Survey: Haphazard networking, neglect of mentors plagues job seekers

Coming on the heels of a study revealing inadequate time spent networking by job seekers, Upwardly Mobile, Inc. (UpMo) released a follow-on study showing that the time job seekers actually do spend networking is often wasted.

According to the new research, job seekers' haphazard networking means that they often devalue their most important relationships.

"One golden rule of a successful job hunt is: focus on the relationships that can truly drive your career," says Allyn Horne, senior director of research and methodology at UpMo. "Nearly 8-in-10 jobs are landed through someone you know.”

“However,” Horne continued, “that doesn't mean you should try to connect with anyone and everyone—in fact, if you cast the net too far, you won't spend enough time with the people who matter, and risk getting no results at all."

UpMo analyzed LinkedIn users who accept invitations to connect from anyone, whether they knew the persons or not. UpMo, found that these individuals:

Waste opportunities from high value contacts. Nearly half (46.5%) say they only seek the help of mentors or colleagues once a year, if ever. "Who's better qualified to speak to the quality of your work: those who know you best, who have supervised you or mentored you—or random connections?" asks Horne.

Are ill-prepared for a job hunt. Only 3-in-10 feel "very confident" or "extremely confident" that they could use their network to land a job within 30 days if suddenly laid off. "That really speaks to the quality of connections," says Horne. "Mentors and colleagues are the ones who understand you best and have the greatest ability to identify positions that would be a good fit. And once they have found those positions for you, they are also the connections most likely to take the next step and make the all-important personal referral."

The bottom line: being strategic in your communications planning is vital.

"If you are trying to network with everyone who simply pays attention to you, your 'connections' cannot realistically vouch for you," says Horne. "The key is to focus on those who know you, who believe in you, and who can help make a difference. You will see a much greater return on the time you invest."

What should job seekers focus on? According to Horne:

Feed your lions. In the job hunt, we all have "lions," those connections that will go on the hunt with you. UpMo lets you to upload LinkedIn contacts and group your "lions" in your Inner Circle, giving focus to your ongoing efforts.

Plan your networking. Haphazard networking often results from a lack of planning.

Be clear and efficient in communicating your goals. Let your connections know you are on the hunt, but do it wisely.

Press Contact:
Promise Phelon
408.329.6959 ext. 103
promise@upmo.com

Research: Job Seekers Doom Chances Through Poor Networking

Palo Alto, Calif., January 21, 2010. Poor networking habits are dooming short-term job prospects for active job seekers, according to new research from Upwardly Mobile, Inc. (UpMo.com), an online career management service based in Palo Alto, Calif.

“Job seekers focus on all the wrong areas,” says Allyn Horne, Senior Director of Research and Methodology at UpMo. “They are spending all of their time on job boards, but nearly 8-in-10 jobs are landed through someone you know—and, disturbingly, today’s job seekers are neglecting their connections.”

UpMo’s research is based on data from its Job-Hunt Readiness Evaluator, a proprietary assessment tool developed in conjunction with Robert Half International, which helps each job seeker identify his or her critical needs in the job search. The research found that active job seekers—those who are unemployed and looking for work or those who plan to find a new job in the next 90 days—hurt their chances through:";

• Sporadic communication: Job seekers only talk to—or email—an average of 8 people outside of their current organization on a monthly basis.
• Failure to expand the circle: Job seekers are reluctant to ask for introductions, with fewer than 4-in-10 (38%) asking for an introduction in the past month.
• Small networks: On average, job seekers have a network of just 29 colleagues, defined as peers they have interacted with in the last 18-24 months.
• Misplaced priorities: Jobs seekers spend 68% of their time looking at online job postings—and less than one-third of their time reaching out to others.
• Insufficient time investment: Generation X job seekers (those who began their careers between 1980 and 1982) and Millennial job seekers (those who began their careers after 2002) are the biggest offenders of not investing the time required to land a job quickly. Millennials spend just 12 hours per week on job-hunting activities, while Generation Xers spend 15 hours—far less than the 30 hours required to achieve a short job search.

“What’s troubling,” says Horne, “is that Generation Xers are mid-career professionals, at a turning point in their career, and should be nurturing their professional networks to stay ahead. These professionals really need to re-focus on the right priority: their connections.”

