As an HR professional with over 17 years of experience, I have probably unintentionally been the proverbial “roadblock” to many candidates and the victim of the same myself. The first question to answer is “why does HR do this”? Well, to dispel a myth, there is no class in Human Resources 101 that is titled “How to destroy dreams and hope of the perfect jobseekers”. Instead, like most departments, HR is overwhelmed with their many hats and responsibilities. This, like any problem, creates an opportunity for the agressive job seeker, because the best companies look at their current employee group for insight into new roles, in fact, if a current employee offers a recommendation, this is a great way to get your credentials in front of the decision makers.
Larger companies actually have personnel or a staff dedicated solely to “employee referrals”, they are given the FastPass to the front of the hiring line for consideration. This of course, does not negate the fact that you must be qualified for the assignment and still need to rock the interview but to get yourself noticed, and get your resume in the right hands, a great tool is to know someone that can recommend you.
So what to do if you have found a great company to work for, you see the perfect job listed and yet you don’t personally know someone in the company? Well remember the six degrees of separation? This is not a myth and chances are that you know somebody, that knows somebody, that knows someone. TO find this person, you must use your network, once you have leveraged your network to identify someone at this “island resort” of an employer you need to step it up, you should get to know them. An informational interview over coffee goes a long way to have someone pass along your credentials to the key decision maker. It’s a great opportunity to sell yourself to the person that you are asking to lend a hand and also a great opportunity to get any secret ingredients to understanding the culture and expectations of the company. Take this meeting seriously, once you have the audience, keep in touch with them, follow-up with a thank you note, and keep your fingers crossed that you have impressed them.
Remember, for someone you know to give you a recommendation it’s an easy task. But for someone that doesn’t know you…it’s a stretch, so get to know them and let them see you for the value that you can add. Once you have an internal sponsor, the HR roadblock quickly becomes a green-light to the interview!
Finally, remember to pay this favor back when you are on the opposite side of the job seeker, lending a hand takes a minute but lasts a lifetime!
For more information on how to leverage your network, identify great companies, or free resume evaluation, contact one of our Career coaches at: www.career-forward.com.
