relocating and networking

Binnie's family moved to a new state shortly after she graduated and not being able to support herself she moved with them. In doing so, Binnie lost easy access to the most valuable resource for gaining a job - contacts!

Undaunted, Binnie kept in close touch with her old contacts and set about starting up a brand new network of contacts in her new area.

"I knew that the only way I was going to get a job was through recommendation," explains Binnie, "so I had to work hard on all the people I already knew as well as getting out and about in my new area in order to make new contacts."

Binnie started by making a list of all the people she knew. Everyone.

"Before I started networking with new people I practiced on the people I did know," explains Binnie. "I called everyone on my list and let them know that I was looking for a job and asked them to keep me in mind when they went about their daily business. Old Uncle Harry may be retired, but he probably knows quite a lot of people in positions of power at his local club, and same thing goes for my old college teachers. Being in a different area made things difficult, but the world is a small place. You never know who can help."

Next, Binnie scanned the papers, particularly the local paper, for events. People in positions of power attend events and she needed to get her face and name known - as well as her situation.

"I checked out everything," laughs Binnie. "Political party meetings, rallies, local P & C meetings, lectures, etc. You name it, I checked it out, even though I was sometimes totally out of place."

"I then started a second list and added to it all the names of the people I met at local events," says Binnie. "And alongside their names, I added comments as well as their telephone numbers and addresses. I got a business card printed very cheaply, and exchanged my card with everyone I met. Within weeks, I had collected hundreds of cards!"

Next, Binnie checked the telephone book for local clubs. Chess, bridge, tennis, Rotary, whatever!

"You don't need to fork out hefty fees to join these clubs," says Binnie. "Most of them have free access for visitors, and I went along and got myself known at lots of local clubs. The best places to network are the local business clubs where powerful people hang out."

"I then started a third list and added to it all the names of the people I had met at local clubs," says Binnie. "With three lists of contacts, I then had a database of over 1,000 people. I sorted them into helpful and unhelpful contacts, and then strengthened my bond with the helpful contacts by calling them regularly and continuing to attend the events and the clubs that they went to."

"I also roped my family into networking for me," laughs Binnie. "Mom doesn't work but she talks me up big to everyone she meets at the mall, and dad is asking around at work if anyone wants to hire a bright young graduate."

"I also gained my parents' permission to do some entertaining at home," says Binnie. "It was a bit inconvenient at the start because we had just moved into the house, but entertaining at home is vital for networking. People get to see your family and where you live. Hopefully they'll be impressed!"

"I had small dinner parties for a few select new contacts," says Binnie, "and large open-house parties where everyone was welcome to drop by."

"Because networking takes time and trust must be developed," explains Binnie, "I don't expect things to happen quickly. I'm expecting to get results within a year."

Binnie has already got a few 'bites' but they are not exactly what she wants. She still turns up to attend the job interviews that her contacts arrange for her on the basis that she is new on the networking scene and understands that people may not be willing to recommend her without reservation. They are testing her.

"Personal recommendations are worth more than you can ever imagine," explains Binnie. "Whatever offer I get is made on the provision that I will make good. I show them that I'm serious, and willing to go along with whatever is offered. The outcome of every job interview I attend on a personal recommendation is going to get back to the source. Even if the job is not what I want, it's important for me to be courteous. If I'm good enough, then even the employers whose jobs I reject are going to be willing to help me. At least I hope so!"

"Becoming a networker is not only the best way to find a job but also the best way to overcome unemployment blues," says Binnie. "I've made some great new contacts and I'm absolutely positive that ultimately I'll get the dream job I want."

researching personal care jobs

Nadine is 19, living at home with her parents and she's been out of work for six months after losing a job as a shop assistant. The Internet is helping her find a new career and personal care appeals.

"Being between jobs," says Nadine, "is a perfect time to dream, discover what you really love doing and gain the skills to do it professionally."

"The Internet is great for researching job opportunities," says Nadine, "and despite my current unemployed status I have stacks of hope and enthusiasm for the future."

"What I've learned from the Internet - like everyone else has - is that hundreds of thousands of Baby Boomers are approaching retirement and the future looks very bright for younger workers."

