Networking For Life

Networking for Life “Really?” you say. “Networking for life? You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Nope, I’m not kidding. The two biggest mistakes job seekers make when networking are staying out of touch and getting in touch solely when they need something. Imagine Joe Job Seeker went to college with Carl Company Man. Joe and Carl haven’t been in contact for years. Joe picks up the phone at some point and calls Carl inquiring as as to if Carl knows of any job openings. That is the “you’ve gotta be kidding me” part. Seriously, what do you suppose Joe’s chances are of having Carl help him? Let’s Script This Out: Joe: Hey, it’s Joe. How have you been? Carl: Joe! Haven’t heard from you in ages. Talks about what he’s been as much as and asks Joe about himself. Joe: Talks about his life, then says: I just received downsized, so I’m looking for a job. I was wondering should you knew of any openings at your company? The chances of Carl saying sure, he knows of a gap are near zero%, so they hold up with Carl saying, “I’ll keep my eyes open for you.” And that’s the last Carl hears from him. It could have gone like this: Joe: Hey, it’s Joe. How have you ever been? Carl: Joe! Haven’t heard from you in ages. Talks about what he’s been up to and asks Joe about himself. Joe: Talks about his life, then says: The challenge I’m facing right now is that my company was downsizing, and I was one of the ones laid off. I haven’t needed to conduct a job search in years. What I would love to hear from you is your ideas on what may make my job search profitable. Carl might say any variety of issues in response to that query; it’s intrinsic in individuals to wish to assist. With the “have you learnt of any openings” dialog, although Carl may need wanted to assist Joe, he didn’t know of any openings, so Joe batted zero. Yet I would guess that ninety nine.9% of individuals queried would have some recommendation on the way to seek for a jobâ€"a home run. Remember the old adage “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know”? In the art of excellent networking, it’s extra like, “It’s not what you realize or who you realize; it’s who is aware of you.” So now that Carl is aware of Joe is in search of work, after all he would think of him if he did hear of an opening. That comes naturally, and also you don’t have to ask. In addition, Joe will send Carl a thank you observe (sure, please, make it handwritten) thanking him for his time. It will give Carl one other alternative to think of Joe. Then when Joe carries out Carl’s advice, he will send Carl a n email telling him what he didâ€"yet another alternative for Carl to think about him. If another few weeks go by and Joe hasn’t discovered work, he'll send Carl another e mail updating him as to his standing. Look at what number of occasions Carl has considered Joe as opposed to the primary scenario, where it was “Hello…Goodbye.” Networking Isn’t About Finding a Job; It’s About Making Lasting Connections. You talk to individuals (who know people), and then you definitely speak to those people (who know folks), and so it grows. Networking is not going to get you a job, however networking can produce a lead or open a door, which may lead you to an interview, which can lead you to finding a job. Networking is all about relationship-constructing. It is a lifelong, career-lengthy process, and it doesn’t occur overnight. You say you don’t know sufficient folks to community? Think again. You go to the dentist, doctor, submit workplace, repair store and on and on, don’t you? You had a job earlier than and came into contact with people? Do you attend church? Belong to the PTO or some other organization, whether or not it’s skilled or interest-associated? See how straightforward it is to get started? All you need to do is the following: Think of every little thing you do by which you interact with people and make a listing of it. There you could have itâ€"the start of your contact recor d! Now, wasn’t that straightforward? Prioritize your listing. Create your own system, whatever will give you the results you want. The objective is to evaluate the names in your list and determine who to contact first. If you’re new at this, your choice should be primarily based on who you’re most comfortable with. If you’re not a newbie, base your choice on who you're feeling might have extra contacts. Detail your listing. Write down e mail addresses, telephone numbers and mailing addressesâ€"all the contact info yow will discover. And now, you’re ready to start out contacting! How to Network the Right Way So, how do you do that intimidating thing known as networking? What do you say? As evidenced by our example of Joe above, one thing you should not do when networking is ask for a job. What you say ought to depend on how well you realize the particular person you’re contacting, and solely your judgment can tell you that. In most cases, nevertheless, your method will be related. Tell the person you’re calling that you just’ve initiated a job search and that you would welcome their advice and any recommendations or ideas they could have. See where the dialog leads from there. If they are saying, “Gee, I don’t actually have any ideas,” gently come again with, “Do you realize anybody I can talk to who may?” Your objective with every conversation must be to come away with a minimum of one name of another person you can contact. Key points to recollect: Tell the person you’re talking to that you'll maintain them apprised of your employment standingâ€"after which try this! You know the saying “out of sight, out of mind”; don’t let that occur to you. Let them know once you have secured employment. Thank the particular person you’ve talked to. If you meet with somebody in individual, ship them a written thank you notice. Although most are accomplished by email, it actually makes an impression and is difficult to delete when it’s handwritten and sent via the U.S. mail. Follow up on any leads they might offer you, even when you don’t suppose you’re fascinated or that it'll lead you wherever. Not following up can put the one that you spoke to in an ungainly position. Say, for instance, they inform you to name Carl Company Man, and a few days later they run into Carl and ask about their dialog with you and Carl says he by no means heard from you. That alone might lose you a priceless contact, much much less whoever else Carl might have referred you to. You need to be dependable and never waste people’s time. Try to fulfill with folks in indi vidual if attainable. Promise to take only quarter-hour of their time. Stick to those 15 minutes unless they invite you to remain longer. If something comes of any of the leads, similar to an interview or even a job offer, be sure to get in contact together with your contact to let them know and thank them again. People prefer to be appreciated. Don’t contact people as soon as and then overlook about them. Let an acceptable period of time go by and contact them once more. On your second and subsequent contacts, you can merely say something like, “I’m simply getting in touch to keep you up to date on my job search status.” You can then give them a short report of any significant activity if you assume they could be interested. You can even ask them if they have any further ideas or recommendations. Whatever you do, don’t wear out your welcome. Contacting people as soon as a month is often adequate. As you continue to community, start eliminating individuals from your contac t listing who haven’t been useful. There’s no need to continue to contact individuals if every contact with them leads nowhere. Cold-Calling Referrals How do you contact someone and start a conversation with them if you’ve never met or talked to them before? What do you say? If you network correctly, you will encounter this example fairly incessantly. In reality, you have to if you’re going to make your networking efforts repay. If your networking contact is aware of the individual they’re referring you to, it might be acceptable for them to name the person first to offer them a heads-up that you will be calling. Let them supply to do that; don’t ask them to. Remember, folks like to assist and really nicely may provide to go one step further and do an introduction. Be prepared, however, that you may have to end up contacting the referral with out an introduction from the one who referred you. Once you do join, your dialog might begin one thing like this: “This is Arnold Applicant. Rachel Referral advised I name you…” and then tell them why and what for. Be very cautious about asking a few specific opening. Never put t he individual you’re calling on the spot. Give them time in your conversation to tell you about something particular that they can help you with. After being laid off from her longtime job as an HR director, Kathy Barany decided to begin her personal HR consulting business, Strategic Management Solutions. She has a grasp’s certificate from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and is an professional generally HR consulting, together with authorized compliance. Kathy is a sought-after speaker on a variety of matters, including the job search and the artwork of networking. When she’s not practicing her ardour for business success, she spends time with household and indulges in her passion for traditional vehicles, together with her own 1957 Thunderbird. Image: photobucket