SPEAKER'S CORNER: Gregory Stewart on Identifying the “Hidden Job” Marketplace

By Steve Lewkowitz
Greg Stewart of NexGen Management provided guidelines for finding the jobs before they get posted.
Leverage all of your contacts
Don’t limit yourself to your own contacts; leverage your friends’ and acquaintances’ contacts as well. Your friends will give you the truth and provide a second set of eyes. This is always important so that you get an outsider’s opinion to your approach and resume. It will help you to develop the proper tools to put in place that will hopefully help you succeed in your job search.

• One of the first things that you should do in your job search is to develop a strategy. As part of the strategy, the following need to be considered:
  • Identify your trusted sources (friends, acquaintances, etc.).
  • Develop your value proposition (what makes you different than the others and will make your “rise” to the top).
  • Identify your core skills.
  • Identify the marketplace that you want to go after (large, medium, or smaller companies). The process of searching for a job may be different based on the size of the organization that you wish to pursue.
  • Identify your advocates.
  • Decide how you are going to connect with your advocates.
  • Follow-up with them.
  • Repeat and follow up.
  • Always remember to promote and reinforce your brand. You are always “selling” yourself. You are the product.
  • Another key aspect is don’t rely only on the internet to communicate with people. Make phone calls. Each week, at a minimum, you should identify five individuals that you have not communicated with recently and reach out to them via phone. People are too tied to the computer nowadays for communicating. Stand out from the crowds by using verbal communication in addition to the computer.
  • When it comes to LinkedIn, make sure that you know the people that you have linked to. Don’t just link with people just to link to them. Make a commitment to reach out to everyone on your list at least once a year.
  • Continue networking even if you have a job. When you communicate with someone, ask questions. For those that have a change in status, ask for an update. People like to talk about themselves and this will open up the conversation.
  • Make sure that you categorize your contacts. This will allow you to easily access the contacts that you need to reach out to, based on your current situation.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for a reference. People are typically OK with doing this if asked.
  • Make sure that you modify your message based on the audience.   You need to customize the conversation based on whom you are speaking or communicating with. Ensure that you include keywords to quickly grab their attention.
  • You want your leads to come in regularly. Don’t do things to have them all come in at once and then not being able to follow up on them. Spread out your activities.
  • Use key tools to find out changes in organizations and then follow up on them. Also review online press releases. Some of the tools include:
    • NJBiz
    • Contractor Guide
    • Find Law
    • MetroNJ
    • When you are invited to an interview, always find out the dress code and then over dress. It is always good to be better dressed than the people interviewing you.
    • Don’t send generic LinkedIn requests. Make the request personal. You will get better results that way and it is a good way to start communicating with the contact.

By following these recommendations, your job search should be more successful.
Greg Stewart is the co-founder and President of NexGen Management, LLC. In 2003, after more than 30 years as a top performer in sales, sales management, operations and product management/marketing in the global high tech industry, he started this Professional Services and Executive Coaching firm. NexGen Management specializes in providing advice, leadership and guidance to Business Owners and Managers in improving the professional management, business operations and financial performance of their business, ranging in size from a single ownership to a FORTUNE 500 corporation, with a focus on improving profitability.