Up Close And Successful

Here’s how to land a job using the simplest, most profound method I know: Go hang out with people who do the work you want to do, where you want to do it.

Several years ago I coached a manager who wanted to change jobs and move 2,000 miles to a new area—a city he’d never been in and knew little about. He had no contacts there at all, but he got the job he wanted without reading job postings, sending resumes, filling out job applications, or seeking interviews.

Instead, he showed up.

I told him to buy tickets to two or more professional and industry events in the city where he wanted to work and to pay for his own airfare and hotels. He made two trips of several days each.

I also told him not to ask anyone for a job and not to give anyone his resume. His task was to attend events and presentations, but only after studying the speakers and meeting the people who coordinated those events. His mission was to talk shop with them and to let these people introduce him to the movers and shakers in the city—anyone even remotely connected to the industry and companies he wanted to work in.

Within three months he had the job he wanted, and he told me that by the time he was done, among all the people he’d met no one had more contacts and connections in that city, in that industry, than he did now.

It’s an example of how to land a job using the simplest, most profound method I know: Go hang out with people who do the work you want to do, where you want to do it.

Among all the tips I gave him, he said one had the biggest impact on his success with the least amount of effort and risk. It’s worth explaining how I learned this myself, before I tell you what he did.

Get Up Close

In another career, I worked for a small, scrappy startup computer company that quickly grew into a very successful business. One of the founders was a guy in his 20s who tackled opportunities that would never occur to anyone twice his age.

Shortly after Glenn Paul hired me, he invited me along to industry events so I could learn the ins and outs of the business. But rather than just mingle with other professionals like most people do at such things, we actually attended every keynote speech, presentation, and demonstration we could.

At the first event, we entered an auditorium of over 300. As we walked down the aisle, I turned into a row of seats about halfway down. Glenn nudged me along—“No, keep going. Closer.”

You’ve been to such events, where the first two or three rows are always vacant. No one wants to sit in those seats. It’s just too close. But Glen instructed me, “Up front. In the first row.”

There was no one else there. We sat right in front of the speaker. He smiled at us as he arranged his notes. “Hi there,” Glenn said to him. “We’re looking forward to what you have to say.”

The speaker chatted with us and then started his presentation. All the while, this industry luminary periodically looked at Glenn and me, smiled, and seemed to be talking directly to us alone.

Many years later, when giving keynotes became a big part of my business, I learned what was going on. The best way for a nervous presenter to stay calm and focused is to pick out someone in the audience—a friendly face—and look at them throughout the presentation. If you talk to that face, your presentation will be more friendly and engaging, and you’ll do a better job.

‘Who Else Should I Talk With?’

Glenn and I did that presenter a favor by making ourselves his best friends during his speech. Afterwards, we were the first to walk up and speak with him, and it was like we were old friends.

We asked him who else we should meet and talk with to learn more about the topic of his talk. He introduced us to other movers and shakers at the event. I followed up with him days later, and he put me in touch with people who became my customers. (See “A Good Network Is A Circle Of Friends.”)

The manager I coached who got the long-distance job did exactly that at each event he attended, and he always asked speakers and event handlers, “Who else do you suggest I talk with to learn more about the industry in this city?”

By the time each of his two trips was over, these industry experts introduced him to company presidents—one of whom hired him.

Getting up close made him successful. Me, too, I like to think. I still walk right up to the first row and sit right in front of any speaker. I’m usually the only one. Who needs job applications and interviews when you’re already talking with the most important person in the room?