UpMo offers four powerful ways that today’s job seekers can strengthen impactful connections immediately. Recently, UpMo added new functionality that allows users to upload their LinkedIn connections in under 30 seconds. As a result, as an UpMo user, you can now:

• Immediately see all jobs connected to your network: With your contacts uploaded, UpMo's Intelligent Job Hunt™ identifies specific job opportunities within your network, allowing you to target the exact places where you have an inside edge.
• Separate high-value connections from the pack : UpMo allows you to specifically identify your most influential contacts and group them in your Inner Circle, helping you focus on relationships that can catalyze your career.
• Get expert analysis on strengthening bonds: In 10 minutes, UpMo's analytical assessment, the Network Readiness Evaluator, takes input you provide and gives you an expert step-by-step plan for making the most of your networking.
• Build your personal brand from one hub: With UpMo’s community messaging service, My Musings, you can automatically update your Twitter account each time you post a message on UpMo. If you then elect to have Twitter update your LinkedIn status, you’re now gaining cross-site brand consistency by updating one source: UpMo’s My Musings.

Starting January 21, UpMo is offering a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee for their career-building service—as well as a limited-time-only $5 monthly subscription price. For more details, visit http://www.upmo.com/guarantee.

About UpMo



Founded in 2008, Upwardly Mobile, Inc. is a privately-held company committed to taking on the difficult challenges that help people appreciate their most valuable asset—their career. UpMo.com's always-on solution is an intelligent, personalized career service that uses expert insights and patent-pending scientific tools to empower business professionals and job seekers to confidently get the job they want faster and stay ahead in their career. For more information, visit the website http://www.UpMo.com.

Upwardly Mobile is located at Palo Alto's renowned 165 University Avenue, a historic Silicon Valley office building that once housed Google, PayPal, Logitech and several other successful tech companies.

Press Contact:
Allyn Horne
408.329.6959 ext. 103
promise@upmo.com

Upwardly Mobile unveils "THE UPMO JOB STIMULUS PLAN" to aid Laid-Off workers this holiday season

Scientifically-Proven Career Service Offers 1,000 Free Three-Month Memberships

Palo Alto, Calif., December 17, 2009. Coming on the heels of a rise in first-time jobless claims, Upwardly Mobile, Inc. (UpMo), a Palo Alto, Calif.-based career management service that develops patent-pending technologies and algorithms to accelerate professionals' job search and long-term career planning, today announced the launch of The UpMo Job Stimulus Plan http://www.upmo.com/stimulus/welcome.html to help fight unemployment. UpMo recognizes the tremendous job losses from this year's mass layoffs and the urgent need to transition downsized workers into new employment opportunities. Through UpMo’s Job Stimulus Plan, the company is offering their subscription-based service at UpMo.com free for three months to individuals who lost jobs in the biggest layoffs of 2009.

Included in this offer to the first 1,000 eligible respondents is unrestricted access to the Intelligent Job Hunt™, a patent-pending, algorithmic job search solution that accelerates job-seekers' search for their next job opportunity. Based on proven best practices that make professionals up to 87% more likely to find a job, the Intelligent Job Hunt™ gives job-seekers an inside edge in identifying and landing desirable opportunities that they have a high probability of securing.

"We're clearly facing an employment crisis," says Promise Phelon, CEO and Founder of UpMo.com. "Losing your job is an unspeakably difficult event. What many people are finding out right now, however, is that getting that next job may be even more troublesome, with the average job search lasting over six months. UpMo can help. Nothing would make us happier this holiday season than to help some of the 2.5 million workers laid off in 2009 confidently land their next jobs.”

Using a rich assessment tool developed in collaboration with Robert Half International, UpMo's innovative service first gets professionals ready for the job hunt by evaluating how prepared they are to land a job in the next 90 days and offering personalized best-practice guidance to increase their chances of getting hired. UpMo then delivers the Intelligent Job Hunt™, an algorithmic job-matching solution that draws on data from the user's professional network, career history, and future professional aspirations to identify compatible job matches that the user has a high probability of securing. UpMo continues by leading users through a customized Action Plan focusing on the precise activities that will maximize a user's chance of success—both in the short-term job search and in the pursuit of longer-term career objectives.

