Thank you again to Paul Cecala from Cecala Career Consulting for examining the ins and outs of networking. The old adage “Its not what you know, its who you know” still rings true today so it is important that we pay more attention to networking. While many of us have no problem networking with friends and family over social media, we are often more hesitant to pursue those networking relationships in our career. However, those relationships can be the key to getting a new job or promotion. So lets dive in and learn how to network better, build our confidence, and land that dream job!
What is Networking?
Networking is all about building relationships, not just contacts. These relationships are dynamic and need to be cultivated; a simple add on LinkedIn is not enough. Oftentimes, you will need to be proactive and put forth the effort to advance these relationships; strategies will be discussed below. A great thing to remember while networking is that you should often frame your introductions and interactions with what you can offer, rather than what someone can offer you; someone is more likely to help you if you’ve helped them.
While a major part of networking is finding people, its more important to find the right people who should be part of your professional network. In your networking travels, be sure to try and find those individuals who are responsible for hiring or those who may be connected to hiring authorities. This can be as simple as following someone on LinkedIn and liking their posts or tagging them in something that you think they may find useful. This provides you with an inroad to then launch further networking opportunities.
12 Simple Networking Steps
Step 1 – Your Weekly Networking Goals
Here are some things you should try to accomplish each week to develop your network into one that can provide you with the most benefits:
- Contact 2-3 hiring authorities each week
- Find and reach out to 8-10 individuals who can introduce you to those hiring authorities or have influence in the hiring decision
- Contact 1 person at each of your top 5 companies or organizations
- Attend 1 professional association meeting or job seeker networking meeting – these may be monthly rather than weekly
It’s OK to not accomplish all of your goals in a given week; the important things are to stay on track and hold yourself accountable.
Step 2 – Meeting with the Hiring Authorities
While it is great to connect and network with your friends and family, you really want to be targeting those people who are responsible for hiring, especially if you are looking for a new or particular job. This involves finding the right person, at the right level, in the right organization. This might require you to develop relationships with other people who will eventually be able to give you access to that individual. It also helps you avoid the “gatekeepers” that can prevent you making the connection that will land you that job, such as Applicant Tracking Systems, generic contact forms or emails, or administrative assistants/secretaries.
Step 3 – Make Networking Part of Your Weekly Routine
Yes, networking should become part of your weekly routine, just like bathing, errands, or your favorite show. In preparation, make a list (25-50) of the most important people for you to network with over the next 3 months. Each Monday morning, reach out to about 5 people on that list, moving on down the list the following Monday. These interactions can be a simple message in the vein of “Thinking of you…”, “Is there anything I can help you with?” or “It’s been a while, let’s chat soon!”. Your weekly efforts will help keep those relationships healthy, lead to new contacts to add to your network, and help you mold your network into one that is getting you the maximum amount of benefit.
Step 4 – Social Media: Its All About Engaging
LinkedIn is now the premier social media platform for professional networking. It is great for birthday or work anniversary reminders, which can help keep your relationships moving forward. Be sure to comment on others’ posts that you are connected with; try to set aside 1 hour per week to review notifications and comment. Also try to set aside 30 minutes a week to create your own posts or share other thought leaders’ content; you need to contribute as well! When you do post, remember to try and tag 4-6 people for each post and make sure you vary who you tag; include up to 5 hashtags to so that your post is more discoverable and reflects the message you are trying to convey or the people you are trying to reach.
Step 5 – Networking without In-Person Contact
There are many ways we can foster relationships virtually that can have a meaningful impact. Simple e-cards, messages, or phone calls on important dates (birthdays, work anniversaries, etc.) are easy ways to show someone you are thinking of them; it might even elicit a response from them in kind or something more meaningful to your career goals. You can also frame your outreach attempts in more meaningful ways by thanking them for something or sharing an article, quote, or experience that reminds you of them. These personal connections can be a great way to bolster relationships and lead to deeper conversations that revolve around job opportunities. Don’t forget to always include an invitation for how you can help them; remember, you are trying to nurture and advance the relationship.
Step 6 – Meeting Your Contacts
As your relationship matures, it can be very beneficial to meet in person; while we are so used to communicating virtually and at a distance, many of use actually do prefer more than just a call or message. When offering these opportunities, be sure to indicate a time limit to demonstrate your respect of their time; “Can we take 15 minutes to meet for coffee?” or “Can I take you lunch for your lunch break?”. It can be of further benefit to include others in these meet-ups (2 or 3), especially if you think they can mutually benefit each other, even in the simplest of ways. This can help demonstrate what you can offer someone and make them more likely to help you out in the future.
Step 7 – Informational Meetings Lead to Job Opportunities
Try to schedule short informational meetings with your networking contacts, no more than 15 minutes. These sessions can allow you to demonstrate knowledge that show your interest or qualification for a particular position or give you a chance to learn more about the organization and the individual who is responsible for hiring decisions. Be sure to have a Marketing Plan that you can share at the end of the meeting, which demonstrates your short and long term goals and how your efforts might be of benefit to that person/organization. This is also a great time to ask for other contacts the person might know that can help you network further or advance your career goals. As always, send a thank you afterwards and be sure to follow-up!
Step 8 – Listen Intently and Intentionally
Active listening is a lost art and can make a big difference in the results you can obtain from your networking partners. You can actually gather much more information through listening than just reading; tone, inflection, and body language can often indicate more meaning behind what is being said. Some ways to demonstrate active listening include repeating their name several times throughout the conversation, asking open-ended questions, and showing interest in what they are saying. Another important aspect is to actually reflect back on some of their thoughts in your own words. Active listening may seem like a chore, but if done correctly, you can actually lead the conversation and get what you want out of it without being overt.
Step 9 – Be Ready to Give Before You Receive
The foundation of all relationships is the principle of give and take; sometimes these are not equal and that’s ok. We are often more willing to help someone who has helped us, whether through information, a recommendation, or an introduction. Useful ways to give include potential contacts, relevant articles or industry information, or strategies that can help someone manage aspects of their personal or work life. Always close with an offering to help!
Step 10 – Ask Open-ended Questions
Open-ended questions require more than a “yes” or “no” answer and can often provide you with important information about an organization, job, individual, or career field. In general, people like to talk about themselves and the things that are important to them so asking these questions can show your interest in someone else’s life, which can boost your chances of getting something valuable from them in response, even if it is down the road.
Step 11 – Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up
Though this is Step 11, it is the most important and often forgotten step. Without follow-up, you run the risk of your networking efforts being for naught. Try to always set a future conversation date and thank them after every contact. These will help keep your name in the contact’s radar, which can lead to new leads, new contacts, or early notice of open positions. As always, be sure include a “Thank You” to anyone who introduces your to a new networking opportunities to further strengthen that relationship.
Step 12 – Keep Complete Records
It is important to keep accurate records regarding your networking interactions. Be sure to document your last interaction, when you would like to follow-up, and other important information that can help you during future interactions…you don’t want to repeat yourself!
More Information
If you are looking for more information regarding networking or other topics related to your career development/advancement, please visit Cecala Career Consultants at https://sites.google.com/a/cecalacareer.com/cecalacareer-com/home. You can contact Paul Cecala directly at PCecala@cecalacareer.com. You can view the recording on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/bhT00sq95UQ.
