Beware the “Passive Networking” Trap!

Back in the nineties, when I started a new coaching or outplacement engagement with a client, I would often have to educate them on the important role that networking plays in job search success — and then explain what the word “networking” actually meant, since at the time, this was a fairly new buzzword that was entering the marketplace!

Fast-forward a decade or so, however, and you’ll find the term “networking” firmly embedded in the lexicon of almost every professional, since it’s hard to imagine that any human being could possibly have avoided the onslaught of books, articles, websites, and news stories devoted to the topic in recent years.  Most professionals have also now finally come to appreciate and accept the fact, at long last, that the vast majority of all hiring (as well as most business transactions) takes place under the radar screen, driven by an invisible web of trusted referral relationships.

There’s trouble in paradise, however.  Now that the concept of networking has gained a status of “cozy familiarity” among so many of us, I’m starting to see a trend that concerns me.  What I’ve observed in recent months, and had brought into sharp focus by a few recent examples among my own client base, is that many people think they’re networking appropriately, and actively, but actually aren’t.  At least not in the manner most likely to produce results.  What I’ve observed is that many people now seem to treat the word networking as synonymous with “going to lots of events” and/or “having coffee with lots of people.”  I would argue, however, that this is a very imperfect and ineffective way to view the concept, since it completely disregards the volitional aspect involved in true quality networking.  In other words, you can’t simply hang around a bunch of people, passively, and pat yourself on the back for a “networking job” well done.  If you’re not getting out of your comfort zone and routinely requesting referrals, favors, and specific advice from people, on a daily basis, you’re likely cheating the process — and as a consequence, cheating yourself.

For example, when I watch true networking-minded professionals in action, these people always have a crystal-clear agenda in mind and are working some angle that they believe will help them get closer to their goals.  They call you not just to say hello and shoot the breeze, but to ask whether you can point them to any specific companies in town who are working on new robotics technology…or selling outdoor industry products…or offering web marketing solutions…or developing alternative energy technologies.  Or they send you a copy of their cover letter and say “would you tear this apart and let me know how you’d respond to it, if you received a note like this?”  Or they ask you how much you know about writing a business plan, and if you don’t know much, who you’d recommend that does have this particular expertise.  Or best of all, following the advice I’ve been spewing for years, they’ll whip out a list of specific local companies and say “Hey, I need your help.  I’ve done a ton of research lately to isolate the 25 companies in town I could add the most value to, given my background and expertise, and was hoping you could look through this list to see what you might know about these firms — or better yet, who you might know that could help me get a foot in the door.”

On the other hand, I also know hundreds of people who are simply milling around out there in the community, having pleasant interactions with people, but never actually taking the initiative to ask for what they want and need — or to figure out what these specific wants and needs should be, in the first place!  These are the people with whom you’ll have a nice chat over coffee, and with whom you’ll trade quips about the weather or the latest college basketball scores, but where you’ll leave the meeting wondering “what is that person actually trying to do?” or “what did that person actually want from me?”  These are also the people who are currently enrolled in as many as a half-dozen networking groups or clubs around town (including, admittedly, ones I host) where they’ll surround themselves with other supportive and well-intentioned job hunters, but fail to realize that there’s only so much tangible benefit to be gained within the comfortable womb of these types of environments.  Should such groups be part of one’s networking strategy?  Absolutely.  But I’m sure we’d all admit that there’s likely much more to be gained by participating in organizations where people come together to celebrate a shared passion — or where the other attendees are actually working and positioned more favorably to make introductions to actual decision-makers.

So if you’ve been out of work for a while, it’s time to have a heart-to-heart chat with yourself around this issue.  Are you truly engaged in an active regimen of goal-oriented “power” networking or are you simply going through the motions, attending a bunch of softball events and hoping that somehow, miraculously, another unemployed professional will drop a red-hot lead in your lap?  I’m afraid to say that I know many people who are drifting into the latter camp, as of late, and I’m quite concerned about how this will impact both the success and speed of their overall employment search…

Your Networking Vibe: Is It “Help Me” or “Save Me”?

