I have received a lot of wonderful feedback as well as questions regarding the job search blog. Because I have been receiving so many questions on this subject, the first and probably most important area that I want to focus on initially is networking. Now more than ever networking is vital in landing positions. These are things that I have seen work and hopefully may be able to help you or someone you know as well.
1. Alumni Networks: If you haven’t done so, get acquainted with the services your college or University provide to job seekers. This does not include only the Career Services department. Find out if your alumni base has a local club where you can meet and network with fellow alumni. With college football season fast approaching, this may be a good time to join the local alum game watch. There are also often times “secret” networks that exist via your University’s website where jobs are posted by alums for alums.
2. Volunteering: While you are searching for a job, why not look for opportunities to volunteer in the community? I can’t explain why or how, but I have seen numerous individuals find positions through volunteer endeavors. Whether it is good karma or networking, it has worked and may just work for you too.
3. LinkedIn: I can’t stress enough the importance of setting up a profile on LinkedIn. It is the top online networking tool that currently exists for professional networking. I will be talking more about LinkedIn in the future, but for now I am including a link that explains more about LinkedIn and how to get started.
10 Steps to Effective Networking
Although I’ve got 10 steps listed here – the reality is that there are 3 that are extra critical and generally get missed, so cover the whole list, but make sure you pay special attention to #’s 1, 7 and 10!
1. Develop a Networking Mindset
Free your mind and the rest will follow! There are plenty of techniques and tips to make you a better networker, but the real key is approaching it in the right frame of mind.
2. Develop a Great 30-Second Commercial
What’s your unique selling proposition? Can you get across what you do in an interesting and concise way? Just like on television, you need to grab attention quickly.
3. Identify Your Target
Have you ever seen a fly fisherman that pulls in fish after fish? He knows what he’s fishing for and he knows what those fish like. Do you know what you’re after?
4. Identify Where to Network
Sure you can network almost anywhere, but there are only so many hours in the day so you should identify what will work best for you.
5. Prepare Your Meeting Strategy
One of the best ways to overcome fear is to be prepared – decide what you want to do.
6. Work the Event
You weren’t planning on just showing up, having a few drinks and throwing your cards around were you?
7. Ask Questions
People enjoy being listened to. The secret to being a great listener is to ask the right questions. Go with open-ended questions that will get people to talk.
8. Don’t Sell
Don’t do it…at least not at networking events, it doesn’t work and it’s likely to annoy people! Don’t be ‘that’ guy (or person)!
9. Go With a Team Approach
Not only is there safety in numbers, you can get a lot farther with teamwork than you can on your own.
10. Follow-up
If you were a farmer, you would have spent a lot of time determining the best thing to plant, preparing the field and going to pick out the seed. However there will be no crop if you don’t actually plant the seed and water it. There are a lot of ways to follow-up, including phone, email or even LinkedIn – the key is to make sure you do something with the contacts that you make to keep the ball rolling (when it makes sense).
Obviously this list is high level – but it should give you some ideas on what to focus on. Remember the end result that you’re looking for is developing relationships – mutually beneficial, win-win relationships and that starts by helping other people out first.
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