Parnasah: - Rabbinical Assembly



An Occasional Column on Employment: Finding it. Keeping it, Enjoying it

From Rabbi Elliot Salo Schoenberg

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

NETWORKING

A full 90% of rabbinic openings are openly publicized on placement lists like our own Joint Placement for pulpits or the USJC/JEA list of school administrators and rabbis in residence or the NAJC list of available hospital positions. In the business world, most job openings are not found on a list at or somewhere else on the web. In the business world, most new openings are NOT listed. In the rabbinic world the first place to look for new work is a placement list. This openness and availability of new positions is one of the many differences between the business world and the sacred market place.

If you are looking for work in a Jewish organization or you are geographically restricted in your search area, you will most likely find work by networking. Networking is purposely and gracefully asking peers for help, advice, and contacts, and offering genuine value in return. In the business world, 80% of people commonly find work by networking. Business people are networking all the time. When searching for work in an organization or thinking of created a new innovative venture, it is like you are looking for work in the business world; you will need to network. In the new economy, all rabbis should be networking all the time. This article will explore: How does a rabbi network?

CREATE YOUR CONTACT LIST “It’s not what you know but who you know.” Who you know is more important that what you have done. You might sit down and make a list of everyone who knows your name. The only people who should be explicitly excluded are people who do not like you. You want at least 200 people on that list. These people should be at every level and in every direction and not just in the rabbinic profession. For example your contact list should include: your neighbors, class mates from college, your dry cleaner, people you buy stuff from. And, of course, people you meet at conferences.

Networking script. Rabbis may find it hard to get started networking because networking makes us nervous. So learn the agenda of a networking discussion.1. Build rapport. 2. Update the person on where you have been. 3. Ask for help. 4. Make it clear you are not asking them for a job. 5. Ask them for help again, for ideas, other people to be in touch with. “Given my background I and interests, whom would you recommend I go see.” 6. Wrap up and thank you. After every networking conversation, the other person should feel genuinely glad that you contacted them and feel enriched by the experience. It is often helpful to write out a full script in advance so you will know exactly what to say and how to say it. Having a script will make you more confident.

Play the rabbi card well. Most of the positions you are applying to are open to non-rabbis as well. Because you are a rabbi and have an intense Jewish education, you can advocate how dimension this adds an important Judaic perspective to the position. Your training will also enable you to teach. Even though it may not be part of the original job definition, because you are a rabbi people will gravitate to you for counseling. Demonstrate how this will add value to your position. At the same time it is a good idea to reassure your network about the two concerns employers have about employing rabbis. Employers sometimes fear that rabbis lack the ability to administrate and lack the ability to operate as part of a team. Has your work and volunteer history addressed these fears? Think realistically and creatively about what your ordination can offer institutions.

Track and say thank you. Organize. Keep a list of your contacts, their contact information, when you were in touch with them and what you discussed. Track and follow up on every networking contact. Follow through on any promises you made, such as sending them a copy of a sermon you wrote. Stay visible to your contacts. Send them updates on your job search and email notes at holiday time. Think of creative ways to keep in touch. Thank everyone who helps you or provides you with leads. Thank everyone for their ideas and leads even if they don’t pan out. Send them your resume so they have a copy of it.

If you are in job search mode you need to be networking full time. But even if you are not searching for employment now, network now is an investment in your career advancement.

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