The Monday Meeting: The Importance of Networking
I’ve asked Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns to do a guest post today on the importance of networking during your job search and interview process.
A few months ago Lisa began a new job that offered her a 70% pay increase over her last job as well as many new and exciting challenges. Her extensive networking helped her gain this amazing new job. Check out her tips below whether you’re currently job searching or not!
If I had to give 3 words of advice to someone who is looking for a job right now, my 3 words would be: network, network, network.I am sure we are all familiar with the old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I used to kind of grumble about this – up until last fall when I started looking for a post-MBA position. The career advisement office for my MBA program really emphasized the importance of establishing connections with employees that work at the companies I was interested in. Once I started networking, I realized that getting a job was still about what you know – networking was just the tool for letting that future employer know what your skill set was and showing them how interested you are in their company.
After having gone through an intense and rigorous recruitment process, here is the advice I would give on how to properly network to a new and exciting position. Keep in mind – this is what worked for me, it’s not the “Holy Grail” of networking, but it should give you an idea of how to get started!
1. It’s never too early to start networking
Networking is a pretty time consuming process and in my case, I had to network with multiple people at my company. The sooner you get started on this, the better. I started about 4 months before my first round interview and definitely could have started even earlier. As I got closer to my interview date, I was meeting with people 2-3 times a week, which was difficult to balance since I was working full time and going to school in the evenings. Had I started earlier, it would have made for a much more manageable schedule!
2. Utilize your alumni database
Most colleges and university maintain some sort of alumni database with information about where their students now work. This is especially the case for business school since they know that getting a job is all about networking. Even if you have already graduated years ago, you should still be able to access this database. If you aren’t sure where to start – talk to your alumni office, they should be able to point you in the right direction. Once you have gathered some contacts, call or email them and ask to set up an informational interview.
3. Make it convenient for the person you are meeting
This is kind of obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. When I was setting up coffees with the people I met with, I also met with them within a couple of blocks of their office and asked what time of day worked best for their schedule.
4. Come prepared with questions
I can’t stress the importance of this one enough. Make sure you come prepared. They are going to walk into your meeting expecting that you’ve done your homework. I always typed up my list of questions – sometimes we’d get to all of them, sometimes we wouldn’t. Common questions I would ask were: “What do you like best about this job?” “What can I expect during the interview process?” “What skills/abilities make a person in this role successful?” “What do you wish you would have known when you applied for this job?”
5. Bring your resume, but don’t give it to the contact unless asked
Some of the people you network with will ask for your resume, some won’t. I wouldn’t recommend giving it to them unless they ask for it. Not everyone you meet with is going to be able to help you get a job with the company. For instance, if someone contacted me to do an informational interview, I would be happy to meet with them, but I wouldn’t really be able to do anything with their resume if they gave it to me.
6. ALWAYS send a thank you right away
I usually sent a hand written thank you note. I kept a box of them at my desk at work so I could write one out when I got back from having coffee with a contact. If you are meeting with someone in the technical field, it might be more appropriate to send an email. You have to think about the culture of the company when deciding between sending the thank you via email or snail mail.
I hope this helps! Initially, it was sort of intimidating to approach people I didn’t know, but after the first 1 or 2 meetings, I got more and more comfortable. Networking is a lifelong skill, so the sooner you start developing it, the better. Even though I landed a great job, the networking didn’t end there – it’s something I will do throughout my career!
Good luck!
Thank you, Lisa for those awesome and informative tips!
Readers, do you have anything further to add to Lisa’s networking tips? Have you ever used networking to help you gain a great postions? Discuss in the comments.
Those are all great tips! I fully agree it’s about “who you know”- I got all of my jobs in college based on relationships I created and by following up on leads of those I knew already to people I hadn’t met yet. I mean, really – what IS politics if it’s not a giant networking frenzy??
One thing I would say is not to underestimate the fact that (especially for students or young workers) your colleagues today will be there for the long haul. Don’t let yourself fall into a situation where you burn bridges or create a negative reputation for yourself at the beginning of your career. It will haunt you, I promise…especially if you stay in the same area. I’ve met lots of attorneys who have failed to hire or interview someone based on recommendations from people in their network that knew the candidate and had a bad impression of them (for whatever reason).
