Why you should pay it forward during your job search

As a job seeker, you’re going to come across postings and opportunities that you know aren’t fits. When this happens to me, I do my best to think about who in my professional network would be a match for the opportunity and may be interested in a new path. I find that recruiters appreciate the suggestion and the person in my network is flattered that someone thought enough of their professional abilities to recommend them for a job.

To be honest, I don’t know why I take the time to recommend other people for jobs or opportunities. At the end of the day, I think it’s just a nice thing to do that doesn’t require too much effort.

Why should you pay it forward?

“You could view this as more of an altruistic thing to do,” said Cynthia Pong, a 2019 LinkedIn Top Voice in job search and careers. “You could do it because chances are that it will come back to you in some form. Also, people are so touched when you do these things for them and it’s a small way to sponsor them.”

How can passing a person’s name along to a recruiter or sending them a posting “come back to you?” First, you’re creating a larger and more engaged network. Second, if the person ultimately gets the job, they may be in a position to advocate for you internally when the right position comes along. You’re also bringing more people into the job search process, which can make the experience seem less lonely, said Pong, who is the founder of Embrace Change.

Even if you stand to benefit from such a recommendation, Pong said you shouldn’t connect people with opportunities and expect that person to pay back the favor later on. “Don’t do it in that way. Do it if you believe it’s a good fit and a good recommendation.”

If you want to take it a step further, you can also use these recommendations to make things more equitable for everyone. People who receive a lot of emails from recruiters or hiring managers may want to think of those in their network who may not always get the same opportunities. “I view it as sharing the wealth,” said Pong.

Getting over the “me” mindset

You should take center stage during your job search, but that shouldn’t keep you from helping people in your network when given the opportunity. When I’ve passed people’s names along to recruiters or hiring managers, I knew the position was not the right fit for me. So, I wasn’t losing an opportunity since I wouldn’t excel in that job anyway. As we’ve discussed in past issues of #GetHired, job searching should be about finding the right job — not just any job.

“I never encourage people to buy into the scarcity mindset,” said Pong. “Don’t think that this is a fixed system and if I give it away, there is less for me.”

Also, you don’t have to go out of your way to help people by connecting them with opportunities. Pong said it could be as simple as responding to a recruiter’s email by suggesting another person for the position and asking if they’d like to be introduced.

Other ways to pay it forward

Helping other job seekers during your search can take many forms. It’s not just limited to you passing along names to recruiters or forwarding job postings to friends.

“I think it can be way more basic than that,” said Pong. “You know how difficult it is to look for a job. If you know a friend or colleague who is also looking for a job, you know what they need.” That help can take the form of advice or counseling, for example.

“When you are giving advice, it might be lessons you’ve learned about what worked, what didn’t and where to find resources,” she said.

Be open to help

The flip side of this equation is that you need to be open to help to receive it. That can take the form of openly asking people in your network for help or simply letting them know you’re looking for a job.

I know being open to help isn’t an easy thing to do. A close friend of mine recently told me about their job search. They were struggling while their friends were landing new jobs at big companies. I asked if they told their friends that they were looking for work. “Are you joking,” they responded, assuming the suggestion was absurd. 

“I tell people all the time to let their friends know and network know that they’re looking,” said Pong. “Sometimes we don’t want to ask for help, because it makes us look weak… There is totally no shame in it.”

By opening yourself up to help and letting people know you’re looking for work, you “open yourself up to things you can’t even imagine right now.”

How have you helped others or have people helped you during your job search? Join the conversation.

? The follow-up:

How do you sort out all the confusion over the job market? We spoke with LinkedIn’s Principal Economist Guy Berger for the last edition of #GetHired. He said that public discourse has inflated the labor market’s health. “Don’t overreact to any single data point,” he says. Instead, Berger suggests following headlines and data over time to get a better read on the economy — and using that knowledge when weighing career decisions. Here’s what people are saying about the advice.

? Other news to help you #GetHired:

Startups are seeing cuts. Tech companies have been among the most sought after employers of the last several years for many reasons, including job security and pay. Startups have long been part of that cluster of companies, but that may be changing now that investors are casting a more critical eye on their investments. Specifically, they’re pulling back from higher-cost ventures that involve physical products, such as mattresses and scooters. The New York Times reports that there have been 8,000 job cuts at 30 of these companies over the past four months. The change in fortunes is also hitting startups’ ability to raise money. Here’s what people are saying about the trend.

Tech is still — more likely than not — a solid career choice. In fact, the two best job markets in 2019 were in those spots largely thanks to investments by tech companies, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper’s annual rankings placed Austin at the top for the second year in a row, followed by Nashville, which jumped to number two from seventh place in 2018. In Austin’s case, Apple is building a $1 billion campus to grow its existing 7,000 workers in the city. Amazon is also building a campus in Nashville, with plans to hire 5,000 workers. Regions were evaluated based on unemployment, labor force, jobs and wages. Here’s what people are saying about the rankings.

More evidence that everyone wins when everyone is included. Hotelier Pan Pacific Singapore found that hiring people with disabilities and making sure they feel welcome among the other staff led to higher levels of compassion and more pride in the company, according to a University of Washington study. Compassion was also tied to the company’s financial performance, the researchers found. Here’s what people are saying about the findings.

? Up next:

If you’re like everyone else I know, the new coronavirus is becoming a bigger topic of conversation throughout your day — especially now that it has spread to every continent except Antarctica. In the next edition of #GetHired, we’ll take a look at how a pandemic can impact your job search. While I don’t want you to add to your anxiety about the virus and your job search, I think it’s important to discuss what could happen over the next few weeks or months. After all, businesses are already changing some practices in the face of the outbreak. Amazon has told employees to pause non-essential travel, for example. Tell me in the comments below if you’ve noticed any companies changing hiring practices in response to the virus.

? Speaking of the new coronavirus...

My team at LinkedIn is — until further notice — curating a page of information about the outbreak from official sources, such as the World Health Organization. As someone who spent the better part of a decade as a health and medical reporter, I know that accurate information is among the best defenses we have in these situations. You can find LinkedIn’s page about the new coronavirus here: lnkd.in/virusfacts

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #GetHired. You can also email me at GetHired[at]LinkedIn.com.