What? 90,000, yep well that’s the zenith of the rule of 300. Basically the rule of 300 says that each of us knows approximately 300 people. Ministers plan for 300 people at weddings, funerals, christenings..
So what if, in your job hunt you contacted all of the 300 people you know and they could be family, friends, acquaintances, workmates, teachers, former workmates, club members, business owners, the list goes on and on – I mean EVERYONE you know.
And each of them knows 300 people, do the math 300 x 300 = 90,000.
Now is it realistic to expect that EVERYONE of the 300 people you know and contact will talk to their 300 people as well.
NOT A CHANCE. and there will be OVERLAP of people that know you too.
However IF you do it right – know what you are looking for and ESPECIALLY what you have to offer and present it in a succinct, polite manner AND – this is the really important bit
FOLLOW UP. FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP
- my nine word speech that echoes Sir Winston Churchill’s
NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP
- oh, and don’t you EVER do that either!
you’ll hopefully achieve a few outcomes
1. people who respect your organised, disciplined and well presented approach, and who know you, may very well be inclined to provide you with the leads you are after.
2. you’ll have a fantastic system for tracking and following up on projects that will be a fantastic addition to your resume.
3. and lastly and the point of all of this, you will hopefully get a job.
To summarize
1. make a list of EVERYONE you know – a spreadsheet is probably best for ease of tracking
2. schedule a regular time each week to work on this and stick to it
3. create a polite, succinct written letter outlining what you are after, what you have to offer and requesting their assistance in putting out the request to their contacts as well.
4. send out your letters / emails (you may like to stagger this say to 20 per week)
5a. 7 days after you have sent the first batch of letters
b. FOLLOW UP with a polite phone call and at the same time
c. Send your second batch of letters / emails
d. Follow up any leads your network provides you
6. 7 days after this repeat 5a. – d with your third batch and follow ups
It’s all about knowing what you want, knowing deep down inside you that you will get it, (this or something better) knowing what you have to offer, knowing that it is an in demand skillset and putting it out there and following up until you hit a job and hopefully one that fulfills your bailiwick (love that word it means A person’s specific area of interest, skill, or authority).
If you’d like some help to put together your own job getting campaign email me for details at careerangel@gmail.com with “Yes I’m ready to have up to 90,000 people on my team” in the subject line.
Next post I’ll talk about how to do this via social media as another way to spread your message.
I’m excited, I hope you are too.
Shelley