"What excites me from my Internet research," says Nadine, "is that economists predict a boom in a multitude of services geared towards catering for the aging Baby Boomers - healthcare and household services particularly - that is going to rival the boom in childcare services that followed a massive increase in working women as a result of the Women's Liberation movement of the 1960s."

"I've never thought about becoming a nurse or a personal carer or a housekeeper," says Nadine, "but if these jobs are predicted to expand in the future then healthcare or personal services would be the ideal way for me to go because I'm not exactly a brain and I have no qualifications in anything."

"I'm not cut out for office work or running my own business," laughs Nadine, "and after spending hours and hours on the Net researching the job market I am getting eye strain already."

"I need a hands on type job - but it has to be a job with a future."

"I've worked in shops and food outlets and I hate that type of work."

"I like being with people and helping people," says Nadine, "but I don't know whether I have the brains to do nursing - I have friends doing nursing and they sit hundreds of exams. I couldn't do that."

"It looks like personal services such as becoming a housekeeper or personal carer might be the ideal type of job for me."

"I suppose I could get a job in a big hotel chain as a maid and work my way up," muses Nadine, "or I could find a job in a nursing home for the elderly - doing anything - and become a nursing aide or something."

"With the Internet I can research hotel chains and nursing homes and pick up the information I need."

"It's a lot better than telephoning these places because nobody has time to speak to you."

Nadine is happy enough staying home and helping her mother around the house, but she is working very hard towards discovering what she wants to do with the rest of her life and she knows from her Internet research that there will come a time when employers will be beating down her door to employ her, and there will come a time when even unqualified people like her will be in high demand.

"I'm optimistic about the future," smiles Nadine, "it has to be better than what it is now."

write winning cover letters

Cilla is 24, still living at home, and is a graduate job hunter. She has learned the hard way that qualifications do not open doors and that real education starts in earnest when we start looking for a job.

Cilla has learned that having insufficient information in a CV and attaching it to a scratchy cover letter is just as bad as giving away more information than any employer wants to know.

"More is not better," says Cilla, "and less is not better either. The trick is to be appropriate."

"You can always make up for a scratchy CV with an appropriate cover letter," says Cilla, "but you can never make up for a scratchy cover letter with an appropriate CV."

"When I started job hunting I put all my effort into writing a great CV," laughs Cilla, "and didn't pay much attention to the cover letters. In e-mail, I just attached my CV to a brief note. Everyone does this, but after sending out 100s of CVs without a response I started to get wise."

The first thing employers see is our cover letters!

"Too many employers receive job applications with a cover letter that merely states: 'Please find attached my CV'," says Cilla. "That's how I used to apply for jobs. Now I take a lot of care with cover letters and it's getting me results. I've been to three interviews already."

"Do you really think any employer is going to be fired with enthusiasm by a brief cover letter?" asks Cilla. "No matter how great your CV, it is just not going to be read. It will be put into the trash with the hundreds of other similar applications received."

An appropriate cover letter covers all the criteria requested in the job advertisement, and does so succinctly.

"If a job advertisement wants someone who can do X, Y and Z then don't just respond by writing 'I can do X, Y and Z'," says Cilla. "You need to give examples of your ability to do the work."

"Also, if you can do X and Y but have never done Z then do not allow this to put you off," adds Cilla. "The employer is often more interested in your ability and enthusiasm than your actual experience."

"However, if you can do X but you have never done Y and Z then you are pushing your luck in applying for this job," says Cilla. "There's nothing wrong with enthusing about your ability to learn Y and Z, but you must be realistic about someone with better skills being chosen for an interview ahead of you. I don't waste my time and the employer's time by applying for jobs I have no chance of getting."

"With cover letters, as well as CVs," says Cilla, "I always remember to be concise and make sure that what I say in my cover letter is matched by what I say in my CV."

"With a word processor there is no great difficulty in changing a CV to suit a job," says Cilla. "I know it's convenient to send the same old CV for every job you apply for, but everyone does that and it's the gal who goes to the trouble of matching her CV to her cover letter that is going to get noticed."

"I noticed the difference as soon as I started writing good cover letters," says Cilla. "I got an interview straight away. I didn't get the job, but every interview I attend is getting me closer."