Upwardly Mobile Launches Breakthrough Program To Help Universities Deliver Effective Job Searches And Career Control To MBAs

Pepperdine Announced as Charter Partner of UpMo's MINT Program

Palo Alto, Calif., September 30, 2009. Upwardly Mobile (UpMo), the only intelligent, personalized service that leverages the science behind career success to empower individuals throughout their professional path, today announced the launch of MINT, MBAs in Transition. MINT (http://www.upmo.com/company/mint.html) is a progressive, new career advancement program that helps MBA schools support their student and alumni communities with innovative, highly-personalized job searches and validated long-term career guidance. Also announced today is a partnership with Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management (http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/) as the charter educational partner for a 6-month MBA student/alumni MINT program trial. Both UpMo and Pepperdine acknowledge the changing dynamics of the "job economy" and recognize the response needed from career centers and alumni programs to meet the evolving demands of their MBA communities.

The MINT program helps MBA graduates reduce career uncertainty and make the important decisions that impact their professional path. Through the program, participating career centers and alumni organizations purchase and distribute discounted UpMo subscriptions to their MBA communities. UpMo's online service, built on the practices of individuals highly-successful in their job search and career advancement, drives professionals to the jobs they really want, smarter and faster, and helps them stay ahead in their careers.

"We are pleased to be the first university to introduce select MBA second-year students and alumni free access to UpMo's advanced online career service, comprehensive career assessments and MBA-related content during this initial trial," says Linda A. Livingstone, Dean of Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. "Our commitment to our MBAs goes beyond just preparing them for their careers, but in providing them with the most valuable and innovative resources to thrive in any job market and drive their continued success."

"It's no surprise that today's economic challenges leave career and alumni centers resource-stretched and inundated with requests from new MBA students and job-seeking alums looking for more value and guidance. UpMo's MINT program is designed to help partner universities to address these growing needs so that these great institutions can focus on creating lasting, impactful relationships with their students and alumni," says Promise Phelon, CEO and founder of UpMo. "Pepperdine's participation in MINT demonstrates their agility, commitment and innovation in this evolving marketplace as they continue to pursue opportunities to bring value to their MBAs in search of the right jobs and ownership of their professional path."

"UpMo is a dynamic concept that effectively sets out to bring together the various activities necessary to conduct a successful job search," says Amber Hill, a Graziadio School of Business and Management alum that is using the MINT program to seek a role in Corporate Social Responsibility. "Not only does UpMo allow you to manage actions and search within one platform, but also allows you to track your future career direction."

Using a rich assessment tool developed in collaboration with Robert Half International, UpMo's innovative service first gets professionals ready for the job hunt by evaluating how prepared they are to land a job in the next 90 days and offering personalized best-practice guidance to increase their chances of getting hired. UpMo then uniquely delivers the Intelligent Job Hunt™, an algorithmic job-matching solution that pulls from the user's professional network and other important career dimensions to identify the compatible job matches that the professional has a high probability of securing. UpMo continues by leading users to and through job opportunities with a customized Action Plan that zeroes-in on the precise activities that professional need to employ to reach their job-hunt and long-term career objectives faster. Leveraging UpMo, the MINT program is designed to act as a life-line to help MBAs in transition meet the difficult challenges of navigating their careers.

For more information on how MINT is helping educational institutions support their students and graduates, visit http://www.upmo.com/company/mint.html

Founded on the core values of integrity, stewardship, courage, and compassion, Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management has been developing values-centered leaders and advancing responsible business practice since 1969, offering fully accredited MBA, Masters of Science, and bachelor's completion business programs. More information at http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/pressroom.

Founded in 2008, Upwardly Mobile, Inc. is a privately-held company committed to taking on the difficult challenges that help people appreciate their most valuable asset—their career. UpMo.com's always-on solution is an intelligent, personalized career service that uses expert insights and patent-pending scientific tools to empower business professionals and job seekers to confidently get the job they want faster and stay ahead in their career. For more information, visit the website http://www.UpMo.com.