Unlike the “old days” of the nineties, when the concept of networking (at least as a formal, planned activity) was just coming into vogue, and people were hesitant to engage in it, I’m constantly impressed by how many people today seem to understand the importance of networking and relationship-building as part of their ongoing career efforts.

While there are many well-intentioned souls out there networking their buns off, however, I still see people engaging in some practices that will definitely limit the results they receive.  Perhaps the most common one, at least with regard to professionals going through job transition, is to send off a signal of “save me” or “rescue me” versus the much more productive “help me” vibe.  As you can imagine, the former attitudes are far less effective, since few people are in the “saving” business these days and many individuals will be instantly turned off (although they may disguise it well) by a job seeker who doesn’t seem to be focused, have a game plan, or appears to be expecting somebody else to come along and solve their problem for them.

So if you’re in transition, yourself, you’ll want to monitor your networking activities carefully and take the steps necessary to ensure that you’re not giving off the wrong impression, either consciously or unconsciously.  To help with this determination, here’s a quick breakdown of some of the WRONG and INEFFECTIVE types of networking requests, versus the type that produce better results:

Ineffective “Save Me” Networking Requests

“Do you know of any job openings that would fit me?”
“Do you know of any companies that I should be talking to?”
“Do you know any people I should contact?”
“What kinds of jobs do you think I should be targeting?”
“Here’s my resume — please pass it along to anybody you know.”

Effective “Help Me” Networking Requests

“I saw an opening over at Blue Nile the other day that really interests me; do you happen to know anybody at that organization who might be able to help me get a foot in the door?”

“I’ve spent the past week building a list of 25 companies where I think my skills would fit like a glove; would you mind reviewing this list for a second and letting me know if you’ve heard anything about any of these firms?”

“While I’m always open to new connections, I’d particularly like to make contact with a few venture capitalists around town, since I think my start-up experience would be a perfect fit for some of their portfolio companies.  Is there any chance you have any VC folks in your network to whom you’d be comfortable making an introduction on my behalf?”

“While I’ve got a pretty diverse skill set, and could wear a lot of different hats for organizations, I’ve been researching some of the current needs that companies are facing most these days — and have decided to put some serious effort into finding a facilities management role, since that’s one area of my background I’m particularly passionate about.”

“Here’s my resume — since I haven’t had to write one in a while, however, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to look it over and share your feedback, especially since I know you’ve been involved in a lot of hiring over the years.  Any thoughts on how to polish it up even further would be greatly appreciated.”

As you can hopefully see from the above examples, there’s a world of difference between the job hunter that seems rudderless, and floundering, and the job hunter who seems to be pulling themselves up by the bootstraps, doing their homework, and only asking for help with those specific activities that they can’t perform themselves!

I know it can be hard to kick into this kind of proactive, action-oriented mode when you’re between jobs, and feeling a lot of pressure and anxiety, but it’s absolutely essential to getting successful results out on the networking circuit.  And despite the incessant drumbeat of negative news reports out there, I still have tremendous faith in human nature and the willingness of the average person to lend a hand to other people in need.  I just feel the bar has been raised a little bit due to the numbers of people currently seeking favors and referrals — and as a result, while many individuals will still cheerfully “jump on the bandwagon” of people who seem to be helping themselves, they’ll tend to brush off those folks who just seem to be trolling for leads or merely looking for a handout!

Networking Basics: Clarifying Your Needs

Last month, as many of you may recall, I ran a short article suggesting that many people were violating a “cardinal networking rule” by not following up with people consistently to check in and let them know the status of the leads, help, and referrals that they’d been offered.  Needless to say, this article apparently touched many a guilty conscience, since I got DOZENS of e-mails afterwards from clients who felt that I had written this article with them specifically in mind, chastising them for not following-up recently, which was kind of amusing — but honestly not my intent!

At any rate, as a “sequel” of sorts to this first networking observation, I wanted to point out another rule of thumb that I see constantly violated by job seekers — which involves asking people for contacts, or target company ideas, without giving them any useful clues as to the kinds of referrals that would actually be appropriate, relevant, or useful.  Not only does this hurt your own candidacy and “personal brand” by suggesting that you’re unfocused, and don’t know what you want, but it also may lead people to suspect that you’re somewhat lazy, since it suggests that you haven’t done any homework or deep thinking, yourself, to figure out what kinds of contacts/companies would be most relevant to your goals.

