Job question. Need advice.

[Snake Pliskin]

Ill try to keep this short.
I ran into an old boss of mine who now works at a different company in a similar capacity but does not hire. He would have considerable influence though. We said hello just talking about things. The conversation came around to work and he kind of did a bit of a sales pitch for my equivalent job at the company he works for. I didnt say anything at the time but I would actually be very interested and supremely qualified though I dont think that they have a position available at this time.
This job would be equivalent pay , more detail oriented , less pressure , slower pace and would free me from being in a building all day +. I am not unhappy with my current job but this change of pace would be welcome.
I became friends with him on facebook the next day and have been out of town for the past two weeks. We always got along fine but I have not seen or talked to him in a few years.

My question is about how to approach him about the job. Im just not sure of how to open communication and express interest about it. Ive had 2 jobs for the past 22 years and would like to to make this process precise and successful.
I bring this to the wisdom and experience of SVTP. Any constructive advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[hunterp]

Sounds like he actually made it easy for you by talking to you about a possible future position. I would just tell him that it's something you'd be interested in exploring if a position becomes open and ask him to keep you informed. Send him a current resume if you have one so he can keep it handy and pass it along to their HR group.

 

[Zemedici]

Shoot him a FB message and have him call you, I wouldn't have a professional business discussion over FB. Basically just tell him what you just told us, that you'd be supremely interested if the position were to become available, and not to hesitate to give you a call.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

Good suggestions. I just realized that my last resume was carved out of stone !

 

[R.D.P.]

Don't sound desperate, using word like "supremely interested" sounds desperate. I would keep it casual as much as possible and play it cool, no need for a life story on why you might want to leave.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

Yes I agree on sticking to standard English. There is nothing wrong with my current job I would just like to be in a better position to get down to details. Also as nice as an indoor air conditioned environment can be I would like to get outside. Sweat when its hot , get wet when it rains and feel the cold air in the winter. I miss it.

 

[RDJ]

I NEVER look for a job when I am unhappy in my current job. You are in a good spot. Talk to him, express interest if a job opens up and, if the conversation warrants, offer to send him a copy of your current resume and see what happens from there.

Yes I agree on sticking to standard English. There is nothing wrong with my current job I would just like to be in a better position to get down to details. Also as nice as an indoor air conditioned environment can be I would like to get outside. Sweat when its hot , get wet when it rains and feel the cold air in the winter. I miss it.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

I NEVER look for a job when I am unhappy in my current job. You are in a good spot. Talk to him, express interest if a job opens up and, if the conversation warrants, offer to send him a copy of your current resume and see what happens from there.

Good advice. I messaged him and set up a call. Talked for a good 30 minutes and plan to meet next week with him and the branch manager. Told me to get a resume sent in. It went as well as I could have expected. Win or lose Im glad I did it.

 

[James Snover]

What everyone else has said. He opened the door for you to talk about it when he made the pitch. and you can bet it is sincere. When i come across people I didn't care for back when I worked for or with them, the very last thing I talk about is if there are any open positions in my current place of employment. But when i do come across somebody I would like to have on board, it gets brought up fast in the conversation. So word it like this: joe, great to see you the other day. You know how we were talking about work? You got me thinking, can we talk some more about that?" Something along those lines.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

What everyone else has said. He opened the door for you to talk about it when he made the pitch. and you can bet it is sincere. When i come across people I didn't care for back when I worked for or with them, the very last thing I talk about is if there are any open positions in my current place of employment. But when i do come across somebody I would like to have on board, it gets brought up fast in the conversation. So word it like this: joe, great to see you the other day. You know how we were talking about work? You got me thinking, can we talk some more about that?" Something along those lines.

Thats pretty much how it went. I constructed a resume today which was difficult. Its been a while since my last resume and what to fit on to one page about a job Ive had for 16 years? I think it came out alright. Thanks for the response !

 

[Blown 89]

Do yourself a favor and keep your resume updated. It's not hard and doesn't take long but will pay dividends some day. Something written over the course of a few years will always be better than something rushed through in a few days. I have cover letters outlined and updated resumes ready to go even though I'm self employed. I landed a part time job at my current company when a rushed position became available.... I ended up taking ownership of it later down the road and now it's my cash cow. Having a resume ready to go immediately made that possible.

 

[hunterp]

Thats pretty much how it went. I constructed a resume today which was difficult. Its been a while since my last resume and what to fit on to one page about a job Ive had for 16 years? I think it came out alright. Thanks for the response !

Don't necessarily feel like you need to keep your resume to a single page so long as the information is relevant to the position you're going for. Mine is two pages, but it's all relevant. Also, in today's world of electronic resume submission method of filling in multiple text boxes, page length doesn't really matter.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

Do yourself a favor and keep your resume updated. It's not hard and doesn't take long but will pay dividends some day. Something written over the course of a few years will always be better than something rushed through in a few days. I have cover letters outlined and updated resumes ready to go even though I'm self employed. I landed a part time job at my current company when a rushed position became available.... I ended up taking ownership of it later down the road and now it's my cash cow. Having a resume ready to go immediately made that possible.

I was considering a cover letter but didnt do one. Is that very highly recommended ? I could do a solid paragraph of pertinent information in a short order. I did work to keep it at one page.

 

[Blown 89]

I was considering a cover letter but didnt do one. Is that very highly recommended ? I could do a solid paragraph of pertinent information in a short order. I did work to keep it at one page.

Unless the listing explicitly states not to you should always send cover letters.