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Are Your Emails Ignored? Call Them on the Telephone!

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Emails Ignored?

emails ignored
Copyright: thingass / 123RF Stock Photo

I was trying to reach out to a LinkedIn connection last week and it appeared my connection ignored all of my email attempts. Emails were sent to their personal and business accounts. I sent them a LinkedIn message.

I got crickets back.

Most of you at this point would have given up.

Not me! I started looking for their phone number.

Yes, you can reach out to them on that device called a telephone.

We have all run into this situation where we send an email and we get nothing back. No response.

It could be:

  • The email ended up in their SPAM folder
  • They say it went ehh…
  • The volume of email that day pushed your note way down
  • They do not like you

Why they did not respond is completely unknown to you. You can make all of the stories up in your head and the reality is you do not know. I call this the MSU (Make Stuff Up) disorder.

Too Many Emails

We know a lot of time emails are ignored because we get too much email. By the way, I use a product called SaneBox to categorize my emails. If you are interested here is my affiliate link.

We all are afflicted by too many emails especially during certain times of the week. This depends on how many newsletters we are subscribed to, the email habits of our work colleagues and so forth.

What can we do?

Pick up the telephone! I know it is old school but then I am old school AND IT WORKS!

I Don’t Have Their Telephone Number!

In the old days, you could pick up the telephone book and find someone’s telephone number but now we have the Internet.

I wanted my LinkedIn connection’s phone number – so where could I find their phone number?

I looked on their LinkedIn profile. It was not in their contact information.

I scanned through their summary section of their LinkedIn profile looking for their phone number. Nope, not there.

I located their employer’s website and went to the contact page. No phone number there. Not to be deterred I googled “company name phone number.” I found the company phone number on several websites including the reputable website, Bloomberg.com. Great! I called the number.

First time I called I was shuttled to someone’s voicemail. Hmm.. later I called back and got a recording “no one is available to take your call.”

I then went to Whitepages.com and typed in the name of the person I was looking for. Bingo! It popped up with someone that was likely my contact. In fact, this person lived relatively close to me.

I called the number and got a voicemail. I left a message and I had an email response in less than 30 minutes.

Is My Phone Number Out There?

You may be wondering what information is available about you. Go to Whitepages.com and type in your name and zip code. You will likely be surprised that they know your age, address, names of your immediate relatives and other information. If you are willing to pay, you can find all kinds of information that is available to you or anyone else.

If you find that your emails are ignored, figure out how to find the person’s phone number and call them.

You might want to reach out to a close friend, relative or work colleague to get their phone number.

It reminds of the old AT&T commercial that said reach out and touch someone.

Go ahead and use the telephone when your emails are being ignored.

Marc Miller  

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Build Your Referral Network – The Targeted Job Search (Updated)

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Your Referral Network

referral networkAbout 85% of all jobs are filled through employee referrals. Therefore, it makes sense to build a referral network at every company where you might like to work in the future.

Before you read on, this is the fourth in this series on the Targeted Job Search. If you have not read the previous steps this is a good time to read the entire targeted job search series.

I have written about building and researching your target list. You connected to recruiters inside your target companies, primarily to have closer connections to their employees via LinkedIn. Now it is time to build your referral network.

Using LinkedIn advanced search, locate employees with similar job titles and certifications and develop a list of potential new connections.

At this point you can take several different strategies:

Strategy #1 – Look for a Common Connection

You now should have a list of people with each target company that can refer you to the company. These could be 1st-degree connections, (people you already know), 2nd-degree connections, (people who are connected to people you know), and 3rd-degree connections, (people who you are very loosely connected on LinkedIn.)

For now, we will focus on 2nd-degree connections.

For each 2nd degree person on your list, look to see how you are connected on LinkedIn.  Ask one of your common connections how well they are acquainted and would they be willing to make an introduction?

If they do not know the person well or are unwilling to make an introduction move on to your next common connection.

What you are looking for is a personal introduction. In the sales world, this is referred to as a warm lead.

What if you have exhausted your common connections? If that is the case, you will make this a cold lead and treat them like a 3rd-degree connection which we will discuss in Strategy #4.

Strategy #2 – Systematically Look at LinkedIn Profiles

Every day, look at multiple LinkedIn profiles on your list. The LinkedIn setting called “Profile Viewing Options” should be set to display your name and headline. This is also called Profile Visibility.

Do not look at hundreds of profiles every day but just a few. There were several commercial programs that would automate this process for you but they violated LinkedIn’s user agreement and therefore, most if not all, are out of business.

After you look at a few profiles on your target list, you will want to check to see who looks at your profile. Think of this is like being in a crowded bar and you are trying to catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex. If they look at you, you can then consider approaching them to start a conversation. Job search is just like dating and marriage.

