Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Smart Networking manifesto by Liz Lynch
- Networking is Easier Than You Think --> Whatever path you dream of pursuing, there are people out there who can help. So why aren't you meeting them?
- Broaden Your View of How Your Network Can Help --> Leveraging our networks can help us mitigate a variety of challenges we face every day.
- Break Out of Your Comfort Zone --> Change is hard. But change that you initiate is easier to manage than change that's forced on you.
- Learn How Networking is Different Today...and Use That to Your Advantage --> Remind yourself that there's a real person behind every profile, not a dollar sign.
- Network Smarter, Not Harder --> By integrating face-to-face with online social media, you can be in more places at once and attract opportunities automatically.
- Are You Ready for Smart Networking?
Build your network on LinkedIn. While many professionals have LinkedIn profiles, not many know how to leverage the profile as a job-search/career-management tool:
- For "passive" networking: Increasingly, hiring managers are bypassing recruiters (to save recruiting fees) and passing along job postings to their online networks. The more connections you have, the more you will be in the flow of these opportunities when they come up. Your connections will have your resume and contact info right at their fingertips, making it easy to get in touch with you.
- For "active" networking: You can search for companies you are interested in working for and see which of your contacts works there or knows someone who does. Perhaps they can set up an informational interview. Candidates coming in through this channel are being "referred in" by a trusted party and therefore will get a closer look and probably a faster response than if they had been one of the thousands coming through an open job board.
- For interview prep: Before interviews, you can read the profiles of the people you'll be meeting. Not that you'd want to start rattling off their vital stats during the interview, but understanding their background and work experience might help you tailor your answers to their hot buttons.
- For lead generation: You can keep tabs on your connections in an unobtrusive way, and see when they change jobs. Depending on the position, they might want to bring in people they know or have worked with before to build out their new team. Send a note of congratulations and an offer to be of service if they need any help. You don't want to sell, but just to get on their radar screen by offering your genuine support. -- Liz Lynch, Founder, Center for Networking Excellence and author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following in Person and Online, McGraw-Hill.