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Networking: Do It Right and Get Hired


Most everyone knows that when unemployed, you should be networking. But after weeks and months, many are frustrated and complain that networking doesn’t work.

We met with Margaret, a personable and accomplished executive who had been out of work over a year. Margaret had been networking like crazy. Her calendar was jam-packed with meetings:  job club meetings, meetings for coffee, lunch meetings, and so on. But not only did she not have a job, she'd only had one interview. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Here are a few mistakes she was making. You might check to see if you’re doing “the right stuff” in your networking.

Are you making a good impression?
Though Margaret had impressive accomplishments, she wasn’t explaining them clearly.  What she had done was fairly complex, and she was getting lost in the details. Consequently, she was confusing people.

Time spent polishing your presentation will pay off big time. We insist that clients develop a repertoire of success stories, a meaty 2-minute profile (not a corny elevator speech that says they are “results-oriented, bottom-line, team players,” like everyone else), a great resume and LinkedIn profile and (sometimes) other marketing materials.

Many times, people who are most convinced they are making a great impression are fooling themselves. Get an objective opinion from someone knowledgeable. Time spent in this area can go a long way toward cutting the length of your job search, while making it far less painful.

Do you have a marketing plan?
Do you know what companies you’d like to work for and who in those organizations (either by name or by title) you want to meet?

Margaret was very busy networking, but had no plan. Consequently, she  spun her wheels meeting with random people she ran into at job clubs.

Are you meeting with people who are can provide the information you need?
Do they people you meet with know about the needs of companies, industry trends, and so on? If not, managing the meeting well can help them to help you connect with the right people.

Do you have a clear agenda for what you want from the meeting?
If so, do you ask the right questions so that you gather information that moves you closer to your goal?

Margaret wasn’t asking the right questions, which was a further detriment to her making a good impression. Nor was she getting the kind of information that might lead her to the hiring decision makers who have the needs she could help fill.

Do you consistently ask for appropriate referrals?
We see many people staying in their comfort zone, afraid that people won’t be willing to share connections.

Margaret was getting referrals, but she wasn’t effectively guiding people in the kinds of referrals that would be most useful. In her case, she wasn’t getting referred to people in her industry.

Are you making people uncomfortable?
Networking can break down because you make people uncomfortable. Maybe you lack focus and you're expecting networking contacts to be your career coach. Or you can't articulate your skills. Or you expect them to know of vacancies or openings--or  you pressure them to hire you or put in a good word with the hiring decision maker.

Are you using LinkedIn effectively?
Margaret set up a profile and had quite a few connections, but she hadn’t felt comfortable asking for recommendations.  She didn’t use LinkedIn to keep in touch with her connections or to reach out to new people.  Her summary section was brief and unimpressive, and she wasn’t participating in any LinkedIn group discussions.

After fixing the things mentioned in this article, Margaret was able to find a job worthy of her talents.

Do your networking right, and it should be productive and even enjoyable.

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