Many people don’t realize they have the power to directly help their friends, family and former colleagues find work in this recession.
An article in today’s Wall Street Journal article highlights how ranks of unemployed often quickly tap their resources; they’ve reached out to their network of recruiters and business contacts, and have applied to every job posted online that could be a match with their background. What is the next step?
A social networking site on Twitter called JobAngels is dedicated to helping people find jobs across a broad range of industries. In short, every day people like you offer to take someone who is unemployed “under their wing” in the effort to help them find a new position. This might take the form of resume editing, sharing job leads, leveraging personal networks and making referrals. As a recruiter at Paladin, these personal referrals and recommendations about a potential candidate do make a difference; I consistently take the extra time to review a candidate referral, and it typically strengthens my relationship with that “angel” as well.
You might think that you don’t know of any immediate job openings or that you don’t know enough people to truly be a resource to someone who is unemployed – not true. Take a moment today to connect with someone who is unemployed and extend that helping hand. You’ll be surprised what you’re able to do.
Since JobAngels was created on Twitter last month, more than 1,500 people have become involved, and over 10,000 individual JobAngel messages have been sent over the social media site.
How can you help just one person in the next month?
March 31st, 2009 at 10:20 am
Elise, you hit the angel on the head!
I’m baffled when people think their own networks aren’t strong enough to help someone out – or even strong enough to help themselves. Sometimes I feel like sending some of these folks a Tony Robbins DC collection. Even if you aren’t as connected as the Bush family, you’re good enough and so is your network. In fact, if anyone thinks they wouldn’t do anyone any good as a JobAngel, that’s even more reason to become one. Doing something like this may be an opportunity for an employed individual to not only help someone unemployed, but it may also strengthen and grow their own network. And people will soon be surprised just how good their network already is.