Several weeks ago, I posted a blog called Four More Minutes. The focus of the blog was to support The EO List friend Victorio Milian, an HR Professional in New York City, find new employment. The purpose of the blog was to increase awareness and to spur some action among the Canadian network.
The blog was successful at increasing awareness. In the days following the posting, there were more than 1000 pageviews on our blogsite, 77 Retweets, and 19 LinkedIn shares– and this is for The EO List alone. Other blogsites who were a part of this “crowdsourcing” experiment also reported lots of traffic on their sites. Victorio has even reported that the process has generated some initial leads (including something in Canada).
While they are exciting results, the truth is that so far none of these activities has yet produced an actual tangible result for Victorio. He hasn’t found a likely opportunity yet and traction has not been instantaneous. He is looking for full-time as well as contract or consulting gigs. He has a particular expertise in talent sourcing in the retail and food industries.
Perhaps I’m impatient; perhaps it is early in the process, but when we tried this experiment in 2010 to help my friend Brian Oughton, the support seemed to come much faster and more freely. It scares me because if this doesn’t work, and soon, I think it is a commentary on the capabilities of crowdsourcing a job search.
But before we give up, let’s kick it into overdrive. I would like Victorio’s job search to be a “Top of Mind” thing for you.
First, if you didn’t spend the four minutes before, do it now. Second, if you haven’t yet attempted to personalize this and connect with Victorio now, do it! Here are some ways to get to know him better:
- Read Victorio’s blog at http://victoriomilian.com.
- Read Victorio’s Twitter feed at @victorio_m.
- View his LinkedIn Profile. Invite him to connect. Tell him why.
- Connect with him directly, over Twitter DM or even old-fashioned e-mail or telephone.
- Let the relationship grow.
I have only known Victorio for about two years, but in that time I’ve come to know him as a man with integrity, humour and professionalism. Don’t take my word for it though. Meet him, engage with him, and help him. I bet you will find something useful for yourself in the process.
Thanks for the update Bonni. I will certainly do my best to help generate leads. As a matter of fact, I was laid off about a week ago. However I have since found a new opportunity. But the day after my layoff, Victorio called me on the phone. What a pleasant surprise. He and I talked for about 20 minutes, which is 20 minutes more than we’ve ever spoken before! I know him through social media, and now I know him a little more personally.
It just goes to show what a class act he is. Victorio is the definition of a strong, connected network.