Networking for Introverts

If the prospect of networking fills you with dread or you think it's something only extroverted people do, think again.

You don't need to have a gregarious or outgoing personality to build a network of professional contacts - in fact, your approach may be better received than the brash personality types out there.

Natural listeners
There is a misconception that only extroverts can network. Introverts in fact have some advantages: they are natural listeners and they tend to reflect before they speak. They are also sometimes better at building long-term relationships.

Regarding yourself as an introvert should not be used as an excuse for doing nothing.

Connecting with people in your search is a skill that needs practising, and the less it comes naturally, the easier you should make the first steps.

Begin with "Level 1 - Conversations" the gentlest form of networking, and one which anyone can do.

Start by talking to people you already know and trust, but talk to them in a way you've never done before.

This approach helps avoid mistakes that will feel like setbacks. Like the cold rebuff you get when you start a phone call saying "you don't know me, but...." or approaching high-level contacts too early in the process when you're still feeling bruised and you don't know what you're looking for.

Don't give people the opportunity to say "not now" or a plain "no" when you're aware how much these will set you back.

Easy targets
Nervous networkers should target the easiest people to begin with not the 'main target.'

When you pick up the phone you know that you can just begin a conversation, and you don't need to prepare a script of what you will say.

Be honest about what you're asking for - make it clear that you are setting up brief conversations with a range of people to find out what is going on in the world or in a particularly favourite sector.

Just think carefully about what to ask for and steer clear of asking for favours!

Ask people for things they are happy to talk about, but a good conversation about the world the person knows well is always welcome and don't forget to thank people properly.

Start by talking only to people you know, ask about their job or their hobbies, the universe, then ask them if they can introduce you to someone else; a proper, warm introduction, not just a name.

The big event
Once you've had a few "safe" conversations with the contacts you already know, you may wish to consider attending a more formal networking event.

Of course it can be intimidating going into a room full of strangers and feeling pressured to make contacts, but the fear of networking is often much worse than the reality.

You are all there for the same reason and you are all feeling the fear!

If you are at an event, ask one of the organisers to introduce you to others. any organiser worth their salt will be happy to facilitate this.

Do make sure that you introduce yourself clearly, so that people know your name and what you do, as this often reveals areas of common ground for conversation.

As long as you show an interest in other people and a willingness to listen, generally people will only be too happy to talk to you.

Networking from home
If you can't face wearing a name badge and making small talk, don't despair. Online forums and networking sites like LinkedIn allow you to make contact with people in your sector - without even having to leave home.

To get started, search for ex-colleagues and look for groups set up within your industry. Remember, as with most things in life, the more you put in, the more you'll get out - so be sure to post messages and join the conversation rather than just observing.

Do not rant, do not pontificate, and do not over-criticise others. Let the tolerant, thoughtful and collaborative you come through in your conversations.

Having a few open conversations online should make it easier when you take the plunge and meet up at a real life event. You'll be networking like a pro before you know it.

UK Financial Scams: A Growth Industry

"Trust me, I'm a financial adviser!"

The Financial Scams is one industry that is still growing rapidly, showing no sign of reccession. These range from the sophisticated to the downright weird – but all have the same aim: to relieve you of your money.

Recent figures from the National Fraud Authority show that the total lost to individuals from fraud and other scams is more than £6bn a year.

Here are the top 10 scams to watch out for this year (beware, there are more!);

1 Rare metals
Rare earth metals are chemical elements such as scandium and yttrium which are used in the manufacture of computers and phones.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) warns that companies are using high-pressure sales tactics and are targeting vulnerable customers out of the blue who are often told that supply of these metals is falling, causing prices to rise.

The FSA said it had “yet to see any convincing evidence that there is a viable market for investors to make money from investments in rare earth metals”.

It says that manufacturers using these metals buy in quantity: so they are not likely to want to buy from small independent companies.

2 Pension liberation fraud
Victims are told they can release their pension funds built up before they reach 55 years old. The Pensions Regulator warns that accessing pension savings before minimum pension age is only possible in rare cases, such as terminal illness.

It says that entering into a pension liberation scheme “can be fraudulent where individuals are not informed, or are misled, as to the consequences of entering into one of these schemes”.

It says these schemes can result in tax charges and penalties of more than half the value of a member’s pension savings – and victims are seldom told about these costs.

In the UK it is possible to get 25pc from your pension as tax-free cash. For more information check with your pension provider or a legitimate and FSA registered financial adviser.

3 Mobility aids
Scams targeting elderly people have raked in more than £28m in three years. The Insolvency Service said that around 2,000 elderly people were victims of scams ranging from dodgy investments to companies selling unsuitable or overpriced mobility scooters and stairlifts.

The scam involves selling these aids on the telephone or at home to elderly people with salesmen not coming off the phone until the sale is closed.

These scams can be avoided by only dealing with reputable companies which do not pressurise clients and allow them the chance to consider a deal before paying up.

4 Dodgy job offers
This scam involves victims being attracted by fake job offers which effectively turn them into money launderers.

Financial Fraud Action UK says the offers use titles such as “money transfer agent” or “payment processing agent”.

Those who succumb become part of a money-laundering scheme and are known to authorities as “money mules”.

They are told to receive money into their bank accounts and to transfer it to another, taking a cut themselves.

The money involved is often stolen or the proceeds of drug dealing and extortion. The mules are used to move the money offshore into overseas accounts.

5 Lotteries
Lottery scams remain common, according to Which?, the consumer group. One of the scams seen by Which? purported to come from the International Monetary Fund, which promised the recipient $8m if they paid £960 to release the funds.

It’s easy to tell a lottery scam. You have to buy a ticket to have a chance of winning a lottery. If you haven’t, you can’t win.

6 Truancy fraud
Essex County Council warned last month that a parent of a pupil in one of its schools received a phone call purporting to be from the Education Welfare Service.

The parent was told that as their child had not attended school that day they would be fined £340 and they were asked to give their card details over the phone.

The council pointed out that the Education Welfare Service does not phone parents demanding payment over the phone: it sends penalty notices by post and it would not phone parents demanding immediate payment.

7 Wine scams
These are a growing concern, says the Insolvency Service. According to Decanter magazine, scammers posing as buyers have attempted to defraud suppliers of around £1.6m since May 2011.

Individuals have also been hit by scammers selling en-primeur wine. This is wine that is sold while it is still in the barrel.

Victims are told they are buying wine at this stage because it will rise in value, by fraudsters posing as wine merchants.

Unfortunately, the wine doesn’t exist, and the victims are left out of pocket.


8 Love
According to Action Fraud, there is an increase in romance scams. It has had more than 1,000 reports in the past 12 months from those who believe they have found love online but have actually become victims of criminals who want to relieve them of their money.

The typical victim has been conned out of £21,600. This scam works when those involved hand over useful personal and financial details about themselves to people they have fallen for online.

Anyone looking for love online should watch out for basic warning signs. Be cautious of unsolicited advances, especially if they have too much interest in your personal details and bank accounts.

9 Landbanking
This involves companies which divide land up into smaller plots to sell to cold-called investors on the basis that once the land becomes available for development, it will rise in value but the FSA said the land is often in areas of natural beauty or historical interest and there is little chance of it ever being given permission for developers to build on.

One plot of land recently sold was on a site of special scientific interest; another was on a slope too steep to be built on. The FSA said landbanking schemes had cost investors up to £200m.

In extreme forms scammers can sell plots of land anywhere in the world and have also been known to sell plots on the Moon!

10 Carbon credit trading
Carbon credits are certificates or permits which represent the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide, and they can be traded. They are little understood by the general public, even when they are legitimately traded among corporations.

This Carbon credit trading scam involves cold callers targeting investors to buy into the “new big thing” in commodity trading because industries have to offset their emissions.

Carbon credits can be sold and traded legitimately, and the FSA pointed out that there were many reputable firms operating in the sector.

Investors might find they cannot sell their investment or get a competitive rate because they only have a few credits to trade.

Never trade in any commodity or venture that you do not understand or have not 'fully' studied and researched. Get references, visit sites and talk to existing customers. Caveat Emptor!

Unemployment: New Jobs are Taken by College Graduates

To steal and expand upon a point Betsey Stevenson made on Twitter earlier, it's striking the extent to which employment growth over the past month and the past year was concentrated among college graduates.

In part that's just what you expect from a weak labor market. When workers arescarce, you hire underqualified people and try to train them.

When workers are plentiful, you hire the most qualified people around and count yourself lucky but polarization in the American job market is nothing new and we see a continuation of a trend that was visible across the growth of the aughts.

