Networking During the Holidays

Networking is one of the most powerful tools you have to find your next job or internship.  It’s connecting with people to get advice and guidance, to be remembered and to be referred.  Most of the year this happens by intent and through careful planning and outreach.   During the holidays it often happens by surprise.   The holidays provide wonderful opportunities to connect with people in a social setting, making connections when you least expect to.  My network connection into my current position at Pace was someone I’d never met nor even heard of before I walked into a neighborhood New Year’s Day party in 2009.

Why are the holidays a great time to network?

·       People are in the holiday spirit.

·       You get to mingle with more people and often people who are not in your regular circle of friends and acquaintances.

·       Budgets are generally approved in December, so making connections during the holidays puts you in prime position to do some serious follow-up networking in January.

·       AND did I mention that people are in the holiday spirit!

Some things to remember about networking during the holidays…

·       Informal networking happens as soon as you begin a conversation with someone you

haven’t met before.

·       Networking during the holidays is schmoozing, making chit-chat, a much more informal experience than a network meeting in someone’s office.

·       Keep the conversation light and casual – ask how he or she knows the host or what they’re doing for the holidays. 

·       Don’t start with, ”so what do you do?”  Work that question into the conversation after you’ve established some rapport.

·       IF you meet someone you want to officially network with, ask if they’d be willing to meet with you in the next week or two to give you some guidance and advice, get a card or contact information and go back to being social.

·       Be open to being surprised.  You never know who you’ll meet at one of these gatherings. 

Another holiday MUST – the holiday card!  This is a once a year opportunity to connect with colleagues, friends, former employers and professors.  Send a holiday card to everyone you know and do it the old fashioned way – write a short note, sign your name, put the card in an envelope, attach a stamp and put it in the mail.  It’s a great way to be remembered and let someone know you’re thinking of him or her.

Have a wonderful holiday by making some new and unexpected connections.

Make More of a Turndown Than Just a NO!

There are turn downs when you know you weren't even close and feel no real connection to the hiring manager and there are turn downs when you know you were a 'contender'.  Well Rocky didn't give up and neither should you.  Convert that turn down into a network opportunity.

A friend recently came very close to landing her dream job.  All the 'buy' signs seemed to be there - she'd been asked about salary, references were requested and the hiring manager kept making comments about the work they could do together.  Then the trail simply went cold.  After several attempts at communication, she finally got a call from the hiring manager, who told her she was very talented and a wonderful candidate, but the screening committee had selected someone else for the job. To further cement that feeling of connection, the hiring manager offered to refer my friend within the organization, should other similar positions arise.

My advice to my friend was to convert the turn down into a networking opportunity.  I suggested she book a lunch with the hiring manager to solicit advice on her performance during the interview process and get some referrals to other network connections.  Taking this action is additional evidence of her skill as a career coach and should further impress the hiring manager. 

The most critical tool you have in today's marketplace is your network.  You MUST continue to find ways to expand it in order to land your next job and then MUST remember to nurture it as a means of managing your career.

Holiday Cards

It's time to start that holiday card list.  The holidays are a great time to reach out to people either to re-connect or to keep connections alive.  Many clients have said they are uncomfortable sending a card to someone they haven't spoken to in a while, in some cases years.  Yet when I get a card from someone I haven't heard from my only thought is to feel good about being remembered and the renewed contact.

So start that holiday list now.  It takes work and time to get out cards, and the holidays will be here before you know it!

You Can't Personalize This Process

I recently sent out some 'staying in touch e-mails' to people who have been firmly in my network.  I didn't get responses from three people who I counted as 'in my corner' -  not even an 'I'm busy and will get back to you as soon as I can.'  I felt really lousy about that.  I know I should 't personalize these things, but this is a very personal process.

It is critical to have a thick skin while engaged in a job search.  You have to remember that your network contacts are generally working and may not respond to a request or just a hello because they're busy.  If you let this lack of responsiveness get to you, it can really rob you of the confidence you need to stick with this process. 

How to Kill a Network Opportunity

This is an actual example of a lost networking opportunity.    

The Scenario

• You have recently been laid off and are just starting to network.  

• You connect with a former colleague who has been working in a company you'd love to work for and he agrees to meet with you. 

• You meet for lunch, catch up on old times and he gives you the lowdown on the company.  He also mentions that there are no current openings. 

• He walks you around the office and introduces you to his boss, who would be a likely hiring manager should an opening arise. 

• You follow-up with a thank you note to your colleague.

• You send a note to his boss along with your resume and portfolio letting her know you are open to either full-time or freelance work.

• She writes back and tells you that your resume and portfolio are impressive, but unfortunately there are no job openings at the current time.  

NOW WHAT?

What Went Wrong?  You were fine until you sent off the e-mail with your resume and portfolio attached.  By sending the resume and portfolio up front before booking a face-to-face meeting, you turned this into an outreach for a job versus creating the opportunity to expand your network. You  made it too easy for the boss to say there's no reason to meet as there are no jobs. 

REMEMBER people love to give guidance and advice but do not like being put on the spot for a job. 

So what should you have done?  The idea to outreach to the boss was right on track.  The focus, however, should have been to get in front of her to gather ideas, obtain feedback and walk away with the names of other potential connections.  You want to get in front of someone so you can engage them in your job search.  You want to put them squarely in your job cheering section and the best way to do that is in a face-to-face meeting where you become a person, not just another resume.

What can you do now?  Send her an e-mail acknowledging that you are aware there are no open positions and stating why a meeting with her would be helpful nonetheless.  Ask for a meeting so you can expand upon your background, share your thoughts on potential next steps and get advice about your search. 

REMEMBER the fastest way to short circuit your network is to ask for the job versus asking for advice.
 

Is Networking Real or Fake?

One of the many reasons people give for not networking is that it's fake. When I suggest that you simply go in to gather information, expand your network, be seen and remembered, but NOT to pitch for or dig for a job, most people state that everyone knows you're really looking for a job and therefore believe that the whole network process is fake. 

Well yes, when you're out there networking you are ultimately looking for a job.  And on the rare occasion when someone uncovers a live one through networking, that's great.  But the immediate goals of networking are to...

• gather information 
• expand your network
• get to know more people and 
• enroll them as part of your search network - your cheering squad

You are out there to be seen, and assuming you make a good impression and nurture your network (meaning stay in touch) you will also hopefully be remembered.

AGAIN, the job I now sit in came through a network contact who sent me an e-mail to let me know about a  a new job posting in the field (in other words, not at her company).  When I me this new network contact  three months prior to receiving that e-mail, I knew there were no open positions in her department.  I went in just to meet someone new and expand my network.  I had no clue that this would be the network contact that would lead me to my new job.

The key to networking is to remember that it is an informational interview - NOT a job interview.  The fastest way to kill your networking is to ask contacts if they have any jobs.  If the answer is no you've just stopped the conversation cold. Even if the answer is yes, if you're not the right match it may be hard to transition over to a pure networking conversation.

If I've written it one time, I've written it 500 times - PEOPLE HATE TO BE PUT ON THE HOOK FOR A JOB.  PEOPLE LOVE TO GIVE GUIDANCE AND ADVICE.

So get out there and mingle with purpose.  Go in prepared to talk about who you are, what you're targeting and have a list of questions in hand...questions about the field, the industry, how the person you're meeting with got their job or the skills that are critical for success in that arena.  Your goal should be to leave with new information - the names of one or two new people for you to contact, perhaps some information about a new company or position to consider, and maybe some feedback on your resume.

We all know that the ultimate success at the end of this process is a new job.  Success along the way comes with every new network contact you meet.