A client we'll call Joe was excited that an acquaintance named Mary promised to distribute his resume at her office. He was smiling, but he should have been weeping. Why? he'd lost control of his job search. 

First, she might forget. She's busy and has a lot of other things on her mind.  Joe may be left wondering if she actually distributed the resumes.  Of course, he can check up, but then he runs the risk of becoming a pest.  After two to three phone calls in which Mary is embarrassed to say she hasn't gotten around to it yet, she might start to cringe at the thought of running into Joe.



  ★  ★  ★  ★  Is your networking going nowhere fast? Our Career Action Plan Meeting can diagnose what's gone wrong and give you a plan to fix it.  Call today: 847-673-0339. ★  ★  ★  ★

Second, what will she say?  How much does she really know about Joe?  Will she say something positive or just send an email with a resume attached or put the resumes on top of stacks of papers on people's desks when they are out to lunch.  Joe doesn't know.

Third, resumes can't sell you like you can.  They are only paper (or computer files). let's face it:  even the best of resumes aren't very interesting. There is no way that your resume can sell you the way you can.

Fourth, why aren't you in here yourself?  Even if Mary sings Joe's praises with eloquence that rivals the Gettysburg address, the hiring decision maker may think, "If this guy is so good, why isn't he in here himself talking to me?

Joe runs the risk of being like Myles Standish, who was too shy to profess his love to Priscilla Mullins.  Instead, he sent his friend, John Alden, to tell Priscilla that he, Myles Standish, loved her. Priscilla, unimpressed with a man who sent a surrogate, decided to marry Alden instead.

So what do you do? Stay in control. You might say, "I really appreciate that you're willing to distribute my resume, but this is much more important to me than it is to you. If it's all right with you, could you give me their names and contact information so that I can follow up with them myself?  Some people won't be willing to do this, but wherever you can, keep the ball in your court.  Then, you can make sure the contacts are made and greatly increase power of the contact.