The New Rules for Making the Big Leap

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Much of job searching and networking used to be about who you knew. Now it's about who you can get to, and how to get their attention. Answering online ads and sending your résumé (no matter how jargon-free it is) to human resources isn't going to help you make that Big Leap. So use the Internet, all those great networking tools, and your actual network to find the person you need. And do your research on any companies which interest you, industries you're curious about, and people to whom you need to talk.

Get Out There and Sell Yourself

The other way in which the Net makes job-searching and career-building personal is it all allows you to build your own brand, whether through a blog, a podcast, or YouTube—in addition to any profile you put up on a networking site. Big Leaps are not about jobs per se—they're about ideas. Develop yours (and a following) online, now.

Remember, you are selling yourself and your story. Don't think of yourself as a salesperson? Like it or not, you will have to be. All the above things will help you, but don't overlook the fact that at some point, you will actually have to talk to decision makers. That's why you want to have your story down pat.

No, that doesn't mean making up a version of your life that sounds appealing. It's about being able to tell, in a compelling, concise way, the pertinent facts about yourself and your career to the appropriate parties. It's harder than it sounds, so practice on a few friends. You don't want to stumble when someone asks: "Tell me about yourself." Nor do you want to drone on endlessly about irrelevant accomplishments.

Who you are, where you've come from, and why you're headed in the Big Leap direction are details central to your tale. Practice it, refine it, and share it with as many critical people as you can—people who will tell you whether you're making sense or not. You've probably got a lot of tremendous stories of incidents and people that brought you to this point. Data are less important in your Big Leap trajectory than the ability to create a vision among the people who can (and must) help you.

Yes, it's a new world out there, and you're ready to take your place in it. Read our new rules for making the Big Leap to help you get there.

Business Exchange related topics:
Career Change
Executive Compensation
Executive Search
Hiring Digital Talent
Social Networking

Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive.