So this was the first day that I wasn’t going to turn on a PC all day and thus would have to rely for the most part on email and the phone, although with my iPhone I wasn’t going to be too far out of the loop. At the moment that is a good thing I can tell you.

So, where to start?

Over the last couple of days I have met a number of people as you will have read, one of whom reminded me how visible you can make yourself. With pictures on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs, each different, it is hardly surprising when meeting people for the first time, people who up to that very moment were just a blur in the crowd, wave and smile and stand up to greet you. I know it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise but, whilst I am ok with it, I’m still not used to it. And its not as if I don’t do the same to them, is it? It always makes me smile and for the most part it’s a conversation ice breaker.

So Day 5. Hello.

The entire day was spent either travelling to and from or in London itself. With four pre-planned meetings, luckily all within a few hundred metres of each other I didn’t need to use the Tube much.

So the usual thing; music in the car, music on the train and Tube were needed. The choice for car and Tube are variables, but for the train there is only one choice! See previous blog.

The first few hours of the day was spent with some of those involved in the organisation and sponsorship of The FIRM’s Direct Sourcing event in October. Meeting with Steve Lewis at Totaljobs.com /The Network, our main sponsors and then across the street to meet with the managers of the venue we are using. All very impressive stuff and very pleased to be working with all of them.

The next meeting was one that I had hoped could turn into an opportunity for work of some kind. It did. But it turned into one of those situations that I did not feel comfortable about. I don’t want to take anything at all away from the person I met or his business, but I have to look at me, what I want and how I am perceived. There is a lot of talk in some circles about personal brand. I have come to realize over the last 6 months that everyone has a personal brand! Everyone creates it themselves; some promote it, others don’t. But the important thing is that to those that care about such things, there is a need to protect it. I am keen to protect mine. Certain things about me are import to me; fun, friends, hard work, openness (hence this blog), but top of the list is integrity. This means honesty to myself as well as to others.

Despite my upbeat approach, I did have that “oh shit!” moment last weekend thinking, “must get a job fast, any job and must get it fast”. But as the week has progressed, actually not that long into it, I started looking at each job/option and then asked myself,

“Am I interested in it?”

“Do I honestly have the skills to do it?”

“Will I do a good job such that the company will recognise I have too?”

And the most important question I suppose

“Am I being honest with myself?”

Of course I can’t decide on anything until I have explored it fully but some things don’t sit right. I don’t think I am being too selective; I am being honest in my aspirations and about my abilities. Importantly I am not wasting time and energy pursuin jobs I know I shouldn’t have applied for. It also wastes other people’s time and as I’ve mentioned before, it is the people you meet that you can build relationships with and wasting people’s time won’t help, will it?

My last meeting of the day was with Matt Alder, in a pub of course! I’ve known Matt for just over a year and always enjoy his company and his insights. Matt has been involved in the recruiting business for quite some time, specifically in the marketing and branding side and always has great thoughts and ideas. We spent an hour and a half over a pint comparing notes and sharing ideas, during which time we both came up with ideas that if they can be worked through could add value for the other.

Throughout the day I’ve spoken to a number of people by phone. Each conversation, whilst, work related and job hunt related, where very enjoyable and had a few laughs in them. Very important.

So homebound at last. Last task of the day was to pop into PC World in Reading and pick up my new laptop. I get to the shop and it’s not ready. Having spent nearly 90 minutes with them over 24 hours earlier, suffering their confusion, poor systems and a sales assistant that responded to everything said to or asked of him with “fair enough”, I was more that a little irritated to find that they couldn’t be bothered to get it ready in time. They keep me waiting 20 minutes with an “I-don’t-really-give-a-shit-but-sorry” apology. DSGi and PC World you really do need to get your customer services act together. If any of the recruiters who work there read this please pass on my comments. Needless to say I am unlikely to shop there again for anything heavier than a pencil. Oh they don’t sell those? Lucky then aren’t I?

Do I have a new laptop? Yes, an Acer 4820T will take it for attest drive over the weekend.

Music of the Day – Street Fighting Man, The Rolling Stones

Oh yes, I nearly forgot. I confirmed two interviews for next week; one was as a result of an in house recruiter in the USA who had read this blog then found my LinkedIn Profile then contacting me – see it works! I have a meeting confirmed with a Search firm that was referred to my by someone I met at #ConnectingHR, which I got to know through Twitter. I have also had my application confirmed for a contract position by an agency chap I met earlier this year through Twitter.

If you doubt the power of Social Media in the networking and recruiting process, I hope you are learning from this. Oh and by the way if you want to employ me to show you how you can adapt it as a recruiting tool, do let me know