Beautiful women face discrimination in certain jobs, study finds

While many see no downside to being beautiful, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School says attractive women face discrimination when it comes to landing certain kinds of jobs.

In a study released in the May/June Journal of Social Psychology, Stefanie Johnson, assistant professor of management at UC Denver Business School, found that beauty has an ugly side, at least for women.

Attractive women were discriminated against when applying for jobs considered "masculine" and for which appearance was not seen as important to the job. Such positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor.

"In these professions being attractive was highly detrimental to women," said Johnson. "In every other kind of job, attractive women were preferred. This wasn't the case with men which shows that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender."

The study, co-authored by Robert Dipboye, professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida, Kenneth Podratz, an organizational development manager at UPS and Ellie Gibbons, research assistant at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, found that attractive men suffered no similar discrimination and were always at an advantage.

According to Johnson, beautiful people still enjoy a significant edge. They tend to get higher salaries, better performance evaluations, higher levels of admission to college, better voter ratings when running for public office and more favorable judgments in trials.

A recent Newsweek survey of 202 hiring managers and 964 members of the public concluded that looks matter in every aspect of the workplace and they mattered more for women. When asked to rate nine character attributes on a scale of one to 10 with 10 being the most important, looks ranked third, above education and sense of humor, the magazine reported.

But in one narrow aspect of life, beauty can be a hindrance, something researchers have called the "beauty is beastly" effect.

To read the full article Click Here

Finding another executive position

If you talk to recruiters and headhunters that are specialising in executive searches, you will discover taht they are all saying the same thing: Talent cannot hide, if you're good, we'll find you. This may or may not be simple rhetoric but for today's executives whose phones are not ringing off the hook, we thought it might be useful to ask about the dos and don'ts of raising one'sprofile and getting picked up on a recruiter's low frequency radar.

For my part I will concentrate on the IT profession. A survey of 150 enterprise executives and IT managers found that while 38% found their current job through a personal network, 30% worked with a recruiter to land a job. Leaving 32% to wander in the wilderness.

Executives not looking to move, the headhunters we interviewed said there are ways you can make yourself useful that will pay dividends down the line and mistakes that can, put you in the doghouse forever.

First, you need to establish some kudos. After years of operating on the outer rim of the C-suite fishbowl, enterprise IT managers /executives are in deep. The executive IT manager role has moved to the forefront. It's a true C-level position.

The IT manager has found a seat at the table but IT managers are expected to contribute at board level. They are not an overhead to be controlled and contained, or a back-office function to ignore until something happens. They are a business enablement function that needs to be developed and cherished.

With the status comes pressure. There is zero tolerance for anything but solid execution, benefit achievement and results. The board room and sponsor expectations are higher than ever.

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius."

The IT manager /executive operates on a different level than several years ago, when IT was at the epicenter of the tech bust. IT managers /executives are expected to be more business focused and enabling. There isn't a job that IT doesn't support and the extent of their financial spend and budget control is often the biggest in the company.

Moreover, despite all signposts pointing to a rough road ahead, recruiters remain busy, even if they are looking over their shoulders. Good candidates have multiple options and are difficult to retain.

Here are some suggestions, from the macro to the minuscule, for managing your career, so that you have multiple options too.

1. Track record

This speaks to the cardinal rule of recruiters: Build something and they will come. IT managers /executives who are going places stay at one organisation for a long enough time to deliver.

If you haven't been through a business cycle or two, I don't care how good you are, you can't claim success or real experience. A year or 18 months usually doesn't cut it. You have to be at an organisation long enough to live with your decisions, to make adjustments, to fix you're mistakes and to build on the things you've got right.

IT manager /executive searches often begin with very specific queries from client companies. A CEO of CFO will come forward and suggest that they want to drive a massive transformation of the business and require a strong IT manager /executive who has successfully completed major systems integration. Given some more specific information, the search is then on, where that talent exists.

Companies know that you don't always have full control over how long you last in a specific position but you should have management power over your career.

You have to look at your career and ask, 'Am I continuing to progress, am I getting broader, bigger and more complex responsibilities, am I building a portfolio of experience that will be valued by the next company, or the company after the next company?" Look for good companies and good leaders from whom you can learn.

Remember, nobody is going to do that for you. If you sit back and let your career happen, you might get lucky, but you might not. I wouldn't be too comfortable in letting fickle lady luck and moody madam fortune decide where I end up or what I am able to do.

