March 12, 2012

Spring forward: Add some momentum to your networking

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The future got a little brighter over the last couple of weeks -- and I'm not just talking about the added hour of twilight we just received yesterday from Daylight Saving Time. In spite of all the negative rhetoric surrounding the race for the presidency this year, the jobs picture, both locally and nationally, is finally showing signs of a robust recovery.

At the beginning of March, the Washington Employment Security Department reported that for January (normally a rather slow month for job growth), the state added 13,200 jobs, mostly in professional and business services, retail trade, and the education and health services sector. The same report also found that 53,500 jobs were created in Washington state last year and nearly 100,000 jobs have been added since the depths of the Great Recession. On the national stage, preliminary federal figures showed that 227,000 jobs were created in February, keeping the overall unemployment rate steady at 8.3 percent as more people re-entered the workforce.

With the economy showing a stronger pulse and the advent of spring right around the corner, this is a great time for job seekers to start riding this wave of good news and using it to build some momentum into their networking efforts. Here are three simple things to do as you supercharge your job hunt for the next few weeks.

1) Banish talk of a bad economy -- I remember a bumper sticker a former co-worker had on her desk back in the early 1990s, which was a time of mild economic recession following the Gulf War. It read: "We Refuse to Participate in a Recession." It's been much harder to joke about the economic hell we've just been through since 2008, but this year is looking markedly different from the last three, and I think it's time to take this message to heart.

I've constantly advocated the necessity to think positively about job prospects, so now it's time to follow my own advice. From here on out, unless financial indicators take a dramatic turn for the worse, I'm going to stop using phrases like "tough economic times" to describe our current jobs picture. As far as job openings are concerned, the recession is yesterday's news. It's time to retire the mentality of "it's the economy, stupid," and focus instead on the quality of your network.

2) Get back on that horse -- Perhaps, like so many other Seattleites, you've been on an extended period out of work and gave up even looking for work several months ago. Maybe you've felt stuck in your current job and have put off your plans to search for greener pastures. Well, now it's time to rethink that dead-end strategy. If you haven't looked at the local job listings or your LinkedIn page for the last several months, you'd be surprised to see how much activity has picked up since last fall.

Check out NWJobs' latest calendar of events for networking opportunities -- there's a new event for almost every day for the rest of this month. Now that spring is nearly here, start planning to attend as many local events as you can and make sure people know you're still in the market for a new job.

3) Lend a hand to others -- As you look through job listings and other various leads via your network, you're bound to see many positions for which you're not qualified or uninterested in. But that doesn't mean the lead isn't useful. Before moving on, think about the people in your network. Are any of these jobs right for them? If so, pass these leads along and offer to be a reference. Even if nothing comes of it, I guarantee that these contacts will keep your name in mind the next time they see an opening that's right for you. There are a few people on my own list who have helped me out so often, I'd move heaven and earth for them if I saw a lead that might help them out.

Remember: Nothing builds momentum faster than the extra pull you get from your network. Be sure to give your contacts all the support they deserve.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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connections, economy, job search strategy, mixers, networking, returning to the workforce