What's Your Networking Strategy For Your Job?

Lately I’ve been asking my clients about their networking strategy. I’ve even decided to add coaching people on networking strategies to my roster of services—it’s becoming THAT important in this job economy. Sitting at home, in your fuzzy slippers and applying for jobs online just ain’t cuttin’ it. Here’s the two-step process to improving your network.

1. Figure out what how to talk about yourself. Check out 15secondpitch.com to figure out how you should talk about your experience. The Wizard takes you through questions like Who you are, what you specialize in, what you do, and why you’re the best at what you do. (gee..exactly what you should have on your resume and be talking about in an interview…imagine that. :) ) The key is to introduce yourself in a way that’s memorable so that people remember who you are and what you do; and Second of all: want to help you. You want them to become your sales force on the streets looking for jobs for you.

Case in point: I have many clients, each one with their own unique talents and skills that I enjoy crafting into a great resume or helping them highlight in a job interview. Since I know my clients really well, I’ve always got my radar on for ways to help them. This morning I got a follow-up call from someone whose resume I’d done several months ago; Tom. He landed, and then was recently let go through no fault of his own. This afternoon I went to lunch with a current client, Rick and told him about Tom’s background and what he was looking for. Rick gave me a fabulous lead that could help Tom. Because I thoroughly understood Tom’s background, I was willing to stick my neck out for him and advocate his abilities.

This is what you need as a jobseeker. You need advocates. You need to turn people you meet into a sales force who will stick up for you and go the extra mile to help you. Think about recommendations you’ve made to other people about restaurants, dry cleaners, doctor’s, etc. What qualities did those people or services have that caused you to speak out about them? What made them stand out in your mind? Since you’re now looking to BE recommended, you’ve got to exhibit those qualities when meeting people to get recommended. You need to turn them into advocates for your cause and funnel job leads and ideas back to you. Will you get some leads that you don’t want? Yup. Does it matter in this economy? Nope. Just pass it along to someone else you know who might benefit.

2. Look for places where you can now hone this fabulous sales-pitch of yours. First, look for jobseeker groups that meet in your area. There’s about 4 here in Southwestern CT, and I’d imagine that they’re popping up around the country at this point. You can also go to Meetup.com and look for other jobseeker groups. If there isn’t one—start one. Contact a local career coach in your area and ask them if they’d be interested in hosting it. As long as they’re providing good content and advice, they’ll be a huge help to the group. While you’re on meetup.com, check out other special interest groups—like movie going groups, board games, wine aficionados. All of those activities gives you a chance to meet new people and broaden your social network.
Another good option is to take a class, either through your school District’s Continuing Education program or a local college. My friend Gilda Bonanno teaches great classes in CT on Presentation Skills, (beefing up your skills in this area looks awesome on a resume, BTW). You can also take a business class that interests you at a local community college. Want to explore your options in project management? Then sign up for a workshop on that topic.
Attend association events. It’s not enough to be a member of the American Marketing Association and checking their job board, you need to show up at a meeting and charm them with your personality. Looking for a job with a local company? Check out your town’s Chamber of Commerce meetings. You can peruse their list of members to get a feel for the types of people who attend. Chances are that you won’t be in competition with many other (if any) jobseekers. Make conversation with the businessperson by asking about how they’re faring in this economy, get their thoughts on what’s happening in the local market. Then introduce yourself as someone in transition, and say that you’re looking to network with people in x industry or y company. NEVER ask for a job. You’re just trying to get an introduction to someone who has the potential to help you, either with advice about your skills or someone who has an idea of other avenues for your job search. People at Chamber meetings are master networkers. Always keep in mind that people will speak up for others whom they know and like.
Why does networking work well? The problem now is that hiring managers and recruiters are being flooded with resumes for their open postings. It’s much easier for them to listen to a recommendation from a friend or co-worker about someone who is a great candidate, check out your resume and discuss the position with you. Don’t you go to restaurants and buy cars that other people recommend before you strike out on your own? It’s the same decision-process for hiring managers.
The trick is that they don’t know you unless you make yourself known. Time spent networking is more productive than sitting on your couch worrying about your jobsearch.

