Got an informal interview with my future boss on a plane trip.

by John Kim
(Los Angeles, CA)

Hi, I'm a Korean American. A few months back I lost my job as a process analyst due to division shut down. I haven't had much luck so I decided to take my family to see my parents in Korea over the holidays.

Before I left, a friend of my gave me a newly published book about how to find a job. On the trip to Korea I read the book on the plane, and at Korea I wrote out a list of all my skills and attributes as the author suggested.

On the trip back last week, I was up in the rear stretching my legs and started a conversation with another man beside me. I asked him how was his trip to Korea and did he do any site seeing.

After we talked about Korea a bit we got on the topic of what our professions are. He worked at a sensor company, while I use to work at a company that made automotive components. Obviously our industries were not a match, but as we chatted, it dawned on me that some of the things he oversees are a perfect match with my skill set, so I started to steer the conversation towards my skills, and one thing let to another.

I just had my formal interview yesterday and today he called me and gave me a job offer.

Lisa's Response

A great example of networking to find a job!

John, thank you for adding your wonderful story. It is an excellent example of effectively using a creative job search technique.

If you had simply relied on applying to advertised jobs (which, unfortunately, is what most people do), your job search would probably have taken much longer.

Another thing that strikes me about your story is that you were actively working on your job search over the holidays. Many people do not job search over the holidays. In fact, when I ran job search workshops, the number of people who attended my workshops always dropped dramatically for the entire month of December.

There's nothing wrong with taking a little break during holidays, but many people stop their job search efforts entirely for most of December, and that causes them to miss out on some great opportunities.

There may be fewer employers hiring in December, but there are also fewer people who are actively job searching, so there's less competition. Also, job searching in December allows you to lay the groundwork for hiring that tends to pick up in January (which is exactly what you did).

Congratulations and best of luck at you new job, John, and thank you again for sharing your wonderful story.

All the best,
Lisa