2. Visibility

About two-thirds, maybe even three-quarters, of the people that headhunters contact during executive searches, are already in the headhunters' databases. It's their job to know who is out there before they are hunted but that leaves a good chunk of good people who have slipped under the low frequency radar. This includes those who are working so hard they haven't had time to put their head up.

Leave behind the cloak of invisibility and the anonymous mantle of obscurity. All headhunters stress the importance of getting on the speaker circuit and raising your profile. When doing a search, the first place to go is to the top expert in the field who is talking about this subject. Identify a topic you know well and have a lot of experience in and tell your vendors that you're available to speak at events.

Some touch of the artist wells up within me, and calls insistently for a well staged performance. Surely our profession would be a drab and sordid one if we did not sometimes set the scene so as to glorify our results

If it has been some time since you last agve a talk to a big audience, you can first get on a panel or a forum, which may be easier than giving a direct speech. People are always hungry to get expert speakers. It is actually easier than you think to be on a panel or a forum.

If you are selected as a speaker, prepare, prepare, prepare. Word travels fast if you fail to meet expectations.

We are a big fan of LinkedIn, but it must be used strategically. Your information must be accurate and concise. Hide your connections, but do connect to as many good people as you know. It is only prudent that you should ignore any request from somebody you don't know, and do ignore it, there is no need to write back and justify your actions.

3. A trusted source to recruiters

The covenant of eternal employment was broken some time ago, hence the need for a strong professional network, which includes headhunters and recruiters.

You need to proactively build a relationship with executive recruiters in your space, so you come into their mind before insignificant others.

Good recruiters have visibility into the marketplace. Over the course of a long career, a recruiter can act as trusted advisor but good relationships are a two-way street and mutually beneficial.

Good headhunters are busy and they're going to be spending most of their time on the searches they're being paid to do, not just giving out superfluous career advice to you. You can make yourself useful to them, in ways that will repay you many times over.

If you're the IT manager of Acme and used to work at GE, the headhunter may call you and ask to talk to the best IT person in your organisation, with Six Sigma process improvement knowledge. The question is are you willing to give them that information? If they ask you for a reference for a candidate that you know from a previous position, would you provide this?

When it comes to your own career, don't exxagerate or fudge. If you're thinking of leaving but can't really move for the next eight months because you're due to come into a major stock option, you'd better say so. Be honest and good recruiters will be honest back, sometimes painfully so. They don't work with people who are lying and exaggerating. It's not worth their while because ot erodes their integrity.

4. Go best, young execs

A word to the wise for the up-and-coming executives: Ambitious professionals look for the next rung up, the job nobody thought they could do, to prove themselves but the wise investment might be a lateral move, if there is an opportunity to learn, grow and work with the best.

These can be great learning environments and worth the investment and sideways step. Clearly, it's best to make the investment early in your career, if possible, when you have a little more flexibility in the scope and scale of role you can take.

In any case, big organisations, the Microsofts, Dells, GEs and Procter & Gambles of the marketplace, tend to hire "bigger than the role."

These companies are so complex, the matrix is so difficult to get your arms around. To put you in a stretch role in an environment where you don't know the company, you don't know the political landscape, is really difficult. It's a unique individual who can take on those two variables and be successful.

Their view is to put you in a role that you can do, so you're not underwater from day one. As you progress and figure out how things get done, they will expand your role. It is an expansionist veiw, limited only by what you are capable of.

Should you be picking the low growing fruit

NOT SURE WHICH WAY TO TURN?

SHOULD YOU TAKE A LOWER PAID JOB?

When searching for a new job and the time starts to drag on and on, normally extending beyond three months, it is natural to begin to wonder if you should take a lower-level or lower paid job just to get some sort of paycheck again.

It's a sensible and an honest question but also a difficult one to answer. After working so hard to build a career and climb the corporate ladder, taking a step or two back, can affect more than your pride.

Some career experts will warn you against taking a lower-level job. They will advise you to hold out for a better offer that will better advance your career and not set you back a step, or three. Clearly, this is not an issue when you need a money to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. It doesn't matter what job you get, just as long as it's honest and helps pay the bills.

There is a strong argument that taking a lower-level job can be a smart career move, especially if it prevents you from being unemployed for more than 12 months, and with the economy as slow as it is, 12 months of unemployment is not unrealistic.

