Read this post from The Daily Machete: Networking: Ask for Specific Help
As a job seeker, how do you ask for help?
I know that depends on who you are talking to. If you are interviewing with someone you don’t ask them the same help questions as you would as a fellow job seeker. And hopefully you don’t ask the same questions of family and close friends.
And then there are the many opportunities where people ask you how they can help you (they might ask “how’s the job search going?” or even something as specific as “what can I do to help you?”).
Too many times we either don’t know what to ask, don’t know how to ask for it, or just miss the golden opportunity completely.
Let me suggest that in a job search one of the most important things you need to figure out is how to ask for help, as well as when to ask for help. Be ready.
One of my most favorite, generally applicable ask-for-help questions is this:
“Do you know anyone who works in xyz [company/industry/profession/role]?”
This is a YES or NO question, they can easily think of it, and if they do, then perhaps they can introduce you to that person.
To many times we miss the opportunity – instead, ask the question I posed above and if you understand it well I think you’ll see your networking, and your job search, CHANGE for the better!
