I heard a great J. J. Watt quote from the Spartan Up! podcast: “Success isn’t owned, it’s leased and rent is due every day.”  This is true in much of our lives including your job search.  You must do something every day in your job search.

Many times people ask “How do I find a job?”  Unfortunately the answer is not a simple one.  It is similar to asking “How do I find my spouse?”  Plus, you don’t just want A job, you want THE job…

  • THE job that will become more like a hobby that pays.
  • THE job you might even like waking up for.
  • THE job where you are friends with your coworkers.
  • THE job where you are not so focused on what you make because you love what you do.

So, how do you find and get THE job?  You want to use all of the resources at your disposal.  One often overlooked tool in the job hunt is your deep network.  I separate networks into shallow and deep.  Your shallow network includes those 1000 Facebook friends and the 500 LinkedIn contacts you have.  Your deep network is the people who know you in real life.  They may be close friends,  people you go to church with or your workout buddies.  You want to keep them up to date on the job search so you can leverage their network.

I had lunch with two friends the other day.  I asked one if he had heard back from the application he put in at a company.  The other friend said, “hey, I know someone there.  I will check with them.”  You need to find the way that works for you to keep people up to date without bugging them.  One way may be to periodically update your deep network on where you have applied.

Unless you are a turd, your network will want to help you find a job.  You’re not a turd, right?

Al

Hard times will always reveal true friends.

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