When someone pokes their head into your profile, send them a LinkedIn connection request and ask for AIR – Advice, Insights, and Recommendations!

Once they have looked at your profile, you are no longer an unknown. They should recognize your name and know a little bit about you.

Strategy #3 – Cold Connection Request

What if the connection is a 3rd-degree connection or you exhausted your common connections trying to get an introduction? You will need to make a cold connection request.

You probably get many of these every week. Someone sends you a connection request and you say to yourself “do I know this person?”.

When making these types of requests there are two things you must do:

  1. Include a personal note
  2. Make a simple request

You will want to make this personal and ask the recipient for something that is easy for them to do. Here is a good example of a LinkedIn request.

George, (use their first name)

I am very interested in learning more about the marketing area of xyz company where you work. Would it be possible to have a quick phone call (5-10 minutes) for us to speak so I could ask some questions and solicit some advice?

I look forward to hearing from you and in the meantime, please accept this invitation to connect.

Marc Miller

I did not ask to meet for a cup of coffee or have lunch, I just wanted to have a quick phone call. I also used the magic word “advice”.

I also added the request to accept this invitation to connect.

If you precisely word cold connection requests they have a high probability of being accepted.

Persistence

Whether you use strategy #1, #2 or #3, the idea is to get to meet each person and develop a relationship. You are looking for an internal advocate so that, when a position becomes available, they will be willing and able to pass your resume through company channels.

This takes time and persistence. If you spend 15-30 minutes reaching out to new connections and meet one new person week, you will build a significant referral network in just a few months.

As you build your referral network, it is equally as important to maintain that network through careful and persistent cultivation.

The goal is to have a referral network at every company on your target list.

We know that people change jobs every few years. You will want to review your target list to check who is working at each company every six months.

If you carefully follow all of the steps in the Targeted Job Search, you will have choices in where you work for the rest of your career.

To read the rest of the Targeted Job Search series click here.

Marc Miller  

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“Advice” – The Magic Word in Managing Your Career

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Advice“Advice” is the Magic Word

When someone comes to you and asks for some advice, do you ever turn them down?

Probably not.

In fact, you probably take it as a compliment!

What is the best way to approach a contact for help with your career?

Ask for advice?

I use this in a larger strategy called Asking for A-I-R.

  • Advice
  • Insights
  • Recommendations

(More: The Key to a Successful Shift: Asking for Help)

First Ask for Advice

Let’s say you are looking to network into one of your target companies. You get one of your contacts to make an introduction. When you reach out to the targeted individual you immediately ask; “Can I have a few minutes of your time to ask some advice?”

Might they ignore your request? Sure.

Might they simply say no? Sure.

If they refuse to help you then they are probably a jerk. In that case, you do not want to talk to them anyway. Move on to the next person on your target list.

When you get some time with this individual you might ask for advice about getting hired at the company.

Secondly, Ask for Their Insights

  • How do you like working there?
  • Can you describe the culture?
  • What is the management style in general in the company?
  • What is the management style of your immediate boss?
  • How is hiring done – referral, posting on a website, headhunters …?

If you think of any other questions please share them in the comment box below.

Ask for Their Recommendations

The step that many forget is to ask for recommendations!

  • What should I do next?
  • Who do you recommend that I talk to next?
  • Can you introduce me to anyone that might help me in reaching my goal?

When you get a recommendation, you need to follow up, follow up and follow up. You keep the person making the introduction in the loop at every step!

I like to think of this as “sales closing.” As a sales person, you want to close each meeting. It is not necessarily to make the sale but to move to the next step.

(More: Strategic Networking Playbook – Who, How and When!)

What Can I Do For You?

The last step in this process is to always ask what can I do for you? 

When I network, my philosophy is to be as helpful as possible and never expect anything in return. It is all about creating good karma. You do this enough and good things will come to you. The issue is you never know when good things will come back to you. They usually come back to you when you least expect it.

Asking for Advice Story #1

I like to tell the story of my son, who after graduating from college in 2006 was having difficulty landing his first job. He applied with a large employer in Sacramento, California. I instructed him to get on the Sacramento chapter website of the professional association where he belonged and to e-mail all of the Sacramento officers and ask for 15 minutes on the phone to ask some advice.

My son expected that this was a bunch of hogwash. No one will reply.

Much to his surprise every last one of them gave him at least 30 minutes, and he got a lot of great advice. He did not get the job, but he learned that when you ask for advice…. people will respond positively.

Asking for Advice Story #2

Recently, I had a client who was working on penetrating the headquarters of a large company in the Austin job market. She was introduced to the head of human resources through a contact. The next step was to pull out the magic word and ask for advice.