Time to Meet New People (who could help get you a job)

These days I’m becoming 100% convinced that it’s not what you’ve accomplished in your position that will get you your next job, but who you know. It could be the subconscious influence of the networking book Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi (HIGHLY recommend it for all my loyal readers), or just what I’ve witnessed this past week.

For the past several months I’ve subscribed to an email list produced by a public relations guy—Peter Shankman. The list started on Facebook as a way for him to connect his reporter friends who were looking for people to quote in stories, with his friends in PR who were looking to place their clients in the media. Simple enough right? Well over the course of the past year, he’s grown the list to over 22K people and is putting a serious dent in what had been a paid subscription service for the industry. If you Google him, you’ll see that he’s been on CNN several times, wrote a book, sold one of his PR firms and started another one—the guy gets around.

I’d been noticing his list growing (he provides pretty frequent updates to his subscribers) and decided to buy an ad in an upcoming issue. I also realized that since he’s in NYC, I could actually take him out to lunch! I was embarrassed at how long it took me to formulate that idea. There was never a reason not to ask—other than my “aw shucks, what would little ‘ole me have to talk to him about?” attitude. So just like that, I asked and he accepted. Lunch went well, he’s an interesting, down-to-earth guy who actually spent the first 10 minutes stressing that the lunchtime email he sent his 22K subscribers went out without a screwup on his part, and showed me a nice note he was got on his Blackberry from a subscriber. In some ways, he operates in a completely different world than mine, and it felt really good to mix it up a bit.

So what’s YOUR take-away from all this? First, his list grew from the strength of his network of contacts. He saw a need between 2 groups of people he knew, and decided to fill it. He then asks EVERYONE on his list to spread the word about the list. His motto is that everyone’s an expert in something, so why not get your name in the media about it? He’s built up a loyal fan base, and when he asks for help—he gets it. Are you doing this in your job search? Are you asking your friends and acquaintances for help? Are you asking them if there’s any way you can help them, whether it be if you know a good plumber or the best restaurant for Indian food in your area? Helping others is the best way to have that good Karma flow back to you.

And if you’re sitting there saying “but I just don’t know that many people” – then that’s a problem. First, take an actual inventory of people during a typical 3 month span whom you have conversations with. This includes activities like classes, work (of course), your kid’s soccer games and recitals, even people you may know in an online community. Unless you’re a complete hermit—you know people. Second, to get to know MORE people, check out networking sites like Meetup.com where you can find activities you like to do, and join groups of people who are interested in them as well. If you’re looking for a job, join a jobseekers group—but also join a Kayaking group if that’s your interest.

Lastly, no one is unapproachable. Just because this Shankman guy was sending out emails and has like a zillion Google hits didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be a nice lunch companion or accept my invitation. Don’t be intimidated by someone’s stature or your assumption of what their life is like relative to yours. If you find someone on LinkedIn who is in your dream job or industry, approach them and ask if they could take ½ hour of their time to give you some advice from their point of view. Chances are they’ll be flattered and if there’s a way you can help them down the road, they’ll appreciate that too.

Broadening your circle of acquaintances gets you into those different worlds and can really open your eyes to new possibilities in many different areas of your life.

Turn the Tables--You can Interview THEM

I know, for many of you just the word “interview” can send you running from the room in shear panic. However, an informational interview is completely different than a job interview, in that it’s a chance for you to learn something about your target company or a possible career move, without the pressure of having to win the job. Here’s how they work best.

Let’s say that you’ve been out of the workforce for a while, or are in serious need of a career change, but have no idea if your skills are in demand or even how to position yourself. You start by identifying some areas/companies that you’re interested in, and then getting the word out there among your friends and family that you’d like to investigate your career options. An informational interview is NOT about expecting that someone will get you a job, but it’s really just to give you some insight and a reality check about the feasibility of your plans. Here’s how to go about inviting someone to coffee or lunch and what to ask them once you’re there.

First, in order to meet people who could help you, tell anyone and everyone you know that you’re looking to make a career change and want to explore your options in XYZ industry. Tell them that you’re in the information gathering stage, and are looking to take people out for coffee or lunch who could give you some advice about transferring your skills, and even how best to position yourself on a resume. You may not get any firm leads the first few times you try this, but keep your options open and come across as someone who genuinely wants to learn about an industry, and it will pay off.

