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Working networking interviews into your week
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Strategic networking is one of the most important tools for professionals wrestling with this down economy. Whether for business development or tapping into the hidden job market, the gainfully employed and job seeking alike need to be out and about making and nurturing contacts. Making such meetings a regular part of your routine is critical.
Richard Bolles in his book What Color is your Parachute? coined the term informational interview: referring to a meeting for the sole purpose of gathering career advice. It is not intended for soliciting employment. It is too often associated solely with entry-level job seeking and yet has a great many benefits for business professionals of every stature. It is essentially a networking interview and today’s economic environment has made it a common practice across levels and industries.
Bill Driscoll, President of the New England District of Robert Half International, stresses this point by advising his clients “At every level it is critically important to reach out to your network. Ultimately there are less jobs at the senior level, so informational interviews become increasingly important.”
When developing a list of initial contacts, think broadly beyond your current industry. Driscoll suggests starting from the top when organizing this approach. “Start with people in decision making positions in any industry. Decision makers tend to know other decision makers.”
From there your list will grow as the individuals you meet suggest other contacts that you can call upon with their recommendation. How you conduct the meetings you schedule will ultimately determine the effectiveness of each contact you make. Author and columnist, Jodi R R Smith provides an excellent guide for conductive the effective networking meetings in her article “The Art of the Informational Interview.”
At GCC we recommend our clients conduct a minimum of one to two networking interviews weekly, which means you might need to reach out to five or six people each week to make that happen. The job search needs to be treated like a job with a full-time effort and a sales plan in place. Networking meetings need to be a regularly scheduled activity to realize the rewards.
Ben Samples of Portland, OR provides a terrific networking interview success story. “ When I graduated I found it very hard to break into the PR agency world. I set a goal to arrange one informational interview per week with an established PR professional. Using social media tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter I was able to connect with directors and managers who were willing to meet with me. One informational interview turned into a job interview, which turned into an offer. Two months ago I began working my dream job and I owe it all to informational interviewing.”
Connecting to your new contacts via LinkedIn following a meeting is an effective and professional way to nurture the relationship online, stay in touch and share contacts with one another.
Start the week off by setting a goal of holding two networking meetings before the weekend is upon you. Think broadly about whom to contact. Be tenacious. As Driscoll suggests, “You never know where the lead, the contact, the next job might come from. You have to explore it all. And you just can’t give up.”
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