Lose your job? Author offers advice for making connections Lose your job? Author says volunteer work can build connections: [A Edition]

Abstract

Harvey Mackay, a best-selling author and successful Minneapolis businessman, says he tells the newly jobless he counsels that one of the first things they should do is get involved in volunteer work.

Mackay was in Hartford this week to promote his latest book, "Sharkproof: Get the Job You Want, Keep the Job You Love ... in Today's Frenzied Job Market."

Mackay runs an envelope company in Minneapolis, but has made his name in recent years as an author and motivational speaker. His first two books -- "Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive" and "Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt" -- were both best sellers.

You've lost your job in the latest round of cutbacks and are wondering what to do next.

Harvey Mackay, a best-selling author and successful Minneapolis businessman, says he tells the newly jobless he counsels that one of the first things they should do is get involved in volunteer work.

That, he says, helps build connections and new skills that could prove the difference in getting that next job.

Mackay was in Hartford this week to promote his latest book, "Sharkproof: Get the Job You Want, Keep the Job You Love ... in Today's Frenzied Job Market."

"If there's one lesson, it's that you cannot lose your confidence or your self-esteem. This is 1993, not 1985 or 1981," Mackay says, noting that the job market is perhaps the toughest in 20 years.

"You have to hold your head up high and know it is nothing shameful," to lose a job in this economy, he says. "And you have to develop a plan. You may not get the job you want right away, but you will be successful."

Mackay runs an envelope company in Minneapolis, but has made his name in recent years as an author and motivational speaker. His first two books -- "Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive" and "Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt" -- were both best sellers.

His latest book, "Sharkproof," combines common-sense job-hunting tips with some novel ways to -- as he puts it -- differentiate yourself from the pack. Like most counselors, he talks about the need to stay upbeat, to network continuously, to prepare well for interviews and to keep developing new skills.

But he also suggests taking steps to get yourself noticed. Include a photograph with your resume so the recipient associates a face with the credentials. Find a way to deliver that resume in person, for the same reason.

Mackay includes several examples of unusual approaches -- such as the candidate for a teaching job who sent a singing telegram praising her skills to her intended boss -- that he says have worked.

But Sarah McNaughton, who runs a Bloomfield-based outplacement firm, says those tactics can backfire, depending on the geographic market and the job being sought.

"I've read about people who put giant copies of their resumes on sandwich boards and stand on the corner, but I don't think that would fly in Hartford," says McNaughton, president of CM of New England West.

Why?

Because it defies the conventional business etiquette, which she describes as "fairly conservative" in this area.

"Including a photograph or any kind of glitzy resume -- unless you are going into a field such as communications or advertising -- is generally viewed distastefully," McNaughton says.

Mackay concedes in the book that an applicant must be cautious in using some of the techniques. But he says they can work, in the right circumstances and with the right amount of originality.

More important, though, is approaching the job search as a full-time job. Mackay talks about a multifaceted process that starts with research and networking.

He says a recent nationwide survey showed that 67 percent of people who land jobs do so through networking, about 11 percent by answering advertisements and only 2 percent by sending random resumes.

That means you increase your odds by working that network, whether it is through volunteer work with a community group or by calling up your college alumni office to find people working at a company where you have applied.

Once you've gotten the interview, Mackay says, you can boost your chances with good preparation. Research all you can about the company. Talk to employees and customers, if possible, to get a feel for how the company operates and what skills it values.

And practice for the interview. Have a friend ask likely questions so you can work on your answers. Videotape the session so you can get a sense of how you might be perceived.

After the actual interview, debrief yourself. Your interviewer will do it, Mackay says. So should you. Jot down the questions you feel you answered well and those you feel you did not. Use that to improve your performance in your next interview.

And send a thank-you note immediately. If possible, Mackay suggests, hand deliver it the same day of the interview.

"The process is very important," Mackay says of landing the right job. "You can't just point to one thing. It's doing a lot of little things right over a long period of time."

McNaughton agrees, although she says job seekers must take care not to present a false image.

"We encourage people not to try to change their stripes," she says, adding that she tells people it's important they feel comfortable during an interview. "Whatever you do, it's got to feel right.