For example, when I spoke at UCLA a few weekends ago, I met a student with an accounting/finance degree who is doing an internship in New York City. He graduates next Spring, but considering the dicey financial sector at the moment, is doing everything he can to learn about his prospects. I recently redid a resume for a client with a similar background, so I introduced them. I had my student write an email of introduction about himself that I could forward to my client—along with his resume. In my email to my client, I put in a good word about the student and vouched for his genuine interest and good character. They’ll be meeting in a few weeks. It’s as simple as that. LinkedIn.com is a great place to start to look for people with those kinds of connections.

You should NOT expect a job lead from these informational interviews. If you do get one, that’s just the ultimate bonus, but if your guest suspects your hidden agenda, they are likely to turn down your invitation. Be considerate of their schedule, and let them know that coffee would only take a half-hour, and lunch no more than an hour, so they don’t get nervous that they’re going to have to entertain you for a whole afternoon.

You should definitely bring a list of questions to the interview, but keep in mind that it will feel most comfortable as a conversation, not an interrogation. You can ask questions like: What’s a typical day like? What skillsets make people successful in this field? My background is X, and I feel that my strength is my ability to Y. Do you think that skill would be valued in your industry? How did you get started working at the company? Do any of your colleagues have a unique/unexpected background? Are there specific degrees or accreditations that are necessary just to be considered for a position?

There are plenty more, but you want to ask questions that will help you decide if this field is for you, and if it is, what it would take to get in.

ALWAYS stick to the time that you allotted for the interview. If you see that you could be running long, be considerate and point it out to the person you’re meeting with. Chances are they won’t cut the interview short unless they have another appointment, but will appreciate that you’re mindful of the value of their time.

In this job market, many of you will need to reinvent yourselves to find a job in your area. Informational interviews are key to learning about your options and how to position yourself .

Great Networking Opening Lines

A big HELLO to all of my faithful readers! I apologize for not getting these newsletters out on a weekly basis for the past few months. A lot of travel and the fact that EVERYONE seems to be getting their resume redone has caused my business to BOOM! I will try to get these out on a more timely basis.

I’m writing this in the Los Angeles airport where I ran a program for the American Management Association’s summer program at UCLA. When it came to the networking presentation, the student’s #1 concern? How do you start a conversation with someone you don’t know?

As a veteran of many networking events, I feel everyone’s pain on this one. I’m actually more of a “sit back and see what happens” kind of gal, and I really find it hard to talk to people I don’t know either. But in order to grow my business, I had to learn how to get out there, and in order for you to get a job, you’re going to need to master this skill too.

The best opening line? A compliment! Who doesn’t love receiving a compliment, and who doesn’t instantly love the person giving the compliment? It is a never fail conversation starter. Here’s how it typically goes. As a woman, I’ll usually compliment a guy on his tie (psst….I don’t always LIKE the tie, but I can say something like “I’ve never seen a tie quite like that one, there’s got to be a story behind it.” and it works just as well). I have absolutely no idea why, but about 70% of the time they have some sort of story behind their tie. Then because I just gave them a compliment, and listened to their tie story, are much more open to talking to me.

For a man trying to network with a woman without coming across as a cheesy pickup line? Compliment a woman on her cellphone/Blackberry if it looks pretty high tech (“Those ‘crackberry’s’ are too addicting aren’t they?”, “Are you going to upgrade to the new iPhone?”) or a distinctive/unique piece of jewelry (ring, watch or pin), she may be wearing. Those are pretty safe articles of clothing you can comment on without crossing any uncomfortable lines. A simple “I’ve never seen a pin/watch/scarf/ring quite like that, where did you get it?” will do the trick.

The goal is to get the other person in a favorable state of mind to talk to you, not spend the rest of the evening sharing fashion tips. Once you’ve broken the ice, you can move onto introducing yourself and what you do, and then finding out about them.

One other tip that always works, look for the other person at the event who isn’t talking to anyone else, but looks just as dazed/confused/lost as you probably do. They will welcome your compliment and conversation.

However, networking just takes practice. The more attempts you make to make friends at these events, the better you’ll get at it. Promise.

Now get off your couch and get goin’!