A Guide to Networking

Mention the word 'Networking' and what do you think of? Whiskery gentlemen in old school ties fixing jobs for one another's children on the golf course? Cold-calling ex-colleagues to ask for a job? Being offered work by an acquaintance over a drink?

The word networking has definitely accumulated some negative connotations.

Yet most jobs are in the hidden job market. They are not advertised in the paper or on the Internet. You can't get to them through agencies or even necessarily by a direct approach to a company. In fact, over half of all jobs will go to a person who has contacted an employer through the recommendation of someone whom the employer already knows.

Maybe you don't want to "Network"

So what might your objections to networking be? Maybe you don't see it as a fair process? You are afraid you will not know the right people to help you land the job you want? You think networking is the privilege of a small group of people at the top? Or, maybe you hate telephoning people unannounced?

Here's the first thing you need to know. Networking is not just about ringing people up to ask for a job. After all, who wants to do that? Not many of us.

No, networking is a logical, efficient way of researching the job market. The object of networking is to get from where you are now (an individual with no job or a job you don't want) to where you want to be (someone who has found the right job and all the rewards that brings). It's a fast way of matching you - with all the skills and knowledge you have built up over the years - with a person out there who nursing a headache because they need to find someone like you yet don't know where to start.

Through networking you can track down the right person - the decision-maker inside a company - the person who has the final say whether to employ you or not. Like an ace detective, you're going to get to know who they are, what they need and where they work. By the time you find the person who holds the key to the future of your career, you will be better placed to be their ideal candidate.

And, once again, you NEVER have to ring up a friend and ask them for a job.

How do you begin?

1. Decide what you want to do and where: it could be a job in a familiar field or maybe you want to change industries and need to find out what companies exist in other sectors.
   
2. Make a list of all the people you know - ALL of them: your friends, your family, your neighbours, people you went to school with, your dentist, your hairdresser, the man at the corner shop, the plumber. This is your existing network. (It has the words 'net' and 'work' in it because it's a great means of capturing your new job!).
   
3. Get a pen, find some paper and then list the skills and knowledge you already have in the area you are targeting; then make a second list detailing what you know about the industry or company within which you intend to get a job.
   
4. You are now at the point at which you can identify your knowledge gap. What information do you need to acquire about the work and decision-maker you want to target?
   
5. Draw up a list of questions. Work from big picture to specifics. Think first about the what you need to know about the industry in general, then research the specific company and finally determine how and where you might fit in.

Now you are ready to go out to your existing network with your list of questions. Remember, you are not asking for work, simply for information . If you go in asking for a job, you risk putting the other person on the defensive straight away if they don't have something to offer. But if you just go in asking for information you will get a totally different reception. Most people love helping other people, it's a little flattering.

Start Networking

1. Telephone someone you know and ask for 15 minutes of their time - either on the phone or for a quick meeting.
   
2. Reassure them at the beginning of the conversation that you are not looking for a job. You are looking for information. Can they help you?
   
3. Stick to the time you have agreed and ask your list of questions.
   
4. Always ask for a referral at the end of the meeting. Do they know the name and contact details of anybody who could give you more information? If so, what is the best way to approach them? By e-mail? Telephone? Would they prefer to receive a letter?
   
5. Ring the person you have been referred to mentioning that your contact has suggested that you do this. Again, set up the meeting so that they know you are not asking them for a job.
   
6. Once again ask for a referral. Do they know anyone who can bring you one step closer to the decision-maker?

As you continue to network in this way you will find that several things happen. Firstly, you will get a lot of information and thereby get really clear about your target job. Secondly, you will have an active network of people keen to help you.

Then the only thing to do is to take your time. Even if you find out early on whom to approach for a job, WAIT. Make sure that you are well prepared. After all, it is no point fixing up an interview if you can't show straight away how great you will be for the job.

Draw up two lists

What you can offer and what your employer wants. At the moment they match up (and not before), ask for a referral to your target decision-maker, the person who has the power to give you that job. Set up the interview and be yourself...

Congratulations - the job will soon be yours!