Upwardly Mobile is located at Palo Alto's renowned 165 University Avenue, a historic Silicon Valley office building that once housed Google, PayPal, Logitech and several other successful tech companies.

Press Contacts:
Allyn Horne
408.329.6959 ext. 106
admin@upmo.com

Upwardly Mobile Joins Forces with Robert Half International to Help Job Seekers Search Smarter

New Tools and Content Will Help Give UpMo Users and Robert Half Candidates a Competitive Edge in this Difficult Employment Climate

Sunnyvale, Calif., August 5, 2009 – Upwardly Mobile (UpMo), the only intelligent, personalized career service that leverages the science behind career success, today announced a strategic alliance with Robert Half International (NYSE symbol: RHI), the world's leading specialized staffing service. Both companies recognize that job losses stemming from economic instability have displaced many outstanding professionals. This collaboration is designed to help job seekers by combining the wealth of content and "personal touch" experience from Robert Half's long history of staffing and placement services with Upwardly Mobile's innovative tools, technology and resources to help highly skilled professionals manage and succeed in their career.

According to recently released unemployment data from the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly six unemployed workers for every job opening, and the unemployment rate has reached 9.5 percent. These figures underscore the need for professionals to be able to respond quickly when presented with either an unexpected job loss or, on a more positive note, an attractive new career opportunity.

"People often overestimate how prepared they are to showcase their skills and experience to hiring managers," said Reesa Staten, senior vice president and director of workplace research at Robert Half International. "By working with UpMo, we'll be able to provide job seekers with a range of valuable online and offline tools and resources that can help them promote themselves to potential employers and advance their careers."

As part of the alliance, Robert Half will provide a portfolio of customized resources through the UpMo service to help professionals prepare for the job hunt including career advice articles, white papers and other timely research. In addition, UpMo and Robert Half are collaborating on a "Job-Hunt Readiness Evaluator," an advanced assessment tool currently in beta that measures how prepared users are to search for and land a job in the next 90 days. The new tool is scheduled for a late summer release. Similar to UpMo's Network Readiness Evaluator, the Job-Hunt Readiness Evaluator asks UpMo users fewer than 25 questions to help them assess their unique career perspective, behavioral traits, skills and network. UpMo leverages its deep scientific base by comparing this information with elite professionals, industry benchmarks and millions of data points to assess how ready users are to land a job in today's market. The output is a valuable report that illuminates users' job-hunt readiness via an updatable score and realistic, next-step guidance professionals can use to help boost their chances of landing a job faster.

"UpMo is committed to partnering with forward-looking companies and building the right tools to help people be empowered, knowledgeable and successful throughout their careers," said Promise Phelon, CEO of UpMo. "Our strategic alliance with Robert Half allows us to combine our cutting-edge technology, scientific data and service with their comprehensive resources and career knowledge to help professionals succeed in their careers."

About UpMo
Founded in 2008, Upwardly Mobile, Inc. is a privately-held Silicon Valley-based company committed to taking on the difficult challenges that help people appreciate their most valuable asset—their career. UpMo.com's always-on solution is an intelligent, personalized career service that uses expert insights and patent-pending scientific tools to empower business professionals and job seekers to confidently get the job they want faster and stay ahead in their career. For more information, visit the website http://www.UpMo.com

About Robert Half International
Founded in 1948, Robert Half International Inc., the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm, is a recognized leader in professional consulting and staffing services. The company's specialized staffing divisions include Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources, for temporary, full-time and project professionals, respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance; OfficeTeam, for highly skilled temporary administrative support personnel; Robert Half Technology, for information technology professionals; Robert Half Legal, for legal personnel, and The Creative Group, for creative, advertising, marketing and web design professionals.

Robert Half International has staffing and consulting operations in more than 400 locations worldwide.

As Jobsites Overflow with Resumes, a New Model for Online Career Planning Emerges

Sunnyvale, CA, February 18, 2009 --With unemployment trending toward 9.5% and almost 600,000 jobs lost last month, hardly anyone feels in control of their career. In many areas of the United States there are upwards of six times as many job seekers as open positions leaving little doubt that the old ways of advancing your career won't work.

