EditorialsBy Matt Bud, Chairman, The FENG

I hate to ask if anyone is holding out, but is anyone holding out?

One of the core values of The FENG is that we try very hard to share our job leads. Trust me, individual job leads aren’t as valuable as you think they are. And, if you share them, not only will you be viewed as a Fanatic FENG’er, but you just might make a few new friends.

When the published job market is slow as it is now, it is important that we fill our evening newsletter with every possible opportunity that is floating out in the marketplace. If you are expecting others to share what they know, and you know about stuff, ask yourself why you aren’t sending it in for publication in our newsletter? (By the way, they should be sent to [email protected]. Sending them to me just slows things down.)

The only job leads that have value are the ones that are newly out in the market. If you are waiting to no longer be under consideration before you “let the cat out of the bag,” you are only kidding yourself that you are doing anyone a favor.

If you cannot honestly announce a lead in our national newsletter, at the very least, please call or email everyone in your inner circle of friends who should be considered and get them into the mix. You will be amazed how sharing your “white elephants” makes you well thought of and well respected. In addition, like a chain letter, it will cause you to be flooded with job leads from others. (A testimonial dinner may even be held in your honor.)

Sharing job leads is yet another way to build your network on a national scale. While our newsletter editor usually removes the email address of those submitting leads so you won’t send your credentials to the wrong place, the name and chapter of the sender is always there. With our website functionality, it will take you about a nanosecond to find the contact information for any member posting in our newsletter. If someone has posted a job lead of interest to you, consider that the two of you may have a background connection. Why don’t you contact the poster and request a resume exchange? (Hey, they started it by posting a job lead.)

Just as we all know from studying Murphy’s Law, that no good deed goes unpunished, it is also true that being good doesn’t have to be its own reward.

If you are actively being considered for an opportunity, you want others who are just like you to also be in the candidate pool. If you’re the only “well experienced” candidate, that is nowhere as effective as there being several of you. You can’t ensure that you will win the job by keeping it a secret. But, you can flood the candidate slate with your friends if you share. (And boy will they owe you BIG time.)

Two heads are better than one. (The only exception to this rule is if the two heads are on the same body, but I digress.) If you have a few friends competing with you for the same job, you have the unique opportunity to “double team” the “opposition.”

The FENG is a society of friends. Everyone in The FENG was sponsored by another member. So, you should consider everyone in The FENG as a friend of a friend.

Just as friends don’t let friends drive drunk, friends don’t let friends job search alone.

Regards, Matt

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