Is It OK To Ask People for Help in Your Job Search? | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
The simple answer is easy; the detailed question is more complicated.
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Someone asked me the question, “is it okay to ask people for help in your job search?” I have a simple answer but it becomes more complicated when I go into detail.
The simple answer is, “Absolutely!” You have to ask for help. You don’t know everyone and you don’t know everything. You need to get help.
Let me start with the “know everyone” part of this. If you just answer and that you find online, you’re missing the bulk of all positions are available. The statistics show that 70% of all positions are filled. As a result of networking and 70% of those 70% are filled as result of introductions to people you did not 
know at the beginning of your job search. In other words, people you know introduce you to other people who they know, but you don’t. Or the 2nd level connections introduce you to people that they know. As a result, you have to get past your original contacts to get to an individual or a firm that is trying to hire. You have to ask people for help in order to do this.
Let me go to the “advice” definition of the word help. Sometimes, the people that you ask for advice/help are not particularly knowledgeable and, in that respect, it is not is not a good strategy. You see, even if you get to someone who actually is knowledgeable, like a recruiter, they talk about their limited perspective. They answer questions from their self-interest. They tell you about a job that they are representing and how wonderful the firm is that they are representing and how the hiring manager is fabulous… They talk on and on and on saying a bunch of nothing. What are you really learning about this company anyway?
What are you learning about your resume? What are you learning about interviewing? What are you learning about salary negotiation? What are you learning to expand your knowledge in order to get a job? Yes, you are getting an interview through the recruiter, but you are really getting anywhere.
Even when you ask friends, what do they really know anyway? They got a job. Great! Have you ever asked him how many jobs they got turned down for before they got this 1? Or how many resumes they sent out that didn’t get results? They found the job by accident.
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If you talk to people who hire, they know what they look for when they hire, but they don’t know more than that. You are getting a limited perspective. Lord knows, I interviewed enough hiring managers who look for work to know the real story about how poorly they do on most interviews and how frequently they are turned down.
Asking people for advice can become problematical. Much too often because these are the right people to ask.
I’m someone who is filled more than 1200 positions when I worked in recruiting, do executive job search coaching now, I have a lot of great information that I have curated at TheBigGameHunter.us that will help you.
I want to encourage you to get a job search coach like me. Again, my site is TheBigGameHunter.us which has the best of my content that is available to help you with your job search . Plus I answer questions from people.
Asking for help is smart. Asking the right people for help is smartest of all. You can be asking people for help with introductions. In that instance, I would tell people to tell people what you know, what you can do, what you have done as you. Do this do this in a few seconds or less, making sure that they only have a single thought to hang onto.
Tell them what you are looking for, so that in this way, if they hear about something they can point you to it. If they stumble into something, they can refer you.
In terms of advice on the job search, get you an expert. Don’t just talk to amateurs and get their advice. Otherwise, the blind is leading the blind and you are not going to get to where you want to.
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
Website: www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Courses: www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses
Main YouTube: www.JobSearchTV.com
No BS Job Search Advice Radio Podcast: anchor.fm/nobsjobsearchadviceradio
Video Podcast of No BS Job Search Advice Radio: Spotify
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffaltmancoach
Medium: jeffaltmancoach.medium.com
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
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