The head of human resources could have easily blown off the request but instead was asked if she wanted to come in for a cup of coffee. That coffee meeting led to a whole series of introductions that have not led to a position just yet but she now has a whole set of valuable contacts.

All because she used the magic word of “advice”.

Advice is the magic word in managing your career!

Do you ask for advice?

Marc Miller  

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Weak Ties versus Strong Ties in your Job Search

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Weak Ties versus Strong Ties

weak tiesWeak ties—or weak connections—in your network are more valuable than strong ties!

WHAT?

Weak ties are those people who you do not know well…those people with whom you only have a casual relationship.

Wait a minute. Everyone has been telling you that you need to network and develop deep relationships to help in your job search. That is still true.

Why would weak ties be more valuable than strong ties?

This concept comes from a section of the book Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant. Look for a couple of more posts based on this book.

Adam writes:

Strong ties are our close friends and colleagues, the people we really trust. Weak ties are our acquaintances, the people we know casually. Testing the common assumption that we get the most help from our strong ties, Stanford sociologist Mark Granvotter, surveyed people in professional, technical and managerial professions who recently changed jobs. Nearly 17 percent heard about the job from a strong tie. Their friends and trusted colleagues gave them plenty of leads.

But, surprisingly, people were significantly more likely to benefit from weak ties. Almost 28 percent heard about the job from a weak tie. Strong ties provide bonds, but weak ties served as bridges: they provide more efficient access to new information. Our strong ties tend to travel in the same social circles and know about the same opportunities as we do. Weak ties are more likely to open up access to a different network, facilitating the discovery of original leads.

Here’s the wrinkle: it’s tough to ask weak ties for help.

The premise is that weak ties know about people and opportunities that your strong ties do not.

Asking for Advice

Most of us are not comfortable asking weak ties for help. Heck…I am a guy and I do not like asking for help from anyone!

The magic word is to ask for advice.

When you ask for advice, you will rarely be turned down. If they do turn you down, they are a jerk and you do not want to talk with them anyway.

When you ask for advice from a weak tie, it is a compliment.

It might sound like — Can you give some advice on:

How to get hired at your company?

Who do I need to talk to at your company to get an xyz job?

How to best hear of new opportunities at your company?

You are not asking for a job! You are just asking for a little bit of advice.

This fits nicely into the asking for A-I-R—Advice, Insights, and Recommendations.

If you can become comfortable reaching out to weak ties, your network will expand greatly…and so do your opportunities.

Have your weak ties been more valuable than strong ties?

Tell us about it!

Marc Miller  

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Are Networking Events Obsolete?

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Are Networking Events Obsolete?

networking eventsYou heard me right when I asked if networking events are obsolete.

I think networking events are highly inefficient. I took several years off in my career to teach high school math, and then I spent a year in the non-profit sector. During that year, I attended a lot of networking events, usually twice a week. I developed my style on how to meet people, start a conversation, and more specifically, how to find out what we have in common. I became good at it!

After each event, I would pull out my business cards and start scheduling a time to meet people. Real networking occurs afterward when you meet people one on one and develop a relationship.

Was that an effective method of networking? In general, NO!

I would meet a lot of people, but was I meeting the people I needed to meet? Most of the time, the answer was no.

It was a shotgun approach. A lot of the people I most needed to meet did not attend these events.

What is Replacing Networking Events?

In today’s world of social media, it is fairly easy for me to research a company and develop a list of individuals that I need to meet to accomplish my goals. Also in the case of managing my career, who might be able to hire me.

I can use LinkedIn Advanced Search to find companies that have staff in my city. Notice, I did not say they had an office or facility in my city. So many companies have remote employees, and they may not have a physical presence. You can locate companies using LinkedIn Advanced using the following steps:

  • Search in a radius of 50 miles from either your home zip code or where you want to work
  • Search either using a specific keyword or job title
  • Sift through the list of profiles that meet the search criteria to find current companies
  • Go to each company LinkedIn profile
  • Click on the See All link to see how you are connected
  • Enter your current city to filter the list

You now have a list of individuals who work for the target company who are also located in your city. What you will discover is that there may be a lot of employees of a business in your city that does not have an office or facility.

This can be tedious, but if you keep searching and sorting through profiles you will be amazed by what you find.

Are networking events obsolete? I do not think so.

I now attend networking events to maintain key relationships. Attend far fewer than before, and I am very strategic in the events I do attend.

I attend a Metropolitan Breakfast Club every single Wednesday morning and have a few key meetups I attend, typically once a month. All of these are to reinforce relationships, meet a a few key individuals, and get my social fix.

I now network strategically using social media and by meeting key individuals one on one. This is far more efficient!

This post is part of a weekly series on the Personal Branding Blog.

You can read the original post on the Personal Branding Blog.

Marc Miller  

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