Measuring your Job Search by counting number of interviews you have had, or have scheduled, is a real recipe for the blues.
Fewer open positions means fewer interviews. Not much you can do about it. Spending time trying to drive interview activity in this economic climate is not the best use of your time. Instead, focus on gaining “informational” or “networking coffees”. My experience is that C-Level executives will agree to a 20 minute informational meeting if you follow the one cardinal rule. You have to make the request through a trusted connection. I don’t mean trusted by you, although that certainly helps. I’m talking about a connection that you have that is trusted and respected by the C-Level executive that you want to have a coffee with. I won’t go through the mundane details of how to make these connections via Linkedin. I think most folks know how to do this by now. There are some basics you need to pay attention to: Keep your request for a networking coffee bounded by twenty minutes, and stick to it. Bring a “marketing plan”, one page document that summarizes what types of companies you are interested in. Bring a specific request for the C-Level executive(IE. an introduction to a C-Level executive at one of your target companies. Don’t ask for a job. This really taints the reason for your coffee meeting, which is to network. Ask your executive what other companies could be a fit, based on your background. And lastly, have a crisp and concise 60 second personal pitch ready to deliver.
By following this approach, you are maximizing the effectiveness of your job search time and efforts, and, it feels good to be accomplishing worthwhile activities.
Good searching!
