Motivational Monday: If Opportunity Doesn’t Knock, Build A Door – On Connections

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On Creating Connections

4 Things You Shouldn’t Do If You Want That Connection

Here are four items to check you’re not doing:

•  Look Desperate

• Take Your Time Responding

Be sure to get back to people on time!  Students, potential clients, potential employers – even if you simply write back to acknowledge you’ve received their email and will respond back later in the day or week, it can help.

• Bank On One Connection

Of course, cast your net wide!  Look to meet people in whatever job or social scenario you find yourself in, and ask people about themselves. People love to talk instead of listen; this way you can learn lots about them, and see if they can help you in the future.  Be ready to help them, too, though!

• Be Picky (Within Reason)

So, this one’s debatable.  How picky should you be if you are on the job hunt and searching for your dream career? Balancing your financial situation and temporary job search with looking for your dream job can be tough.  While I don’t think you should apply to every job out there, interviewing for any positions that might be interesting could help you create contacts and connections for the future.

3 Tips: What To Do If You Feel You Have Missed Opportunities

1.  Cold Call

You’d be surprised how much this works! Cold calls can be in the form of Linked In messages, emails, or actual phone calls. Simply expressing interest in someone’s organization or company can lead to them being willing to talk.  Don’t discount an opportunity or connection because you think it’s way out of your league – you may surprise yourself!

2.  Ask Your Network (Confidently)

Well, this one seems obvious – but ask the people you know.  Way back about a year ago, I started panicking a bit about my university teaching career in Barcelona, as I’d heard rumours that it was nearly impossible to snag a good position.

Don’t believe everything you hear!  Believe you can do it, and confidently ask your connections for information.  Be sure you tell people to keep you in mind for any upcoming jobs.  You’d be surprised what simply letting people know can do for you.  If it doesn’t manifest into something great right away, don’t worry.

Let’s just say that I can think of two excellent opportunities I have where I made the first connection over 6 months before there was an actual job lined up for me to apply to.

Keep going, and keeping building doors for those opportunities to slide through!

3.  Revisit Your Goals