Its a simple but realistic outlook. You may want to consider positions at a level lower. You will increase your chances of getting a job sooner if you keep your options open and consider lower-level positions in addition to relocating and switching industries. This advice goes for executives too. There is an expression that says; 'A' class talent always rises to the top. Clearly, holding out for the perfect or even a comparable job opportunity in this economy may be even more risky than taking a step or two back.

Its OK to hold out for a perfect or promoted post for three to nine months. Even up to a year can be acceptable and justifiable, but if you're out of a job for 12 to 18 months, you're in danger of devaluing your skills and marketability. Today's business moves so fast and there are so many changes and new regulations, new laws and new competitors arriving on a 7-by-24 basis that being out of the market and out of touch for 12 or more months, is a big gap to jump.

The dilemma is; If you spent some of the time you were unemployed doing contract or short term consulting work would this mean that you were still in touch with the business world? Taking on short term and consulting projects definitely will help, for a number of reasons but it's important to take on projects that will help you gain the knowledge and experience that will help you get a promoted post. Also, employers tend to consider these projects as part of a job seeker's portfolio, if they are made aware of them by you.

The down side could be; If you, as an experienced executive, picked up a consulting contract managing a company's payroll, a prospective employer may not consider this as suitable experience, a diversion away from, and dilution of your normal key skill sets. Thus, they may look disfavourably upon your application as an IT executive. They may not think it was at a high enough level and would have preferred to see you working on a more strategic project.

In conclusion; Diversify by all means but be mindful of what contracts and consulting projects you take on. It may seem to contradict my earlier recommendation to seriously consider lower-level jobs, especially if money is tight but consider the circumstances well and do not forget the overall perception that may be given out by some positions, with respect to new employers. They may not see it as a positive move for your career.

LinkedIn and Beyond: More Sites to Help You Network

LinkedIn, Facebook and Myspace can be useful tools for networking with consumers and peers, but there are other social networks on the web with more specific purposes or narrower audiences. The list is almost endless and the variety equally so. Here is a selection of other popular sites.

APSense.com: Tap into an affiliate marketing revenue stream by promoting products and sites on your business profile, and get paid for the friends you refer. (This is not the same service as Google's ADSense)

Biznik.co.uk: Join your local (US or UK) business community to connect and collaborate with nearby entrepreneurs, and find out about local seminars and events.

Entrepreneur Connect & Women Entrepreneur Connect: Share ideas, join groups, publish content and promote your business on (Women) Entrepreneur's own network.

FastPitchNetworking.com: Create a profile, product listings and blog, and take advantage of e-mail marketing and virtual trade shows. Their website is also available in German, Spanish and Chinese languages.

GoBigNetwork.co.uk: Get serious about fast growth in this startup community focused on finding funding, talent and expert advice.

Konnects.com: Build a network among other startup entrepreneurs and launch your own branded network when you're ready. Twitter friendly!

Marzar.com: Connect with other business owners while promoting products and services in the marketplace.

Xing.com: Search this global site for business partners, contacts and professional opportunities. Multiple European, Chinese and Asian languages supported

This list is for information only. I am in no way recommending them over any others. Explore and enjoy but make up your own mind about how useful or otherwise, they are to you.

NB: many of the above sites are US or UK based, but some have multiple language support and may have a separate more localised, website for your country. If not, well, you now have an opportunity to develop something for your city, region or catchment area.

If you are already connected and using the above sites, I would be very interested to hear your comments and feedback on them. As well as your links and suggestions for bigger and better networking sites.

Connecting with Intelligence at www.ted.com

Staying afloat - develop buoyancy

Straighten up and Fly right!

With the economy said to be all at sea, what can an IT professional do, to stay afloat?

1) The first step is the easiest one of all. Keep your technology skills fresh and take advantage of every training opportunity, e.g. there are plenty of free online courses and certifications. "Free" is important, this is no time to ask your employer for money but also you may want to consider investing a little of your own cash on yourself, and your future.

In fact, you will find that when you are employing your own cash to buy training, you will become more discerning about the content, as well as the real relevance and necessity of attending a particular skills training course. Now suddenly you see it from your boss's position. Where is the payback? Do you have th ecourage to put your money where your mouth is? Are you willing to pay for the training and have the company reep the benefit. It would make you more secure and your boss would see you in a different and better light.

