temporary assignments.

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Today a group of 10 job seekers and 8 members of the business community came together in Lansing for 3 hours of focused brainstorming. Participants were arranged in 4 groups, with 3 job seekers and 2 business members in each group. Before you think I can’t add, let me tell you two job seekers weren’t able to make it. One had an interview come up (woohoo!) and the other didn’t feel prepared with the information needed to participate. No problem.

In the groups, each of the job seekers got a chance to be in the spotlight for 45 minutes. Fellow group members learned about their backgrounds, skills, interests and talents and then had a nice chunk of time to imagine all sorts of ways all of the above could be put to use in today’s job market. Since the event took place in the basement of Capital Area District Library, we had library superstars Eunice & Liz on hand to help connect participants with any resources they had on hand to enhance the process. Eunice was all over ReferenceUSA this morning providing information on companies and executive leadership in the industries participants found relevant to a particular job seeker.

Today’s event was an experiment. If you’re reading this and wondering why you didn’t know about it, this one was by invitation only to control the initial test run. It went well and I anticipate this is the first of many. It’s no secret I’m constantly looking for effective ways for job seekers to collaborate with the business community and those in workforce development. This seems like a winner to me. Those in Lansing who didn’t get to play today will get a turn. Count on it.

I’d like to pass on a great big thank you to those in the business community who gave their time today. Rich Howard, Cindie Alwood, Jim Bunn, Sue Quimby, Tami Nykamp, Kate Tykocki, Sherry Doody & Shelley Lowe…you made a big difference today in the search efforts of these great job seekers!

To the job seekers…Steve, Blake, Anne, Kevin, Connie, Lori, Jeffery, Beverly, Jesse & Cindee, you are all wonderful, talented, motivated and giving individuals. You approached today with open and creative minds. Good things are coming.

Jesse, Me, Beverly & Cindee

Cindie, Blake, Me & Jim

Cindie, Blake, Anne, Me, Jeffrey, Steve & Jim

Cindee & Jesse

Steve

Cindie

Beverly, Sue & Lori

Cindee, Sue & Lori

Liz & Eunice

Kevin, Shelley, Connie & Sherry

Tami & Kate

Blake & Cindie

Steve & Jim

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