I have spoken on networking and personal branding to numerous networking groups frequented by people in transition including ExecuNet, CafeNet, Women Sage, Ken Tudhope ‘s Networking Group for CFO’s, and the Challenger Networking Group.  I am also one of the Founders of Laguna Niguel Connectors which has over 2800 members.  I relate to people in transition because as a consultant I am always perpetually employed in many ways.

Because of my network, companies sometimes use me for recruiting so I have talked and met with numerous job seekers.  I see a lot of good things and some things that scare me and make me ask why would a person do that or not do that?

So here are some tips for job hunters for 2012.  Finally the hiring momentum is moving in the right direction.  Make sure that you are ready to capitalize.

• First, sharpen your tools.  Many times I see resumes with no e mails, I see no salutations on people’s emails, I get calls on my cell phone from blocked numbers so I cannot call the people back when I am driving.  All of these things make it harder to get in touch with people.  In this day and age of numerous candidates for every position you have to make yourself as sticky as possible and extremely easy to connect with.
• Invest in yourself. When I hear the news comments about the hundreds of thousands of people who have stopped working I can’t help to wonder if some of those people just aren’t keeping themselves marketable. Is your business card stock the weight of toilet paper?  If your Linkedin photo looks like it was shot by an amateur you aren’t investing in yourself.  Who’s to blame if you aren’t staying current on trends, technology, social media and other hiring practices?
• Drop any negative baggage.  It’s a weight. Don’t listen to your mind. Feed your mind. The smarter you become, the easier you will be to hire and the better your attitude will be.
• Quit wasting your time.  Asking second degree connections on Linkedin to introduce you to somebody that they are connected with on the second or third degree is not a warm introduction.  It is futility in job hunting.  Networking isn’t connecting strangers to strangers.
• Remember that in hiring there are two clocks.  There is the company hiring clock that moves very very slowly.  And then there is the hiring clock for people in transition.  They do not run at the same speed.  Not even close.  Quit driving yourself crazy by trying to align them.  Things will happen when they are meant to. You have no control over the schedule.
• Who were the two or three most influential people you met last year?  Spend more time with them in the coming year.  Obviously they had an impact on you.  Try to stoke those fires by spending more time with them. They are as valuable as Connectors.
• Think of Linkedin as Twitter and update your profile with substance four times a day.  Remember that your target audience is not your friends but your potential hiring manager.  Post accordingly.
• If you have stopped networking you have stopped looking for a job.  Over 70% of jobs are found through referrals or associates.  You only need to meet one person to change your life. There is a good chance they won’t come to your house. What if they were at that networking event or Starbucks you blew off derailing your potential journey?  People create opportunities not Tweets.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch some this video on How To Rise Above the Crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkO7efleWX4

Read this article on How To Create a Job.

http://hankblank.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/how-to-create-a-job-by-creating-a-consulting-career/