Something that is strangely inexpensive. You can always gain knowledge and get a head start on a new techie subject by 'reading a book' or three on the subject. I know, I know, its not very techie or 'out there' to be 'reading' and it will make some of your nerdy friends point at you and laugh, 'Oh, look guys! We've got a reader!' but tough times call for tough measures.

2) You could always leverage your technology expertise to help the company perform better. Wow! Is that possible you say? Yes! You might want to develop an application that helps the company's sales professionals (the suits), unlikely but possible. It's important not to be afraid to take the initiative. Develop your ideas or speak to the suits and see how their needs could be better met, especially if there is a techies slant to it.

Look seriously at mutually beneficial options, for both you and the company. Structure a rough 'business' plan showing how, by the use of new technologies (tools/ applications/ whatever), that you are willing to develop and learn the company can readily,

• save /make money or
  
• reduce overheads /wastage or
  
• get into new markets / challenge their competitors, or
  
• out manouvre them entirely by implementing more innovative approaches.
  

Some study in advance and a bit of prior knowledge here would be helpful in re-enforcing your pitch. Also brush up on your presentation techniques and I don't mean the Powerpoint style tools. I mean the, well dressed, standing at the front of an auditorium and speaking clearly and assertively, presentation skills.

These skills are some of the most important ones that you will need for the future and its vital that you get help with them. Your public performance can be easily made more structured, effective and carry more impact if you seek the advice of a professional tutor or toast master. Unfortunately by the sheer nature of this skill, it cannot be done online. You will have to go into the real world to speak to people about it. They will be wearing suits and maybe by that time, so will you.

Remember, you are the one best placed to know what new tools and technologies are out there and how best to apply them to the benefit of your company. So, why don't you tell them and put yourself forward as the co-ordinator and developer for the project. Cometh the hour, cometh the geek.

3) Be sure to stay up and alert. Be positive (B+) and become high profile and very visible. Throw off your cardigan and come out of the server room, turn your back on the Zen-like hum of the air-con, look your manager in one of his crazed bloodshot eyes and tell him how you are going to help him and lead him out of this mess. Then step back quickly, because he will become very emotional and may reach out and try to hug you. Not that this is a bad thing but it doesn't help your street cred with the guys.

4) Ensure that you stay busy by volunteering for new initiatives and by not turning down high profile assignments. Qudos and assignment selection is a story for another day, but be careful of being handed a dying star, a runaway horse or a poisoned elf.

Keeping fully occupied is good advice at any time, good or not so good but it is easy to get complacent in the good times and then find yourself out favour and out of position when times are difficult. Ask yourself, 'Am i doing enough to help me keep my job.'

Simple rhetorical phrases like "stay positive" are all very well but it can be tough to put into practice, especially in an oppresive or negative environment. Avoid the negative people in the office they will be the first ones targetted and then fired. Remember that negativity and cynicism are contagious. Therefore, turn off the news during the day. It is a drain on your spirit. Plug it or it will only drag you down and distract you from your chosen task.

If you do all that and you still face losing your job, what next?Who is moving my cheese?

Dust off your old resumé and make sure it is up-to-date, accurate, attractive, concise, well written and contains all of your updated contact information. Then, make sure it is optimized for keywords by describing your skills precisely. Post your résumé on all the job boards, such as Dice, LinkedIn and Monster, as well as the niche job boards, for jobs in financial services, media, etc. Check that the language used in your resumé is in synch with today's recruiters and job market.

If it is not 'reader friendly' it won't get read!

Take advantage of recruiting firms. Remember, when you meet with a recruiting firm, treat everyone with copious respect, because these are the 'gatekeepers'. The people who could help you land an interview and a job. Good recruiting firms and consultants will also work with you to optimize your résumé for the job boards and so also will good friends i.e. the suits not the geeks.

Finally, in this highly competitive dog-eat-cat job world, if you do manage to land an interview opportunity, let the prospective employer know you are available immediately. Don't say that you will be on vacation or only do interviews on Mondays. Make sure you are easily available and show a strong interest in the job; otherwise, you will lose the interview opportunity.

Remember the new mindset that you developed and all those new exercises that you carried out, just to make sure you didn't get fired, well these are the very ones that you can use to sell yourself to your potential employer, at the interview.

When the going gets tough, the tough will be the survivors. Build a plan and Make your own luck!

