Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Peer Infiltration Networking – Network Down and Across for Job Hunting Success

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Regular readers know that networking is one of my favorite topics. I especially love when I find expert sources who confirm the advice I’ve been giving my clients! A recent New York Times article by Hannah Seligson highlighted a trend identified with Generation Y job seekers, but I think it is a valuable strategy for everyone to use when networking. What is it? “Peer infiltration” – networking down and across instead of networking “up.” In other words, don’t try to network with the top branches of the tree; if you’re a middle branch, or down near the roots, find others like you and network with them!

How does it work? The article quotes Tamara Erickson, a researcher on generational differences in the workplace and author of Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, as saying that most job seekers born since 1980 prefer to network with their peers instead of targeting high-level professionals.

Seligson notes:

Lindsey Gerdes, 28, a staff editor at BusinessWeek who writes about Generation Y, says that, particularly in finance, knowing someone your own age can be an important step to getting your foot in the door. “If you are one of these young analysts that lost their job and you don’t know someone in your demographic or from your college that works in your industry, get to know one,” she says. “These young people are the ones with their ears to the ground about hiring needs.”

The article suggests that savvy job seekers take advantage of formal and informal, in-person (“schmoozing”) and online networking opportunities. Networking isn’t rocket science; it makes sense to create a lateral network with friends and extended contacts for information about opportunities.

I think an approach that focuses on peers makes networking much more do-able for anyone who hesitates to “ask for help” and for those who are not comfortable contacting high-level professionals. The fact is, starting where you are is the best networking strategy, as long as where you are includes a tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and even Twitter, and that you make a point to attend in-person networking events as part of your plans.

The article also reminds us that job seekers (and everyone hoping to have a great network) needs to cultivate relationships beyond basic friendships so that contacts will be able to vouch for them professionally. When networking in social settings (including online), keep your professional goals in mind.

Just as it isn’t a good idea to bad-mouth your boss on your Facebook page, it may not sit well with professional “friends” to learn about unsavory job antics, such as when you called in sick after a long night out or how you manage to stretch your lunch on days you’re bored. Oversharing about your personal relationships and anything else that may be considered “TMI” (too much information) is best kept for close friends.

If you’re hoping for a strong professional network, keep it friendly, but save the nitty-gritty details of your life for friends who aren’t prone to judge you based on your own errors in judgment.

Have you successfully used peer networking? Does it sound more do-able than what you’ve been trying to do? Share your thoughts!

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers can help with every aspect of your job search. Need a resume? Don’t know where to get started? We can help!

photo by Old Shoe Woman

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Review of Retire Retirement, by Tamara Erickson

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Regular readers know that I have been reviewing Tamara Erickson’s book, Retire Retirement. Although aimed at Boomers (born 1946 – 1964), the book offers insights that are useful across the generational alphabet!  Erickson’s research suggests that work culture will change in the next decade for several reasons:

1.  To accommodate Boomers seeking flexible, new experiences.  As the first generation with the realistic expectation of a 30-year healthy, active life after age 55, Boomers may engage in several new careers!

2. Because of Gen Y’s desire to have a work-life balance and refusal to join companies requiring 60-hour work weeks. 

(It seems as if Gen X doesn’t have much to say in this matter!)

Erickson makes the case that Boomers who wish to stay in the paid workforce will leverage a lot of power:

  • Boomer skills and experience are needed. Employers don’t want to experience the “brain drain” of Boomers retiring in droves.
  • Technology and a changing economy offer flexible ways of working.
  • Research shows that workers over 55 are more reliable and loyal than younger workers.

Erickson encourages readers to dream big and to think optimistically about their plans.  She believes that by 2025, more companies will embrace next-generation enterprises, which she describes as:

Intensely collaborative, continually informed, technologically adept and skilled at on-going experimentation…Companies will adopt flexible relationships and continual active connections to attract both talented employees and loyal customers (49).

As a result, she believes that employees should reasonably expect the following in the next 5 years:

  • Flexible time.  Changing shifts, compressed work week, individualized schedule.
  • Reduced time. Part-time, job sharing, leave-of-absence programs.
  • Cyclic time. Project-based or contract work.  Employees will focus on a project for a number of weeks or months, complete the work and then either take a break or move on to a new contract.  (Read more about this here.)
  • Flexible place. Telecommuting, no fixed location for work.
  • Task, not time. Instead of working 9 to 6, for example, employees would have a task and be required to put in only the time that it takes to get the work done.

Erickson offers specific strategies for Boomers to negotiate a new work plan.  She encourages this powerful and large group to reinvent themselves and dream big!  The book also outlines a myriad of ways for those seeking a brand new challenge (not with current or similar employers) to leverage their reputation, or “brand.”

Erickson emphasizes that responsibility for a new and improved work life is up to YOU!  Boomers (and future generations) need to plan in advance, position themselves and plot a course to navigate a desired career path.  Many successful workers will map their route years in advance and steer toward their goal.  Others will take advantage of unexpected opportunities.  Either way, a life’s worth of work impacts our options if we wish to work beyond traditional retirement age with the benefit of flexibility and personal choice.

