How To Find Job Opportunities Through Referrals

How To Find Job Opportunities Through ReferralsIf you’ve been following along this week, then you now know the first three steps to finding and landing your dream job:                         

1. First, you need to get clear on what kind of dream job, precisely, that you want.

2. After that, you need to get clear about what big problem that you can solve for them.

3. Then, you can craft a value proposition that immediately captures potential employers' attention by communicating how you can solve a big problem for them.    

These are the first three steps.

The next step is finding the right job opportunities.

There are two main strategies, and the first one we'll discuss is called the “referral strategy.”

Getting referrals works incredibly well, because when a dream job opportunity appears and someone introduces you to it, the person introducing you often knows, likes, and trusts you already.

This familiarity often can get you inside access to the position and the company, rather than going through the "front door" as you must for publicly advertised jobs.

It’s simple:

Begin reaching out and connecting with people – hiring managers, leaders, and peers (who might one day be your co-workers), even janitors who work for the company that interests you.

Why?

Because they can help connect and refer you. They can also give you inside information that you can use to your advantage when you reach out. (This valuable intel could come from anyone you know who works in the field.)

Just put your feelers out and have conversations.

Perhaps think of it like you’re re-entering the dating scene after a long time – you're not really looking for a date at first, you're looking for people who can get you invited to parties, get you into new circles, and introduce you to interesting people.

That's how you enlarge your sphere of opportunity and meet the kind of person who'd interest you most (instead of settling for whatever shows up).

This same idea applies to finding “hidden” dream job opportunities:

It's not about pestering people, asking for a job, or dropping hints. Instead, it's more about friendship and going with them to events, asking them to keep you updated on important things, and expanding your social circle.

(And yes, you will get referrals to jobs - usually starting with a sentence like, "You know what... I know someone you should really talk to.")

In the process of meeting new people, you'll get plenty of opportunities to practice communicating your value proposition effectively too.

So, there you go.

That’s the first strategy for finding hidden job opportunities.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a good look at strategy number two.

Before we wrap things up, here’s another insight that too few people understand or appreciate:

When you have a crystal-clear value proposition that speaks to a problem that's common in the industry you’d like to work within, people will often bend over backward to introduce you to others and get you connected.

The reason?

Connecting you with others benefits them too, because they know they are helping both you and your new acquaintance.

Combine this insight with the advice I gave in yesterday’s email for maximum effectiveness as you begin using the first of two hidden job search strategies.

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Alan Carniol

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 80,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.