I think a network evolves naturally, but it takes a little more work at the beginning. You’re not going to walk up to somebody and say, “Hi, I’m here to network with you!” You’re going to meet people through work, school, and your personal hobbies and organizations and friends of friends and hopefully you stay in touch and have things in common. When you could use their help, they’re there and vice versa. I know it can be hard for people, but just getting over that fear of talking to strangers and walking up to someone with a smile and a firm handshake and something thoughtful to say can open a lot of doors. At least, that’s been my experience!
I think that’s a really good point. It’s important to make a good impression on everyone in your network so you don’t screw yourself over later in the game!
i’m going to be honest, i absolutely HATE networking. granted i use my being deaf as a fallback. It is such a challenge for me to go to hearing events and not be able to 100 percent understand what everyone is saying. so I just avoided any events.
i did do networking for a time being with once a month event, deaf professional happy hour. Let’s just say it wasn’t so much about networking as it was about partying. So i stopped going.
My company finally has a program where I can work with a mentor, and i just got paired with one. we’ve only had one meeting thus far, so we’ll see how it goes. she said she used to be like me, still is in many ways, but what helped her is being part of behind the scenes, that way she could meet people but always had something to talk about! and people approached her.
Thanks for the nice write up, Amber! I hope it helps others! Networking is so important in my industry and it’s something I’ll do throughout my career.
It’s not as scary once you start doing it – at my company we actually will sometimes call it “Get to know you coffees” so it feels more like connecting with others & learning about what’s out there v. networking.
Great tips – thanks to Lisa and Amber!
70% increase – that’s insanely awesome!!
I am way too scared of proper, formal networking like this – although this may come from a work history of growing accustomed to small environments; I’ve gone from a two-woman business where I worked for 3 years to a relatively small non-profit – it’s a very tight-knit, more personal group than corporate and I wouldn’t really have a clue as to where to start networking… although through *this* job I’ve landed some side-jobs through people we’ve done projects with, so I suppose that’s sort of networking!
I also work at a small, tight-knit company and have never had experience in bigger corporations so I definitely haven’t “networked” as much as I should.
This is great! And congrats to Lisa on the 70% increase – that is fantastic!
One thing I picked up in college was the importance of business cards. They might seem outdated, but I can’t even begin to list the number of people who have contacted me because I took the time to slip them a card and accept one of theirs. I try to collect them, then immediately write on the back where I met the person and a few details of our conversation…so I don’t forget who they are and why I want to talk to them again.
I think that’s a FANTASTIC idea! I printed out a bunch of business cards about 6-7 months ago, but honestly, I haven’t really given many out.
I’m curious to know what kinds of people and in what situations you give your business cards out??
I can say that I made them up when I was first starting out substitute teaching. I would leave them on the teacher’s desk after I subbed in the classroom for the day. I also had them posted in many teacher’s lounges. My mom had it (works at a school) other people had it. They passed them out. My husband also runs a business on the side and he has some friends that work in the industry that he does that hold on to his hand them out to people who may need them. Or we just hand them out as people need them. In the beginning he posted them at public spots.
School-related functions mostly. Business conferences, round tables, etc. etc.
I’m waiting for my business cards from work so I can start giving them out to the various organizations/labels the company is associated with. My student loans are terrifying, so a little work on the side couldn’t hurt right now.
School-related functions mostly, to start. Business conferences, round tables, etc.
I’m waiting for my business cards from work so I can start giving them out to the various organizations/labels the company is associated with. My student loans are terrifying, so a little work on the side couldn’t hurt right now.
I have business cards obviously but they kind of freak me out. I feel really awkward giving them to someone I’ve been chatting with and all “Oh here’s my card.” I know I should work on getting over this but it’s hard!!! It’s different if someone specifically needs my number or email address for something, but if we just had an informal chat at an industry event I feel weird.
I can honestly say that I haven’t done a whole lot of networking…and ESPECIALLY where I live it is ALL about who you know…
I KIND of got my current job through a “who you know” situation, but I wouldn’t say that I worked hard to get it, we just happened to know the same person.
HOWEVER, I went to a workshop with my HR advisor a couple of months back and I was SHOCKED at her lack of networking. I realize that HR isn’t a HUGE hustle and bustle kind of career, but I think networking helps in ALL areas in some way.
Anyway, she didn’t bring a single business card with her, and during breaks she gossiped with women she used to work with instead of meeting new people in the field.