Develop yourselve into;

• a stronger, leaner and fitter condition to
• maintain, strengthen and consolidate your current position,
  
• study, re-train and supplement your skills,
  
• search out new opportunities inside and outside your present environment
• GROW!
  

Keep the Recruitment Consultant on your side

Job seekers need recruiters more than ever. But in their efforts to nurture their networks and stay at the forefront of recruiters' minds, some job seekers are frustrating the very people they need to help them land a new job.

Executive recruiters tell me that job seekers are inundating them with calls and e-mails to inquire about the job market and seek advice on how to land a job in a recession.

The recruiters tell me that they want to help everyone who's contacting them, but they don't have time. The economy has made their jobs much harder. Drumming up business, hunting for candidates and convincing them to take a new job requires much more time and effort in a recession. As one recruiter put it: "Spending 30 minutes with somebody to give them career counsel is not always going to be feasible. If we accepted every request we got, it would kill our day."

What the recruiters are telling me—though not in so many words—is that some job seekers are really pissing them off. In their efforts to get time with headhunters, over-aggressive job seekers are actually alienating themselves from the very people they need to help them find jobs.

If you're looking for a job and you want to stay on good terms with recruiters, heed the following advice they shared with me:

1. Be respectful of recruiters' time.
Realize headhunters can't devote a half hour of their day to answering your questions about the job market and your résumé. Ask them for five minutes, and don't exceed that five minutes. Have a specific question for them, and if possible, have something you can give back, whether it's a contact or information about the market or one of the recruiter's clients.

2. Don't send bland e-mails.
E-mails that simply say 'Hi. How are you? Do you have any new positions?' don't endear recruiters to job seekers. Cut-and-paste e-mails rub recruiters the wrong way because they're not personal. Recruiters are relationship people. Recruiters say job seekers may have a better chance of building a relationship with them if the job seeker catches the recruiter on the phone. Phone calls are inherently more personal than e-mails.

3. Don't call the recruiter at the same time every week.
Calling a particular recruiter at the same time every week makes them feel like a cog in your call cycle. And routine calls aren't very personal. Rather than calling them every week, stick to every couple of weeks, and vary the days and times you call.

4. Don't send recruiters your résumé every time you update it.
Recruiters say they are generally happy to give job seekers advice on their résumés. Just don't send your résumé to them every time you update it, expecting feedback. They don't have time to give you feedback on every version, and they don't want to see every iteration.

Use the Power of persuasion

Are you hunting for a new job or the next step up the ladder? Well, it may come as a small surprise to you to hear that one of your main objective is simply to be persuasive.

What are the most effective approaches?

• These days networking is sited as the most effective way of finding a new job. So firstly, you need to build your personal network and then persuade the loyal members of your network to introduce you to people who might connect you with someone who knows someone ..........who has a suitable opening for you to fill.
  
• Secondly, you need to get your CV read and acknowledged. So you need to persuade HR professionals and recruiters to not just read and discard résumé but to consume, digest and ruminate over it.
  
• Having got as far as the HR dept, you need to persuade the hiring managers that you're the perfect candidate for their organisations. The missing link they have been seeking, even if they didn't realise it themselves
  

Be convincing - Some people are easier to convince in your job search than others. Getting friends and colleagues to arrange introductions for you doesn't require much persuasive effort because they know you and some may even like you or owe you money. Therefore, they're willing to play their part on your behalf. After all if the circumstances were reversed, you would do the same for them. Your powers of persuasion over your friends should stem from your mutual friendship, natural charm, credibility and likeability, not from your rhetorical prowess or physical strength.

The Gatekeeper - The hiring manager, knows nothing about you, apart from the fact that he has seen your name in a pile of CVs that need to be filtered. He has to create a short list of candidates fit for interviewing and you must be on it. How are you going to stand out from the crowd and rise loftily above the other candidates. You have to think better and work harder to convince them that you're worthy of their time. In such situations, job seekers need the advantages gained from fully understanding the fundamentals of persuasion.

Easy as ABC
Effective persuasion combines equal parts communication and observation. It hinges on having good people skills;

1. being able to read people,
2. being a good listener and
3. being empathetic.

You need to be a keen observer of the person you're trying to persuade. Otherwise how can you match the tone and language you use in conversation to the other person's tone and language. Watch how the other person reacts to what you are proposing, either physically, through their facial expressions and body language, or in their tone of voice. If you notice a negative reaction, or discomfort, you should be alerted and quickly change or slightly adjust your approach.

