Dan Glavin's Official Blog

So its been a while since my last post.  Ironically this has been due to primarily my hunt for a new day job.  I am still with Microsoft but looking at a couple internal opportunities as it is time to make a change. I commit to continue writing and finally got around to building out a mini content calendar so expect more updates.

 The other factor was doing a bit of traveling.  To Vegas for my buddy Matt’s wedding.  Matt is a super smart guy and if you are looking to set up an LLC or S Corp you should go with him, he is the best in the business.  Check him out at http://www.mynewcompany.com (this is not an affiliate link, Matt and I go way back). 

In any event a couple things got me thinking today about job hunting.  One, the fact that MSFT cut another 800 people, and two, recently a few people I know have come to me asking about job hunting strategies. 

Now for those who know me, they know me as the guy who is always switching  jobs.  Its true, I tend to get bored fast, and once the challenge is gone, I usually am too.  Not to mention that while I believe in loyalty, I do not pursue loyalty to my employer at my own expense.  At the end of the day, I work for myself, no matter who is signing my checks so I go where I am best suited and where I can make the most.   Now on to the tips…

So as I was saying, I have had a tendency to change jobs typically every 6-12 months.  I guess this makes me a job hopper.  Many would see this and look down on it thinking I am just not executing and cannot hold a job.  The truth is, I do not tend to work for big companies forever.  I am not working on some long term career goal where I hope to climb the corporate ladder to reach some ideal position.  My ideal position is working for me and me alone.  What I am doing is building wealth.  Now, in today’s economy this strategy is a little hard to puruse with less companies hiring and less using bonuses etc to lure people but opportunities still exist if you work hard. 

The strategy herre as I said is to build wealth.  Everyone knows, that you do not build wealth working a day job collecting paychecks.  Sure maybe you got in with Google in the early days and are now rich but you are more likely to get struck by lightening than have that happen.  However, if you are like me you cannot just up and quit and start your own business.  I have a mortage, a family, and an penchant for nice things.  So while I am scaling out my ideas and trying to build a sustainable business I am also working on building wealth.  Its pretty simple really:

• The first key to this is always always always negotiate a signing bonus.  Think about it, if you change jobs every 6-12 months and get signing bonuses each time, that can be worth 50-100k right there
• If you can, try to save your vacation time and take time off between jobs.  Vacation balances can be a nice f.u. money bonus when you leave a company. 
• Again, if you can try to stick out one year in every position.  Reason for this is one, get your full vacation balance, two, vest at least some options/RSU’s (always always always negotiate equity deals in any job) and 3, often companies have 401k match that vests after one year
• When it comes to salary for a new position, never take less than a 10% bump.  Honestly, if  a company wants to hire you, they typically want to incent you in some way, say maybe a 5% bump.  Another 5% ill not break the company’s bank.  Push for this and be willing to walk away.
• Basically scap, fight and kick for eveyr nickle and always be willing to walk away.

There are a host of other tactic to building wealth while changing jobs but I can’t divuldge all my secrets…  These strategies though have effectively paid for cars, my house and typically a month or so vacation between roles.  Some may not have the stomach for this but hey, more signing bonuses for me.

 

Now on to the tough part, actually finding a job.   There are a million giude books and tips and tricks to finding work but it really is not that tough.  Now, if you are an expert underwater basket weaver it could be tough but I am sure there are not too many of those.  Here are a few key tactics:

Network, network, network!:   I cannot stress this enough.  The old saying and a title of a good book is “Building your Well Before You’re Thirsty”.   This is critical, even when not looking for work you should always be making connections.  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, these are all critical tools in the toolbox of the networker.  Me, I never stop networking.  I maintain contact and connection with nearly all old co-workers, bosses, aquaintances, you name it.  I keep a log of any and all contact information for nearly everyone who’s path I have crossed. 