UpMo puts professionals back in the driver's seat with the first-ever career GPS, a subscription-based, online career and network management service that launches today in public beta. Relying on deep research and a patent-pending methodology, UpMo allows professionals to emulate the real career paths of successful entrepreneurs, executives, and visionaries and create their own dynamic career roadmap based upon these validated data points. UpMo then translates their roadmap and career goals into a regularly updated Career Action Plan that keeps users on course, exposes new opportunities for advancement, and navigates them to their career destination.

While jobsites provide short-term job relief, UpMo is forward-looking; it helps you guide your career over the mid- and long-terms, helping professionals plot where they want to go on a clear, continuous, and actionable path to their career destination. While other online services like LinkedIn will help professionals build their network, UpMo goes one step further by allowing them to leverage that network and find ways that it can work for them. And unlike career coaches that tell you what to do, UpMo leaves you in complete control and offers agile, turn-by-turn guidance presented as personalized daily, weekly, and monthly actions that steer you to upward mobility. You drive, and UpMo navigates.

In today's challenging economy, no one can afford to miss opportunities or mismanage their career investment. UpMo will help professionals weather the storm by providing powerful tools to protect and grow their most valuable asset – their career.

Upwardly Mobile, Inc. is a privately-held Sunnyvale-based company committed to taking on the difficult challenges that help people make more money, reach their dreams, and appreciate their most valuable asset – their career. UpMo's always-on solution helps you plot where you want to go, shows you proven routes for getting there, and maximizes both your earning potential and fulfillment at each point along the way. For more information, visit the website at http://upmo.com and blog at http://upmo.com/blog.

Timely New Study Finds Professionals Who Network Consistently Instead of As Needed Earn More and Are Better Protected From a Recession

Sunnyvale, CA, January 12, 2009 -- When the pink slip arrives or necessity calls for a job change, most professionals reluctantly start networking, but those who network consistently instead of as needed earn much more and are better protected finds a new study from Upwardly Mobile Inc. with the assistance of the Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University. Among the findings:

• Elite professionals earning more than $200,000 a year, more so than other respondents, cited networking as important to their careers and self-reported a greater networking ability. They leverage their network more, use job sites less, and consider networking a lifestyle rather than a tool to be used when needed.
• Thirty-one percent of elite high-earning professionals versus 19% of the non-Elites spend one to two hours each week networking.
• Twenty-nine percent of the non-elite network only when there is a need versus 18% of the Elites.
• Fifty-seven percent of elite professionals say job sites have no impact on their career advancement while less than 35% of those in the non-Elites felt job sites have no impact.
• More than 80% say networking impacts income. Fifty-eight percent believe a skilled networker could see up to a 100% increase in income.
• Forty percent of respondents said networking is how they found their current job.
• The highest earners said the single most critical factor in determining the value of their network isn't the depth of their relationship with contacts or the size of their network, but breadth of connections with the right contacts--contacts willing to recommend them.
• Among the online network management tools used by respondents, LinkedIn is seven times more popular than its nearest contender.

"What surprised us was that most people use networking as a one-time reaction to unemployment or a recession instead of long-term protection that can smooth career transitions," says Promise Phelon, CEO of Upwardly Mobile, Inc. “It’s clear that a regular, purposeful networking habit, not just a profile on your favorite professional networking site, will lead to greater mobility and downside protection during tough economic times.”

"The study reinforces the value of networking to career advancement and the demand from professionals for better skill development and tools as part of their education," says Linda A. Livingstone, Dean of the Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business Management. “If our economy is telling us anything, relationships and trust matter. We hope that our alumni and graduates of all top MBA programs understand that the relationships they build will have a direct impact on their professional success.”

Study Background:

Upwardly Mobile, Inc. with the support of Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business Management, conducted research for this study in April 2008. Upwardly Mobile helps professionals more effectively leverage their professional networks to achieve career success. Six hundred and thirty-seven respondents completed a Web-based survey with 22 questions. A select group of participants also elaborated on their responses during 45-minmute interviews. The purpose of the study was to understand the guiding principles for professional networking and how those principles translate into regular practices and skills that enable professionals to achieve immediate and long-term career goals.

For a free PDF download of the 28-page study, please log on to:

http://www.upmo.com/knowledge/recent-research.html