So if you’re actively in job transition, and haven’t had a lot of luck with the networking process, I’d suggest you retool your elevator pitch to include specific details about the exact types of companies that interest you and the types of individuals who might best add value to your search efforts.  In actual practice, this might sound something like:

– “I recently saw the movie An Inconvenient Truth and it’s really motivated me to try to align myself with companies that are energy-conscious and trying to develop more sustainable business practices.  I’d therefore love to talk with anybody you know who works in the green/sustainability field — as well as any companies in town you know of that might be working on sustainability and waste reduction initiatives.”

– “My primary goal would be to work in the Training or Organizational Development department of a large company, such as Nordstroms, Microsoft, or Starbucks, so I’m currently trying to connect with anybody in the area who works in an OD, Executive Coaching, or Training capacity — since these folks could probably tell me which local companies have established these kinds of internal departments.”

– “I love the thrill of the startup environment, so right now I’m seeking to locate and chat with any senior executives who are involved in a startup venture of some kind, as well as any service providers such as venture capitalists, private equity advisors, attorneys, or accountants who might support this sector closely and know what’s going on around town in terms of new companies getting funded/launched.”

It doesn’t matter how you phrase your request, exactly, but being able to offer these kinds of specific details will always generate more referrals and opportunities than simply throwing out a cattle-call for “contacts” or “leads” in general.  You can obviously change your focus over time, too, as your search unfolds and you get clearer about your career goals.  The bottom line, however, is that you’ve got to live by the immortal words offered up in the movie Jerry McGuire: “Help…me…to help…you!”

Have You Bugged Your Network Lately?

While the concept of “effective networking” continues to baffle and frustrate many job seekers, and involves a lot of subtle nuances, there are certain aspects of the process that are profoundly simple — as well as incredibly powerful, provided one incorporates them into the job search process.

One of the most important elements of a good networking strategy is repetition.  Whether you’re networking for the sake of employment opportunities, or as a business owner or consultant, it does little good to make an initial contact and then invest zero effort in ongoing follow-up.  As a rule of thumb, in fact, we encourage people to assume that if they haven’t talked to a person in their network during the past month, that person has likely completely forgotten about them — or has concluded that they either aren’t serious about their employment search or have landed a position already.

Perhaps one of the reasons we stress this point so highly, as well, is that we see this exact same dynamic play out among our own daily client interactions.  During the course of our working day, we tend to spot and pass along quite a few leads, ideas, and resources to those clients of ours who keep us posted on a regular basis about their progress, company prospects, and goals.  When clients go AWOL for weeks or months at a time, however, we tend to “lose energy” around their search efforts and become much less effective at assisting them.  In some unfortunate cases, in fact, we’ll have a client resurface after being out of touch for months — and realize that we’d heard of a perfect lead for them in the recent past, but neglected to pass it along since we were completely unaware of their current focus or employment situation!  This is simply a law of human nature.  If people see YOU taking your career seriously, and following an aggressive game plan for success, they’ll be much more seriously motivated to lend a hand with your efforts, themselves.   So make sure to keep them engaged and updated — often!

Are there exceptions to this rule?  Absolutely.  If you know somebody is going to be out of town for a while, or your instincts tell you that a longer waiting period is necessary between conversations with certain individuals, trust your judgment.  In the vast majority of cases, however, we feel that these damaging networking lapses occur due to a breakdown on the tracking end of things, not due to a genuine resistance people have to hearing from you.  We therefore encourage active job hunters to rely heavily upon the “Net” tab of our Job Search PhD spreadsheet tool (or another system they’ve designed) to effectively monitor the “last contact date” they’ve had with each person in their network.  Through such a framework, you can avoid the “out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon with your own network — and the costly consequences that accompany it!

The Lost Art of Asking for Favors

All appearances to the contrary, the process of finding an exceptional new job really hasn’t changed that dramatically over the past 100 years.  The most consistent route to success is to cultivate relationships with a wide network of people and then approach these contacts for help, at the appropriate time, in finding a new opportunity.  More than half of all positions are filled in this manner, outpacing the effectiveness of employment ads, recruiters, job fairs, and all other channels combined.

