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that’s what friends are for

Posted on 09. Apr, 2009 by janelle in penny pinchin'

Having some difficulty finding a job?  Don’t be afraid to lean on your friends and family for help.  CNN Money has a great article, Hired! With help from your friends, that shares one man’s story about how friends’ responses to a Facebook status message helped him land a job.

Juan Velasquez, 31, worked at Enterprise Rent a Car since graduating from James Madison University. He had worked his way up from management trainee to branch manager and was then promoted to area sales manager making close to $90,000 a year. But by the spring of 2007, things “got bad in a hurry,” he said.  “Gas prices went up and inventories swelled,” Velasquez said. And because his income was largely commission based, his take home fell to about $65,000, he said.

As the sole provider for his family, Velasquez says he was in no position to ride out the downturn in the rental car market and had to start looking for another job. He posted his resume online, built a LinkedIn profile, signed up for Facebook, set up a twitter account and reached out to friends and family…

Velasquez updated his Facebook status to “looking for a new opportunity, professional sales person or recruiter at your service”. And his friends and family responded with more leads.  That’s how he heard about a position at Cintas, selling supplies such as uniforms, soap dispensers and floor mats to other businesses. He was hired last week and he starts immediately.

The article goes on to encourage relying on friends and family, who are often key when it comes to finding a job.

Many job seekers are often reluctant to lean on their friends and family for help, for fear of coming off badly, said Kathy Robinson, the founder of TurningPoint, a career consulting firm in greater Boston. But, they’re often the ones that will eagerly pass along leads and be the most willing to help.

“Be willing to talk about your job search and be clear about what you’re looking for,” Robinson said. “Don’t be embarrassed about talking about it because there are a lot of people on the same boat.”

Hired! is a feature on CNN Money that examines how different folks around the country are finding jobs during this tough economic climate.  Be sure to visit their site for more information on job hunting today.

Tags: cnn money, hired, job hunt, job search