She is also VERY much against Blackberrys – which ALSO shocked me since she went to a week long course in Ontario and our company had no way of contacting her whatsoever, and she just complained that all the women there were on the phones during the breaks…
It is amazing how much times have changed and how important these things have become.
I don’t do a lot of networking. Mainly because the opportunities just arent there. I do realize the importance of it and someday hope to have the opportunity to do more than I do now. Great topic though Amber and great guest post Lisa!
awesome! first you should note that i am absolutely in love with Lisa right now…. no idea why. and she’s right. what you know is considerably less important than who you know. get out there and network!
In my field, education, and in my area especially, it is extremely important about who you know. My grades, sure they got me the best placement for my student teaching, but meeting all the teachers and the principal in that building and they telling their colleagues at other schools to get me to sub for them, was not my smarts. The reason I have a job this year is totally about who I know and the fact that I rock at what I do. (Yea, I’m modest.) ha.. Last year’s employment my boss was my mom’s good friend. I have the grades and experience to get the jobs as long as I know the people. Unfortunately, my field is sooooo not hiring that it strictly is about who you know. I hate applying for jobs at places I don’t know anyone, because I know I won’t get an interview. Sucks, but it’s the truth.
Wow, what a great post and what great thoughts! Networking can be so scary and intimidating, but very useful!
I also like the other tips about using business cards, and not burning bridges. I run into the situation all the time where someone I know is interviewing someone and they used to work at my company. So my friend will call me up and say “Hey, I’m about to interview so-and-so and heard they used to work with you. What do you think?”
Each industry is a very small community where everyone knows everyone, so leaving a company with grace is very very important!
Again, thanks for the great post!
I haven’t done a lot of networking as I guess I’m VERY slowly easing myself into the journalism/writing game. The internship I start tomorrow (!) I got after I wrote up a bunch of stories on the company for a class. She liked me so much (I’m guessing!) that I was offered an internship and I’m really hoping to hone my networking/people skills with this internship and create some sort of name for myself.
I tend to be pretty shy with people in positions above me, but am getting a bit better at networking. I had to do a lot of it at school to be able to do the program I wanted to do. I have found it is not what you know, but who you know a lot of the time.
Apparently I’ve been told I’m good at networking but I still feel like I’m not. I’m awkward and uncomfortable at it. The sport & recreation industry as a whole is SMALL. Even in Melbourne where it’s a “huge” industry, it’s still a very small community where you see the same people at multiple events and people move from job to job within the small sector. Unless someone moves away or gets out of the industry, you see them repeatedly.
Networking in this small, non-profit industry seems very different than a corporate “networking for where-it-will-get-you” feel. If you did that in S&R people think negatively of you. It’s more of a social-professional opportunity. Having fun, meeting people, chatting, and if it ends up being business later than so be it. Actually, thinking back, that also seems a very Aussie thing.
Anyway, I’m only sometimes shy, and it crops up at unexpected times. Other times I have no trouble going up to and chatting with people.
Yup it’s definitely about who you know, but it’s not so bad sometimes. During my student teaching my principal offered to come watch us teach a lesson and write a recommendation- I had him do it and it turned out that I got my current job because my principal knew him from a previous job- just made me stand out among the 1000 resumes. Would you believe some of the people I student taught with did not take advantage of that opportunity to have him come watch?! Always take all opportunities like that! I am so lucky to teach in a great district with great people because of the effort I put in. So maybe it’s not about “what” you know, but what you do!
This is wild, and I’m full of questions that I need to e-mail Lisa about!! lol
Lisa, these are all great points. Networking is very important. I also think that even before you’re thinking about changing jobs or searching for a new career, one should maintain those connections with people who might help you in your future search. Hence a great reason to keep your linked in profile up to date.
Confession time: at our school’s networking events, they offered free (and unlimited) wine and um… my friends and I would therefore use these networking opportunities to get drunk. I’ve gone to many, and have never talked with anyone other than my friends (and the bartender). Bad, I know
This is a really helpful post! I hate networking and its something that I definitely need to work on! I’m pretty shy in these sorts of situations and I’m horrible at small talk. I know though that its really important and its about who you know and the opportunities you take (like kelly said). I’m definitely going to try and work on this with you!
Awesome tips!! Thanks gals! Networking can make such the difference!