Another note on networking is that it does not just mean looking to meet people outside your company.  Most people I connect with are within my current workplace.  A great way to start this process is through “informational interviews”.  Sounds lame, and it is a bit but basically this is a 30 minute meeting with a person at your company or another company to discuss their position, their company, anything.  People LOVE talking about themselves so when doing an info interview ask a lot of questions about the person.  Some tips:

• Learn as much as you can about what they do, their industry etc so you speak intelligently and look like you have done your homework.
•  Send your resume the day before or day of the meeting.  If you send it earlier I guarantee they will not look at it. 
• Try to find out who they know, who do they mix with and see if there are any common connections.
• Imagine where you would ideally like this to lead or better yet who.  In other words, would your ideal end goal be meeting the CEO?  Then trace a path from this person to the CEO and see if you can get there
• Save 5-0 minutes or so at the end to talk about yourseld and your goals.  The key is to leave the meeting with them feeling good (beause they talked about themselves for half an hour) and that the last thing on their mind was you and your goals.
• Never ever ever leave and informational interview without getting a name of another person they think it would be good for you to talk to.  THIS IS CRITICAL

Leverage Your Network

What good is having a network if you don’t use it?  Now this does not mean collecting as many names as possible and then spamming them all when you need a gig.  You have to maintain these relationships.  Its a lot of work, but it is well worth it in the end.  When you leave an infromational interview, try to jot down some topics you discussed, and keep this handy.  When/if you find an article or something relating to once of thsoe topics, share it with your contact telling them you thought they would find this interesting.  It is a great way to you in their mind and ensure they do not forget who you are.

In any event, when you come to the point of looking  for a new job, start poking aorund in your network.  Email these people and ask them if they know of openings anywhere be it with their company or another.  Chances are they have a friend looking to fill a role or in some way can get your on the right path.  Resend your resume to them and ask them to pass it on to anyone they know.  Now this might take a while but I can tell you that it works and works well.  Leveraging your network is actually pretty easy, the key is just to make sure you maintain it and don’t abuse it, and that you work it to your advantage.

Building Your Network and Actually Finding Jobs

So a little more on building your network, here are some more tips:

• Try to get as many recruiters in your network as possible.  Most recruiters do this as a carerr so even if they cannot help you where they are now, chances are they will go somewhere else and will have openings.
• Try to focus on adding people in hiring roles into your network.  In other words you want people who either make or influence hiring decisions.  Its fine to have your buddy who is paper pusher #1 at the pencil factory in your network but chances are he can’t help you
• Any time you have a meeting be it informational or not, add that person to your LinkedIn account.  LinkedIn is the best networking tool around as you can reach anyone.
• Don’t be creepy.  What I mean is, don’t just be someone who is collecting names.  This is about building relationships.  Its fine to add people you don’t know well but really try to work to get to know these people as much as possible.  Most of the successful networking I’ve done that led to a job was with people I consider my friends.  Be ther person other people want to have out to get some drinks or have dinner with.  One of my criteria for hiring almost anyone is whether I would want to sit down to dinner with them, its important.

On finding jobs:

• Of course, leverage your network (duh)
• Use the online job sites. Monster and even CareerBuilder are some of the better ones.  Sure you will inevtiably get the job spam etc but what this can do for you is that the legit recruiters who contact you, even if you are not interested in their job, you add to LinkedIn and bam, new network member.
• Never turn down a recruiting invite all together.  Always ask to be kept in mind for other openings.
• Even if the job looks marginally interesting, do the interview even if just for practice.  I cannot tell you how many people I have rejected just because it was clear they could not interview to save their lives. 
• When using online job sites, make sure your resume is polished.  I don’t just mean some clever fonts and what not.  I am talking about a well designed layout and most importantly a lot of solid keyowrds in there.  Words like, lead, spearheaded, managed, executed, are all examples of the kind of words you want to use
• Don’t over tell in your resume.  You want your resume to work sort of like a billboard.  You never see a ton of text and data on a billboard do you?  Its there to interest the reader to learn more.  Your resume is the same thing.  Short concise bullet points that make the reader want to know more are the best.  Keep it high level but not too general.
• Lastly a secret tip that most people do not know.  One of my secrets to leveraging these sites well is how I manage my resume on the site.  The way it works is that the most recent resumes tend to pop to the top of any search results.  Thus, everyday go in, move a comma or something, move it back then save the file.  This refreshes your resume and keeps it popping up on top. 

Last comment on this is that, jobs don’t fall in your lap.  If you are sitting around lamenting how you want another job, you will never get one.  You have to hustle and scrap just like anything else.  And if you have been laid off or are not working, doing the above just became your job.  And I mean full time.  Don’t waste time sitting around on your ass wishing things were differnet.  Go out and make them different.