#JobSearch : Here’s How Making Casual Video Calls Can Be A Smart Job Search, Networking Strategy.

I’ve been hosting online Zoom career and job-search advice meetups to help people navigate through these tough times. With people self-isolating at home and disconnected from the outside world, it’s easy to feel forgotten.

Think of this networking strategy as channeling your inner Johnny Appleseed—planting seeds in a lot of places that will eventually grow, blossom, and yield fruit from your labor. 

You may be working from home and periodically checking into work, but it’s not the same as being there. You can’t go out to lunch with a colleague, grab a cup of coffee with a former co-worker, or have an impromptu beer with a collection of friends from different companies. These small ways to keep in touch and network with folks are gone for the time being.

If you’re in between jobs, it’s even more difficult. You’re stuck at home and don’t have the option of going outside to attend a face-to-face interview, looking someone in the eyes, and shaking their hand. It’s a catch-22. You need a job, but 26 million people have already filed for unemployment benefits since mid-March. You can’t engage in social interactions and hiring is at a standstill. Non-essential businesses are closed.

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Companies that are still operating lack clarity of what will happen next. Management is more preoccupied with staying afloat than adding to the headcount. They contend that it’s more reasonable to simply take a wait-and-see approach to hire until there’s some semblance of an end to this pandemic and the economic toll it’s taken on us.

Now that many of the traditional means used to search for a job are rendered useless, here’s a smart and productive hack. Jed Clark, the former chief compliance officer for ICONIQ Capital, a multifamily office and private equity firm, offered a brilliant solution during one of my virtual meetups.

A little backstory is helpful. Clark previously left his important executive job to embark upon a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world, planning to visit 11 countries on 4 different continents. He meditated in silence for 10 days in Prachin Buri, Thailand, trekked 125 miles over 13 days in the Nepali Himalayas, circumnavigated the Annapurna Massif, taking a very cold (and brief) swim in Tilicho Lake at an altitude of 16,000 feet and crossed the Thorong La mountain pass at an elevation of nearly 18,000 feet during an early morning snowstorm. In the midst of his wild journey, the coronavirus hit, and Clark was forced to rush back home to San Francisco.

Although he returned home without a job, Clark wanted to keep mentally occupied and start seeking out a new position during one of the toughest job markets in recent history. He casually shared with the group what he’s been doing since arriving home and self-quarantined. Clark said that he had a goal of setting up three or more video calls a day with people. The online calls are with former co-workers, bosses, people who have reported into him in the past and extended out to casual business relationships.

Clark tailored a brief email politely asking the person if they’d like to jump on a quick video chat to catch up. No agenda or ulterior motive was mentioned. His theory, which has proven true, was that everyone is in the same boat now. We’re all incredibly bored and stuck at home looking for something to do, as there’s only so much time you can spend binge-watching Netflix shows, like the Tiger King. We all need something a little different and interesting to pass the time. It’s an added bonus if it’s also productive. What’s better than mixing a friendly reacquainting, talking shop and maybe gaining something valuable out of the conversation?

The call would be light and go over the standard stuff, like how’s the family, gossiping about mutual friends, sharing what’s new and discussing ways to cope with our collective new reality.

Invariably, the person will ask Clark about his work. When informed that he’s no longer connected with his firm, the other person would usually offer to help, almost as a knee-jerk reaction. They’d provide some advice and suggestions, as well as a name or two of people whom he should get in touch with. The more video calls he made, the more job leads were generated.

As you can imagine, ditching your well-paying, high-end job for a trek about the globe takes chutzpah. Clark is friendly, articulate and unafraid of taking risks, so it comes easy to him to initiate the cold video calls. We’re not all that fortunate to possess that level of gregariousness and comfort level of putting ourselves out there and possibly getting blown off.

It may feel awkward at first, but I’d suggest that you should immediately add this tactic to your job search repertoire. This is especially a brilliant move during this time period. Within weeks or months, most of us will hopefully be out of our homes and back to the daily grind and the moment will be gone.

By now, we’ve been locked up at home for a month or so. We’ve lost all concept of time, so it’s hard to remember exactly how long it’s been. As most of us are at our wits’ end, it’s a perfect time to reach out to someone and say “hello.” They’ll be happy to hear from you, as they’re bored silly and hungry for someone new to see and speak with. Once we return to work, this approach may not work as well. Right now, this is the perfect time to reach out to as many people as possible.

You should start by contacting co-workers, former colleagues, friends, business associates, family members with some insights and connections, college alumni, the kids you grew up with who went on to bigger and better things and haven’t spoken with in years, as well as anyone else who you think it makes sense to get in touch with.

You don’t need to force anything. Strive for a nice, casual conversation. When the time’s right, you can ask for some help if they don’t offer it first. Under the circumstances, it’s socially acceptable to say that you’d like to find a new job and could use some help. Most people will feel flattered that you asked them. Be forewarned. There will always be a few people who are not interested in helping and won’t be bothered.

Reaching out to recruiters is important too; however, there is a catch. Many of them may not currently have many—if any—relevant jobs available to share, as companies are aggressively cutting back hiring. That’s okay. The goal is to just at least get in front of them, so they know who you are. When things start opening up again, they’ll remember you and keep you in mind when they have appropriate job requisitions available.

Think of this networking strategy as channeling your inner Johnny Appleseed—planting seeds in a lot of places that will eventually grow, blossom and yield fruit from your labor.

In addition to the video calls, remember to follow up with these individuals on social media sites to keep in touch. Connect with them on LinkedIn and Facebook. Like and comment on things that they post. Share information about your job search. Write articles or share videos to remind them that you’re still actively searching.

The video call is an effective job search strategy, but you should still continue searching for jobs online, submitting résumés, completing applications, practicing your elevator pitch and following up on leads.

Author:   Jack Kelly