What Does a Job Search Have to do With Ancient Greece

What Does a Job Search Have to do With Ancient GreeceWhat Does a Job Search Have to do With Ancient GreeceTo gain an edge in the job hunt, study the people within the company youre pursuing.A successful career-change candidate can study a target company much like an anthropologist studies ancient cultures by understanding the needs of its people.Just as the ancient Greeks actions were driven by their needs for education, culture, politics and protection, a company is driven by its needs to earn profits (or meet its goals for non-profits). This includes solving current problems and optimizing its culture.This perspective can help any candidate, but its especially important to job seekers who want to transfer their skills to a new field. The better a career-change candidate understands an organizations needs, the better they can demonstrate how their skills solve that organizations problems.Sounds simple So why is changing careers so challenging for most?Most candidates dont take the time to learn what an organizations needs really are. They arent effective anthropologists. Instead, they just research publicly available information. Thats elend anthropology.Anthropologists study people. So can career-changers.The typical candidates research simply isnt that deep. Hell survey a companys Web site its financial statements (if public) and text in its ads and if he is really enterprising dig through pages of Google results.Very few candidates take the time to research the people at the company, yet gaining insight into an organizations people can be a huge advantage.Whats the best way a career change candidate can research the people in a target organization?Dont ask for a referralTalk to them. Talk to as many as you can, but not in the way most candidates do. Most candidates talk to people in an organization so theyll be referred to a decision maker. That might happen, but its a premature goal.Could you effectively leverage that referral or articulate your transfera ble skills without understanding the organizations people?Probe the commonalities of the staffIn your conversations, make your goal to gain an understanding of the people in that organization.What do they have in common?What is the organizations style and culture?What are the organizations problems, goals, challenges and roadblocks?How do those issues affect the job function and department you are targeting?Look in the right places.How do you find the right people to talk to? What if you dont know enough people at your target company? Start here1. Social networksThis is where your network comes in handy. Dont abuse your network by spamming them with requests for references. Instead, leverage your networks knowledge to gain an understanding of your target companys people, culture and issues.Connect to people at your target organizations, and start conversations through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Again, dont underutilize these new and weaker relationships by asking for a job refe rral. Give before you get give industry information, competitive information and give them referrals. As you get to know them better, give them help (such as volunteering help for a charity and referring people who can help them). Give before you ask, because job-search anthropologists need karma it builds trust.2. LunchEat lunch close to your target company. Eat at the counter if there is one. Tell the waiter that youre targeting a nearby company for a job and want to meet people from that organization. Leave a big tip because this process may take a few attempts, and the waiter is a great inside track. Stay away from formal lunch meetings instead, target friends informally lunching together. Say hi and start a conversation.3. Happy hourCheck out the closest bars to your target organization, and go Thursday or Friday after work. Again, tip generously to find who works for your target company. Youll also find that buying a round of drinks builds trust and loosens lips. (Ever notice that people talk with less inhibition about their work week at happy hour?) The less you drink and the more you buy, the better information youll find. As with lunch, this may take a few evenings.4. ListenA good anthropologist has great hearing. Youll not only need to listen to what people are saying but also how they are saying it. Each organization has its own internal language, jargon and code. Learn it.5. LearnThe better you get at using the organizations own language in your resume, in gathering your research and in a job interview, the better chance youll have at success Your goal should be to have the target companys hiring manager think they could talk to you, think youd understand the organization, think you get it think youll fit.In addition, the more you listen and learn, the more youll hear about an organizations problems. Do employees ever complain when theyre away from the office? Do they ever talk about frustrations and about whats not working, about what they wish t hey could change?If you ask a stranger, Whats your companys biggest problem? you might not get so much useful information. Instead, if you ask a more personal question, especially after a few drinks (If you could change one thing about your work, what would it be?) youll probably unplug a river of information especially if you follow up with Why? If youve done this well, your new friend will thank you for listening and might even apologize for hogging the conversation.Where will you gain more value Asking a stranger to refer you for a job? Or making a friend of that stranger by sharing coffee or a drink and listening to his frustrations about work at an organization that you are targeting?Understanding your target organizations people, culture and needs is critical when trying to change careers. Focusing on the people in your target company enables you to articulate your potential contributions in the companys own unique language. If you are trying to change industry or function, this can provide the edge you need to overcome the natural advantage of industry insiders.How will you make your new skills of organizational anthropology work for your job search?