Under your Influence - To be an effective influencer, you also need to be likeable, outwardly open and trustworthy. It doesn't matter whether you're selling an idea, a service or a product, people tend to buy from people. If I like you, I will listen to you. If I don't like you or your message, I won't listen to you. Getting someone to listen to you is the first stage of persuasion.

Persuasion isn't inherently difficult. To do it right, people just need to focus on listening to the person they're trying to persuade and adjusting their communication accordingly.

Whether you're seeking a new job, clinging to an existing one or out to climb higher, persuading people of your value is going to be your key to success, especially during times of low market confidence and recession.

How do you persuade others without appearing pushy and what about the dangers of steamrolling people into submission. The Hard Sell!

What is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when trying to influence or persuade others?

One of the worst crimes you can commit is the lack of true or active listening. Far too many people only half-listen to other people who are speaking and the same people are equally unlikely to closely observe people either. We sentient humans have the capacity to think at four or five times the rate of someone who's speaking. Consequently, we can often listen badly because we're too busy looking ahead and formulating our responses while the other person is still speaking, or we're thinking about something else entirely, like shopping or the size of the other person's nose. We fail to pick up clues that indicate what the other person is really saying or thinking because we are not even listening.

Body Language

Observing body language is the closest we can come to mind-reading. If you make a statement, and that statement produces a grimace or a shift in posture of the other person, their body is telling you that something you said doesn't gel with them. It's a clue for you to change your tact or to inquire what it is that's bothering that person.

Negative pressure

Some individuals lack the level of people skills that are needed to persuade others. However, they can and are able to sway and influence their co-workers by taking a dominant posture. This is observeable, because they always have a response to a point or counterpoint. Their constant pressure exhaust others' patience and endurance, leading to submission. It is more like verbal tennis or squash than persuasion.

Is there anything wrong with this sporty method of persuasion if it accomplishes the persuader's goals?

Clealry. beating someone into submission is not good practice. It is not what we understand to be true persuasion. A truly persuasive person will not leave you in an exhausted state. The ultimate goal of effective persuasion, is that the relationship between the two people hasn't suffered, even after one has changed the other person's belief or behavior. There should be no 'losers' as there are in competitive sports.

Certain personality types are better at persuasion than others?

Extroverted people tend to be more persuasive than people who are prone to introversion. Extroverts are often in people facing jobs, such as sales or advertising, where they have to influence or persuade people to buy a product, take some kind of action or adopt a different lifestyle goal.

Introverted People will take jobs that are less people-focused and more facts and figures focused. They are the back-room people, often evry talented but lacking the self confidence that their knowledge should bring. Therefore, they have less experience of dealing with people than extroverts. Consequently, they don't develop the people skills that extroverts develop. It is a vicious circle that is not so easily broken.

Introverts can be good persuaders, when dealing with other introverts; people of their own type. Introverts have more difficulty in persuading extroverts because extroverts tend to speak louder and faster than introverts. Whereas, the introverts tend to conduct their interactions in a much slower manner.

Extroverts have similar difficulty in trying to persuade introverts. When you look at workplace disputes, some can be attributed to personality clashes between introverts and extroverts.

Logical arguments besides, just do it!

May I also postulate a theory that the extoverts are more emotionally open and accepting of emotive reasons for doing something. Whereas, extroverts may be less willing to expose their feelings to scrutiny and therefore take the safer option of discussions based on known facts. It is easier to dis-arm an introvert using facts and logic than it is an extravert. Discuss!

Is there a difference between persuasion and manipulation? Some people don't like the idea of having to persuade or influence others. It strikes them as unseemly, pushy or manipulative.

Persuasion is essentially about changing someone's perception, questioning their assumptions. You are trying to alter their beliefs and behaviour. Persuasion is really about moving someone from point A to point B.

Manipulation implies coercion. When we're talking about persuasion, you are seeking a win-win scenario, where both parties are happy. Manipulation implies that only one party is satisfied and the other is out-manouvred.

It's all about the approach

Manipulation is often synonymous with some kind of threat: If you don't do this, this will happen. Persuasion is a meeting of minds: You are persuading another to come around to your point of view. Ideally, no one gets hurt. You have simply changed a person's perception, not by coercion or threat.

It is better to have cross-pollination than a cross Polynesian

(old Hawaii proverb, alledgely)