Casual Carpool: A networking secret for job seekers

Right after I was let go I moved out of the city of San Francisco to Oakland where I save money, enjoy warmer weather and people actually seem a lot nicer – At least when they’re not rioting.  The only worry that I had when making this move was finding a viable commuting option. I soon learned that I live just a few minutes walk from one of the most coveted casual carpool pick-ups in the Bay Area – the Oakland and Monte Vista Ave. pickup.  So commuting to the city is not only, convenient and free, it also provides me with an invaluable networking opportunity.  That is, if you break the rules.

Before I get into the details of how to turn your commute into your own personal elevator pitch, let me explain how casual car pool works.  It’s basically an informal ride-share system where people drive up to designated pickup spots, load two or three strangers into their car and continue on their daily commute.  The advantage to the driver is two-fold:  Not only can they cruise the car-pool lane, they don’t have to pay the $4 bridge toll in the morning.  So by the end of the week they’ve saved themselves $20 in tolls and shaved about 3 hours off their commute.  It’s a real win-win. 

However, there are message boards and sites online dedicated to providing feedback based on negative experiences that have been caused by creepy or dangerous drivers.  Reading through these it’s clear that there are car pool pickups that are more desirable than others.  Mine is consistently good.  Why?  Because it’s on the commuting route of the super wealthy Piedmont neighborhood, so instead of hopping in some teen-ager’s jalopy, you’re heading to work in a brand-new Mercedes or Jaguar. 

Yes, if you’re working the Piedmont pick up, there’s a good chance you’re hitching a ride with one of the Bay Area’s captains of industry.  These are the men and woman that don’t get laid off.  No, these are the men and woman with the ability to put you in touch with a friend of theirs that is looking for exactly your out-of-work skill set.  But considering that the first rule of car pool is, ‘don’t talk in the car pool,’ getting this conversation going needs to be handled delicately.  If not, you come across as creepy and not only will you have blown your one shot for the day, chances are that guy will not pick you up again (carpool riders and drivers can discriminate if they feel uncomfortable with an individual).

But have no fear, I think I’ve perfected my car pool-networking strategy, so let me share with you what I’ve learned.  I’ve broken it down into two steps: 

1) Vehicular Profiling:  The kind of car one drives often says a lot about a person.  And since you’ve only got one shot a day at the casual carpool, you’ve got to hedge your bets.  Stay away from older models and station wagons.  These indicate that the person driving either hasn’t been promoted in a while, or in the case of a station wagon, they’ve given up on aggressive corporate ladder climbing for the joys to be had by letting their career take a backseat to their family.  More power to them, but that’s not gonna help me get a job right now.  Also stay away from slick SUV’s like Escalades, the Porsche Cayenne or the BMW X3.  I’ve found that a lot of people commuting in these types of cars are in the Real Estate game.  They’ve got these big cars to shuttle potential buyers around from house-to-house.  The one time I made this mistake the driver spent the whole time trying to sell me a Goddamn condo when I was supposed to be selling her my skills.  Finally, stay away from Hummers on principle.  These drivers are just dicks.

For best results, stick to luxury sedans like Mercedes, Lexus, & (to a lesser extent) BMWs.  An acceptable gamble, at least in the Bay Area, are newer-model hybrids.  Sure, you may end up with a tree hugger, but you’re just as likely to end up with a socially and environmentally-minded CEO of an IT company.  Plus a hybrid is a good conversation starter.  Speaking of which, this leads us to step two:

2) Start the conversation close to home:  In this case, talk about the commute.  For me, I always make a comment about some aspect of the commute that helps me create the myth that this is my first time carpooling, like this:  “Wow – I can’t believe how many cars are backed up for the toll plaza.  Now I know why so many people love casual carpool.”  This, without fail, begs the question, “oh, this is your first time?  Are you new to the area?”  Gotcha!  Now all you’ve got to do is say something like, “oh no.  I’ve been doing this commute for years, but I was laid off a few weeks ago, so I’m trying to cut a few corners and save on my commute while I’m interviewing…it’s not like you’re making money at a job interview, you know?”  Oh my god, you’re so in at this point.  This is what follows:  “Oh the recession got you too, huh? Where did you work?”  Now he’s unknowingly inquiring about your skill set – booya!  Keep it light, stay positive and don’t let the conversation become a big pity party for you.  Instead, turn the conversation around and ask about what he does.  Once you’ve done this, you’ve got to be quick on your feet, show some interest in his field and make a connection between what he does and your own skill-set.  That way he’ll see where there may be some overlap or think of people or places that he knows about that are hiring.  At the end of the ride, introduce yourself, get his name and pray that he offers up some additional information.  If not, do it again the next day.

There you have it.  Now go find a casual carpool pickup near you and start networking!  BUT, the Oakland & Monte Vista Ave. pickup is my turf.  If I see any of you broke-ass clowns trying to mess with this one, it’s war!