Hey Thor, try using a Screwdriver!

If you have been following this blog recently, you may have noticed that my attempts to spin together descriptions of daily business adventures, Jigsaw corporate branding and useful insights for sales people might becoming somewhat forced. The Jigsaw angle is obviously the red headed stepchild of the three. But this week I am happy to report that the bond is lock tight and, just like the superglue that I accidentally squirted across my brand new hardwood floor, will be obvious for all to see.

This morning my furious networking efforts landed me at a meeting of volunteers for the Professional Career Center that is being opened with funding from the governor as part of the

Image via Wikipedia

Charlotte Regional Economic & Workforce Recovery Initiative. Normally I run shrieking from anything that sounds government- oriented. But after I realized that no law enforcement officials would be involved and that I wouldn’t be required to wait in line at the DMV (that’s next week), I decided to give it a try. As it turns out, I have access to something that people looking to rejoin the white collar workforce need (business contact information), as well as extra energy needed for motivation.  In exchange I can meet other business execs that are similarly donating their time and resources to help get Charlotte back on track.

Low and behold, I also get to investigate that inclination in the back of my psyche (Bart Simpson realized it was his conscience) that wants to take a break from racing around in my own personal gerbil ball and actually help other people in a community.

Anyway, I will be speaking on the topic of online research, and showing job searchers how to find potential employers, referrers, investors and other useful individuals on the web. Jigsaw will be the starting point, but our links to other resources like Linked In, Zoom Info, and Google will be helpful as well. Best of all, because of Jigsaw’s business model, it is easy to allow free access to Jigsaw without costing any real value dilution to our company. In fact, it helps spread the word to companies and teams that the people become employed by- and the more people interact with the data, the more accurate it becomes. Everybody wins.

Quickly, here are a few things you can do using contacts you find on Jigsaw:

1. Image by mtsofan via Flickr

   Get your resume “unstuck” from the web form application, corporate recruiter, or hr manager black hole.  Jigsaw, particularly when used with Linked In, can help you find a referring employee. Companies always prioritize referred applicants.
2. Communicate with the real decision maker.  Jigsaw can help you find the hiring manager, the SVP of Global Operations, Head widgetmaker, Compliance wonk, Taskmaster, Assistant to the Assistant General Manager, whomever you would actually be working for in the new job
3. Find out what the job is really like. Instead of the hiring company being in control of the information flow, you can contact potential future peers and ask them candid questions about what is going on.

So what about what’s in it for salespeople specifically?Jigsaw is particularly well suited for salespeople looking for a new gig (which describes every salesguy, all the time, or should) because salespeople are more likely to have the nerve to contact the above connections. In addition, any hiring manager worth his salt is going to ask you to prepare a territory plan as if you already have the job. Use Jigsaw to get the target DM title of every prospect company in your patch, listed out in Excel format, ready for upload into the company CRM system of choice at the touch of a button- if you get the job, of course.

How about them apples?

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