Career Collective post: Once every month or so, a group of career professionals blog on a subject topical and timely for a job seeker. We post our thoughts on our own blogs, and link to the posts of our colleagues on the same topic.
This month’s topic: “Networking.” Responses from others contributors are linked at the end. For updates, follow our hashtag #CareerCollective on Twitter. (A new window will open.)
“We get by with a little help from our friends…”
That’s what the Beatles told us in 1967, and many times that line has run through my mind when yet another good thing has happened for me as the result of the actions of one of my friends. Or when I help a friend out with something.
On the other hand, when I talk with job seekers, I often hear comments like:
- “I hate networking!”
- “Networking is just another name for using people!”
- “Networking doesn’t work for me. Going to an event. Collecting business cards. What’s the point? It just doesn’t work.”
Those are comments I hear often from people who are struggling in their job search. Because if you aren’t doing well in your networking, your job search will be harder and longer.
Making Networking Events Work for You
They don’t need to be painful. Really!
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Do’s -
- Take your lucky charm(s) with you. Scientific research shows that they do help you feel more confident! This is good for networking.
- Go to events that are at least marginally interesting to you, and attend more than one meeting. Strangers and unfamiliar faces become more comfortable the second (and third and fourth) time around.
- If possible, volunteer to work the sign-in or registration table. Everyone attending the event will probably sign-in, collect a name tag, etc., so you will get a chance to see who’s attending and speak with them for a moment or two. Then the people attending will no longer be strangers. You’ll be able to connect names to faces, and perhaps pick up more information like employers and locations.
- Set a reasonable “stretch” goal for the event, like connecting with 3 new people, or reconnecting with 3 people you spoke with at an earlier meeting plus 2 new people, or whatever is appropriate for you and the event.
- Find a non-job-search-related topic to discuss when you first meet someone, if there isn’t already a topic under discussion. Something unthreatening, but somewhat interesting - the food (if any), the traffic, the venue. Do your best to avoid religion and politics!
- Try to learn about your new friends – what music or movies they like, hobbies they have, dream vacation spots, window or aisle in airliner seating preference, etc. You’ll remember them more readily later, determine if there is a basis for long-term friendship, and the conversation won’t be focused on you.
- Research the group and the officers, if any, before you go so that you at least seem to be interested and well informed.
- Have your networking/business cards in your pocket, ready to hand out at the appropriate time. And, when someone gives you a card – read it immediately. Then, put it into a different pocket from the one holding your cards so that you don’t accidentally hand it to someone else.
Don’ts -
- Don’t be ”fashionably late” – it destroys the possibility of meeting new people at the beginning of the event when there are typically fewer people in attendance, and it’s easier to start a conversation. So, try to arrive shortly after the event begins.
- Don’t attend with the intention of “working the room.” That IS bad networking!
- Don’t tell everyone you meet that you are job hunting at the beginning of the conversation or make your job search the primary topic of every conversation. It makes some people uncomfortable, and others maybe leary of what you want from them. And, your job search is all me-me-me, which is exactly the wrong approach.
- Don’t ask everyone for a job.
- Don’t look past someone with whom you are having a conversation to see if there is anyone “better” to talk with in the room. Do mind your manners.
For more information:
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The Career Collective, July, 2010, Topic:
How did members of the Career Collective respond? Follow us on Twitter with our hashtag #careercollective, and read these posts. Each link opens a new page when clicked:
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[...] Networking for the Networking-Phobic, @JobHuntOrg [...]
Hi Susan,
Thanks for these helpful networking tips.
While I have a number of good books on the topic, your article really summarizes the key points that one needs to remember.
I will definitely bookmark this page so that I may review it before attending any future professional events.
Best,
Dorlee
Susan – I love these ideas! I’ve never heard the one about bringing a lucky charm, although it makes a lot of sense. Boosting confidence and doing what feels right is so important! Thanks so much!
Susan:
Creating new “friends” takes time. I love how you recommended attending a group many times, so many people attend once and say “nope, no jobs here” and move on. Networking isn’t about cultivating job leads, but about building relationships and all of your dos and don’ts point to this.
Who knew I was supposed to carry a lucky charm? What a great idea. You are the second person recently who has mentioned the idea! I guess I better find one! I enjoy your work and greatly respect your expertise!
[...] Networking for the Networking Phobic Networking gets a bad rap by many job seekers, but networking is not only critical to a successful job search, networking can also be fun. Read this article by Susan P. Joyce, Job-Hunt’s Online Job Search Expert, to find out how. [...]