Networking Works!
It’s time to unleash the single most powerful and proven tool in your job-search tool kit—networking. Survey results vary, but it appears that about 40 to 50 percent of the time, networking plays a major role in helping people land new jobs. That would make networking the single most-effective way to find out about job openings and to succeed at getting a new job.
So What Is Networking?
Networking is simply involving others in your job search and becoming involved in the job-search efforts of others. It can take place one-on-one, in small groups, large groups, formal groups, informal groups, and even online.
If you establish a communication network with 20 people, you dramatically increase the likelihood that you will learn about employment opportunities and contacts you may never have found on your own.
Where Do I Start?
Online social networking platforms are a growing vehicle that people are using for networking. One of the leading online professional networks is LinkedIn, and there are several others (e.g. Plaxo, hi5). On these platforms, you identify your contacts and invite them via e-mail to connect with you. Then you become connected to them and can view their connections and contacts. If there is someone on the profile of one of your contacts whom you would like to meet, you can ask to be introduced to that person. This “gated-access approach” ensures that the expanding network of contacts is comprised of “trusted” individuals.
You can also join special interest groups at LinkedIn to rapidly expand your number of connections. You can search by individual’s names, employers, names of hiring managers, and professional affiliations. These groups can become a meeting place where you can ask questions. Developing your personal network on LinkedIn may take time, but it will probably require less time than trying to build a network in person or by phone.
You can also follow people in your field on Twitter, a social networking site. Once you set up an account on Twitter, you can respond to or comment on “tweets,” or short posts by others. Some people use Twitter to post links to personal or industry blogs or news items. You can search Twitter for people you know or by subjects you want to research. For example, a search on “résumé help” brought up more than 15 tweets of people discussing résumés or asking for advice. You can then decide to follow people on Twitter, and that way, you will regularly see their updates.
You can also type in hash tags (for example, “#resume”) and search for tweets by topic. Some professional organizations are posting updates from conferences and workshops using hash tags.
In addition to your online efforts, you should still explore the traditional networking vehicles:
1. Family and Neighborhood Gatherings – Have your “elevator speech” prepared, and try it out. In case anyone offers help, be ready to elaborate on your job-search plans and on your targeted employers.
2. Social and Religious Organizations – These groups sometimes sponsor job-search networking meetings. If not, just start talking to people to people before or after meetings and services. If you meet someone who is willing to help, try to get a business card or ask for an e-mail and a phone number.
3. Professional, Trade, or Business Groups – Join professional and trade associations. Attend their conferences and offer to work on committees. You’ll be quite surprised to find that many who attend are looking for jobs. Some of these organizations sponsor job-networking sessions.
4. School or Work “Alumni” Groups – Many colleges and major employers establish alumni networks to help their members search for jobs, make contacts, or develop business. For a list of such corporate alumni groups, visit www.corporatealumni.com. You can also find some of these groups online, via Facebook or LinkedIn.
The biggest obstacle to successful networking may be overcoming your nervousness over asking for help and admitting you’re out of a job.
One idea to get started is to open conversations with previous coworkers or acquaintances by saying, “I’m new to networking. What’s your experience, and do you have any suggestions for me about how to get started?”
Don’t discount the impact of networking. And don’t make these excuses:
1. “I’ll be competing directly with the people I share information with.” Not so. It will be rare that you are searching for the same job, in the same industry or employer, as someone in your support network.
2. “I can’t imagine begging people for help. It’s too humiliating.” Get over it. Networking is common practice, and you’re not begging for help. You’re asking for, and offering help, to many people in your network. Being unemployed no longer has the stigma it did 20 years ago.
Losing a job these days doesn’t mean you failed and are unemployable. You’ve simply lost your job and you’re looking for a better one. Unlike the generation before yours, you will likely work for several employers over the course of your career. It is rare to spend your entire career with one company.
3. “I don’t know how to network.” Learning to network starts with developing your “elevator speech.” In one minute, you should to be able to summarize what type of job you want, what you do best, and how the person you are talking to can help. Rehearse this with your family and friends. Be direct, polite, and confident. Most people will be flattered to be asked for help. Now, get out there and meet people.
So maybe networking is something new for you.
But get excited about learning a new job-search skill, or to put it more bluntly, adapt or give up!
Take control of your job search.
Be proud of your efforts. You will find a new job, because you know you have to.
So stop creating obstacles for yourself and give it a try.
Source: Bob Skladany, chief career counselor for RetirementJobs.com
More on Networking >>
Social networking websites should be treated as an on-line tool to support traditional networking methods. Its focus is to expand the number of your business and/or social contacts in your network by making connections through individuals you already know. It is a powerful concept when applied to careers and job search because it has the potential to connect you rather quickly to people in your target markets.
Recruiters and employers also search social networking sites to find candidates, and most sites host job listings.
When using a social networking site for job search, you look for other members who are insiders at your target companies. Then you look to see which people you already know can introduce you to those new people, just as you would in traditional networking. You can also tap into your connections at past companies, schools or associations and talk to those people about your targeted organizations.
One of the best uses of social networks is to build up a list of contacts — and potentially connect with someone in a target company. Unlike regular employment sites, which mainly list want ads and applicants’ resumes, social networks are designed for professionals to meet peers and make career contacts.
Social network connections can give you access to:
- contacts by a particular company, industry or interest
- jobs that don’t show up anywhere else
- people that you have not met, including hiring managers and recruiters
Getting Started
In general, here’s how it works: you join one of the social networking sites (such as LinkedIn.com) and invite people you know to join as well.
Those people invite their contacts to join, who in turn invite their contacts to join, and the process repeats for each person. In theory, any individual can make contact through anyone they have a connection to any of the people that person has a connection to, and so on.
In the process of joining a social networking site, you create a profile. Your profile is:
- Your online resume
- An advertisement
- A web page
This profile is your personal presentation to the community of people in your industry and profession.
Most social networking sites have features that allow you to post recommendations from your network. This can work to your advantage if your profile includes recommendations from well-placed connections who say favorable things about your abilities that are relevant to the work you are now looking for. Make sure that your online profile reflects who you are and what you want.
Searching for Contacts
Once you join the network, there are two basic ways to search for contacts:
- Get a referral from a third party to a person you want to meet. You look around for people you know on the network and send out invitations to “connect” to them. The friend who gets the invitation clicks on a link that confirms that he or she knows the you. As soon as that happens, you can easily request contact with all of the friend’s friends.
- Search for people based on a host of factors, such as name, industry location, employers or schools attended. When you spot a likely profile, look to see who can introduce you to the new person you found.
How do employers and recruiters use social networks?
Employers and recruiters use popular social networking sites to:
- hunt for talent
- do informal reference checking by viewing information about you posted by you or others
- look for mutual connections before personally interviewing a candidate
There are numerous other social networking sites on the Internet; the sites that work and are career-related are easier to use in job search than the purely social sites, but both can be very useful.
