Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I just got a job through LinkedIn. That Web 2.0 stuff may actually work.

I retired from my government job several months ago after 28 years of “government service” (as we fondly like to call it). I had some skills and qualifications and wanted to work a few more years, and my wife didn’t want me hanging around the house all day. I did all the right things:

• went to job fairs
• scoured the Internet
• put my resume on a few dozen company web sites
• went to careers.you-name-the-company.com
• worked with a professional recruiter
• gave my resume to all my personal contacts in industry

Nothing of substance happened. Everyone I met was courteous and professional. I really met a lot of good people. Everyone I met loved my qualifications; you should have seen their faces light up. Everyone I met assured me they would put my resume in front of their customers; I trust they all did that.

No one I met called me back with a firm job offer; they all called back with “contingent” job offers.

In the midst of these months of searching in vain, I weekly updated my LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn sent me emails about this person and that person who I may know. Most of these had something to do with the geographic region. I always clicked the button to invite these people to be my “friends” or “contacts” or whatever LinkedIn calls the people it links you to.

One of these LinkedIn linked-to-or-whatever-you-call-them people emailed me asking for my home phone. I sent it back to him. A few days later he woke me from my afternoon nap (a perk of retirement) with a phone call. He wanted to talk to me. I remembered him from a few years ago, but couldn’t understand why his company would want to talk to me.

We met for a few hours. He called me back. We met again for a few hours. He called me back. I got the impression he wanted me to come to work for him. He sent me a real (not a contingent) job offer. I accepted on Friday and went to work yesterday.

So, maybe LinkedIn and these other Web 2.0 concepts work. I was surprised. See me on LinkedIn under “Dwayne Phillips.” LinkedIn didn’t ask me to write this blog. They didn’t pay me anything to write this blog. It is okay with me if you show this blog entry to LinkedIn as then perhaps they would pay me something 😉