If Erickson is correct about the changes coming to the workplace, Boomers, and younger generations as well should read Retire Retirement to begin to plan how to position themselves in a brave new working world!

Keppie Careers can help you achieve your career goals at any age!  Need a resume?  Job hunting help?  Keppie Careers will assist you every step of the way:  www.keppiecareers.com.

Cross-Generational Offices: Is Gen Y Narcissistic?

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As regular readers may know, I’ve been reading Tamara Erickson’s book, Retire Retirement:  Career Strategies for the Boomer Generation, which is scheduled for release on March 10th.  One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is Erickson’s description of how each generation’s influences (society and culture, formative teen years, etc.) impact who they are as people, and consequently, how they tend to interact in the workplace.  (Stay tuned for a complete review.)

So, today, when I saw Erickson’s article, Gen Y:  Really All That Narcissistic? in BusinessWeek.com, one message really resonated:  In the workplace, it’s valuable to consider our colleagues’ backgrounds and upbringing in order to interact successfully. 

Unlike in life, where we can choose our friends, we don’t always have a choice about co-workers.   Cross-generational workplaces are the norm in most cases, and (per Erickson’s research) will continue to be the norm as Boomers continue to participate in the paid working world long after the traditional retirement age. 

So, what should we know about Gen Y?

Erickson describes research that tags Gen Y as “30 percent more narcissistic in 2006 than was the average student in 1982.”  Dr. Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at the University of San Diego, came to this conclusion by analyzing data from an inventory that asks participants to rate themselves based on statements such as “I think I am a special person.”

Having been raised by parents who have been telling them how special they are for their entire lives, it would seem odd for Gen Y respondents NOT to agree that they are special!  I would suggest that a parent might worry if their young person rates themselves low on the “special” scale. 

Erickson points out that this is a shift in our perceptions.  She observes, “In 1982, saying that you were a “special person” would have been a fairly odd thing to do.” 

So, Gen Y members were raised to believe they are special.  They also have a propensity for praise, having grown accustomed to regular positive feedback.  As workers, they may expect supervisors to shower them with compliments and attention.  Boomers and Gen Xers may see Gen Y as spoiled or lazy (expecting praise for the smallest accomplishment). 

Erickson’s book points out that Boomers have only themselves to blame.  After all, they were the ones passing out trophies to winners and “not winners,” and giving their Gen Y children the sense of entitlement they now resent in the workplace.

So, Boomer and Gen X bosses can be more sensitive to the fact that their Gen Y employees thrive on praise.  Gen Y employees can appreciate that workers from previous generations don’t think that “excessive” praise is necessary in the workplace.  A little understanding can go a long way!

PS – Tammy Erickson’s next book targets Gen Y – Plugged In:  The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, is expected in November 2008.

Keppie Careers can help you at any stage of your career.  We’ll write your resume and coach you through the job hunt:  www.keppiecareers.com

Read Any Good Books Lately?

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One of of the best parts of writing a blog is joining a community of bloggers and sharing ideas, opinions and sometimes games!  Today, Anita Bruzzese, blogger, columnist and author of 45 Things You Do that Drive Your Boss Crazy tagged me in what she calls a “new meme being passed around the blogosphere.”  

Anita describes the rules:

Find the book nearest to you, go to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence and then type the following three sentences. After that, you pass the message along to other people you want to bug… uh, get to contribute.

Anita’s contribution:
Of course, the book nearest me is my own, “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy…and How to Avoid Them”:

Anything that has a “those people kind of edge to it should be ommitted from your language in the workplace.  Speak up if there a problem. If you find something a coworker says is insenstive, take the person aside and calmly say, “You know, you’re giving all women a bad name when you make sweeping, derogatory comments about men.” Focus on the behavior, not the person. Calling someone a racist or a bigot won’t get you anywhere — it will just erect more barriers.”

My contribution:
I have been reading a soon-to be-released book by Tamara Erickson, published by Harvard Business Press – Retire Retirement:  Career Strategies for the Boomer Generation.  This optimistic book takes a look at opportunities and changes that may be coming to the workplace as boomers reach retirement age:

Request a lateral move.  Lateral moves are a particular subset of fresh assignments that allow you to develop new skill sets, thus providing even greater scope of experience, and enhance learning more, than a new assignment based on your existing skill set.  Ideally a transfer sideways would be based on some mix of new knowledge and existing strong capabilities. Expect options to move laterally to become more common; with the changing shape of the workforce, vertical promotions – advancement up the hierarchy – will occur less frequently.

Stay tuned for a full review of Erickson’s book on this blog!

I’m going to pass this game on to some friends at Secrets of the Job Hunt:

Chris Russel of Jobs In Pods, Phil Rosenberg of Recareered  and Sam Blum of Razume.

Please, join in!

Keppie Careers will help make your job search possible!  www.keppiecareers.com