Do you believe in the old adage, “What goes around, comes around?”
I do — big time!
If you are a believer too, then I think you can appreciate what this blog post is all about. It’s about offering your help/assistance to others when they are looking for a job or making a career change.
For some people, it may be the first time they’ve had to actively job search in YEARS and are unfamiliar with how to even get started as things have changed dramatically. Others may have had to do more job searching than they’d like to in recent years. While they understand the latest methods and tools, it’s emotionally draining and maybe even a bit humiliating for them.
In both situations, an offer of help is much appreciated!
Not sure how you can help? Let me offer a few suggestions:
- Reach out – Pick up the phone, meet for coffee/lunch/drinks and let them know you care about them and what they are going through. Ask a few questions: How are you doing? How is your family? What type of work are you interested in doing? What are you doing to take care of yourself during this transition period? How can I help and support you? Some people won’t know how to answer this last question so keep reading (see #2). You may also learn something new about that person and realize new opportunities for helping.
- Offer ideas about how you can help/support them – After understanding more about what type of work they want to pursue, you can make a few suggestions like:
- Introduce them to people in your network who could be helpful or relevant for building their network.
- Find out what companies are interesting to them and offer contacts you may have at those companies; leverage your LinkedIn contacts.
- Help them create or refine a LinkedIn profile.
- Review their resume or cover letters.
- Share your own experience in job search activities – what worked well, what didn’t work well. What resources/websites did you find useful?
- If there is a relevant position within your company, offer to pass along their resume to the hiring manager.
3. Respond to their calls/emails – While they may not need your help at this moment, they may in the future. When they reach out to you, respond quickly. They may be sending out a lot of emails with negative or no responses … don’t be another person leaving them hanging.
Why is this important?
Besides being the right thing to do, as stated at the beginning, “what goes around, comes around.” You never know when you may be in a similar situation. Don’t be that guy/gal who people only hear from when you NEED something from them.
It’s the law of attraction: What you put out in the world, comes back to you!
Why not put some goodness out there! Why not today?
Martha Duesterhoft is a Partner with PeopleResults. Follow her on Twitter @mduesterhoft or connect via email at mduesterhoft@people-results.com.
