EFFECTIVE NETWORKING - Suggestions, Ideas & Recommendations

Once you have completed your resume, and have decided what kind of job of career you are going to look for, you need to advertise the fact that you are available to hire.  You also need to let prospective employers know what you have unique talents that will be of value to them.  This is the true value of your own personal network…an effective, personalized tool to let others know that you are looking for employment.

Many of you who are looking for a job these days are probably not aware of just how rich a network you have to assist you in finding your next job or assist you in changing your career.

If you think about it, your own network consists of some or all of the following:

• Family
• Friends
• Co-workers at your current or former job
• Contacts at previous employers
• Contacts at competitors of your company
• Customers
• Your neighbors
• Fellow members of community organizations (such as Lions Club, Optimists Club, Rotary Club, etc.)

And  you can expand your network by joining networking clubs, signing on to networking websites (like Linked IN, or Gray Hair Management), or attending meet and greets organized by church, Chamber of Commerce or other private and government organizations.

One good approach to expanding your contact list is to ask each of the people on your initial list (your friends, family, coworkers, etc.) 3 questions.

• Do you know of any companies that are hiring?
• Have you heard of any companies who might be hiring?
• Can you give me 4-5 names of people you know that might help me in my job search?

This will give you a big list of additional contacts you can make.  Be sure to get the name, company, title, and phone number for each contact you are given.

One of the most effective networking activities you can engage in, as part of your search for a new job or career, is to contact companies directly.  Since most of the available jobs are in what’s known as “the hidden job market”, it is important that you make your background and skills known to as many companies as possible.

Remember, however, that you want to do this in a targeted way.  Before you start writing letters to companies you need to know 3 things:

What companies (industries) do you want to work for?

Who do you want to write the letter to?

What will your letter contain?

Be sure when you start this process that you have decided which companies or industry you will be targeting for your job search.  You can get an idea of the variety and number of industries in the US by consulting the Directory of the Standard Industrial Classification System (http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html) .  The 4-6 digit codes will be helpful in identifying and contacting candidate companies listed in the State Industrial Directories (see previous blog post).

SEND YOUR LETTER TO A FUNCTIONAL MANAGER

You do not want to send your letter to Human Resources, and you do not want to write a letter asking if the company has any jobs available or to be considered for employment. 

You should send your letter to the functional manager who will know what the personnel needs of his business or department are.  If you are looking for a sales job, write to the sales manager.  If you are looking for a job in production, write to the Director of Operations.

Believe it or not, employment by a company, large or small, is based on making contacts rather than asking for a job up front. 

Networking with letters of introduction is much more effective than going door-to-door with your resume and asking if the company is hiring.  For one thing, one of the jobs of a receptionist is to keep people he/ she thinks are not important or of interest to the management at bay.  Same thing is true of an executive’s secretary.

So your letter needs to be a request for a meeting, and it needs to be addressed not to HR, but to the executive himself (or herself).  Address the letter to them personally.  Do not be afraid to put “Personal” on the envelope. 

In the letter, describe your goal, which is to seek a new job or career.  Ask the executive for the opportunity to sit down with them and ask them for advice about the job market, about their industry, or advice on how best to conduct your search.  Tell them, as well, that you would like to talk to them about what opportunities there might be in their industry for someone with your background, skills and experience. 

Do not ask for a job in your letter.  If there is an opportunity with the executive’s company, he will tell you during your meeting.  You can bring it up during your meeting, as well, in a casual way.

BE SURE YOU ARE WRITING TO THE PROPER PERSON(S)

No one knows better than corporate executives what the personnel needs of the company are.  They actually know more about that than Human Resources.  The President, Director of Operations, VP of Marketing, Director of Purchasing, or VP of Finance will know what jobs exist or what openings are anticipated in the near future.  The functional managers also know others in the industry you could talk to, and can give you recommendations and introductions. These are the people you write to.

If you are looking for a Marketing job, write to the VP of Marketing for example.  Writing to the President is effective because he will forward your letter to a functional manager that he thinks might have an interest in your background.

IT IS CRITICAL TO FOLLOW UP

About 7 days after you have sent your letter, follow up on the phone with those you wrote letters to.  You will be surprised how many will remember your letter and will talk with you.  Ask for an appointment to sit down with them and get their views and perspectives.  Be sure that you tell them that you expect only 10 – 15 minutes of their time.  Even so, you will be pleased at how many will actually spend more time with you.

Remember, executives enjoy sharing their knowledge, and they appreciate your feeling that their input is important to the success of your search for a new job or career.

Once you have had 5-6 of these meetings, you contact list will have grown even larger, and therefore the chances of you landing your next job or career will increase geometrically.

In the next post we will discuss the writing of the contact letters that you will send to key executives in your targeted companies.

If you have any questions, be sure to contact me at execmgmt.search@gmail.com