Despite this consistent reality, however, there’s no question that networking today is a slightly more difficult process than it has been in the past.  For starters, many influential professionals are extremely busy and simply don’t have as much time available to socialize.  In addition, we believe that the constant demands of e-mail and voice mail have lowered the networking tolerance of most people, making them less likely to respond to casual or disorganized requests for assistance.

We’d therefore offer a few quick reminders in how to properly approach and ask for favors from your network.  By following these pointers, you’ll ensure that you make a professional impression and will maximize the odds that people will be willing to help you out, not just now, but down the road!

– Take the pressure off right up front; make it clear that you’re neither asking for nor expecting job leads
– Show respect for the person’s time and acknowledge that they’re busy
– Be specific about how much time you need from them and honor this commitment religiously
– Do your homework in advance; don’t waste people’s time asking for info you could get elsewhere
– Have a clear agenda for your call, or meeting, and be prepared to drive the conversation forward
– Promise to return the favor in any way possible down the road
– Send a polite thank-you note or follow-up communication no later than 24 hours after the meeting

By following these simple techniques, you’ll find that the people in your network become much more receptive to your phone calls and will be far more likely to do you a favor — including, perhaps, sharing a personal referral that could lead directly to your next employment opportunity.

Energy: The Foolproof Test

Did you know that there’s a simple “litmus test” that can accurately gauge the effectiveness of virtually any type of meeting that takes place between two individuals?

The test is this.  After any interview, networking conversation, or interpersonal interaction, ask yourself whether the meeting generated energy in both parties — or whether it depleted it.  In other words, when the interaction is finished, do the people who participated feel more excited and energized than when they started or do they feel tired, drained, and exhausted after the exchange?  Except in a few rare cases, this test will tell you everything you need to know about whether or not the meeting was a success.

Perhaps the most tactical application of this knowledge, from a job search standpoint, is to assess whether you’re doing your part to create this positive energy and to make conversations flow as smoothly as possible.  Are you prepared enough for the meetings you attend?  Do you bring fresh ideas and perspectives?  Are you holding up your end of the conversation or are you sitting back, displaying negative and intimidating body language, making it extremely difficult for the other person to get to know you?  If you already sense that some of these behaviors apply to you, it’s important that you take proactive steps to address the matter.  If you’re unable to connect with other people easily and build solid rapport, you’ll be at a major disadvantage in finding employment.

There are also people out there, unfortunately, who display these characteristics but appear completely unaware that they’re coming across this way.  In my private coaching practice, for instance, I have clients who are very engaging, and approachable, and we often go well beyond the scheduled appointment time (on my dime, of course!) because we’re creating good energy and making significant progress toward reaching the individual’s goals.  At the same time, however, I occasionally encounter clients who come across as closed, guarded, and non-responsive in our conversations.  Given my lack of masochistic tendencies, you can imagine that I tend to wrap up our sessions right on schedule!

So while the consequences of displaying closed and guarded behavior may be minimal in terms of the career coaching interaction, they are signs of an individual who is likely to run into major roadblocks in the interviewing, networking, and job hunting process.

For the most part, of course, I raise this issue directly with clients who make me “work hard” to get to know them or who come across as standoffish.  It’s part of my job to provide this objective feedback, and in many cases, the root cause doesn’t actually turn out to be arrogance — but a degree of shyness or insecurity, instead.  Whichever the case, however, it’s important to acknowledge the issue and work on it if it turns out to be a barrier to your success.  Unless you’re able to bring positive energy to the table, and create excitement in the people you’re conversing with, you’ll find yourself at a major disadvantage in both your job search as well as your ongoing career success.

Not LinkedIn Yet? Get Started!

It’s no secret — I’m a huge raving rabid fan of LinkedIn.com — and maintain that this resource has become an indispensable tool for modern job seekers as well as for business professionals, in general.  And yet, as much as I emphasize the importance of LinkedIn to each new client who begins working with me, it’s now become clear that I don’t always get the message across to people as effectively as I should.  I say this due to several recent comments I’ve received from clients who didn’t start using LinkedIn for several months after kicking off their job search, but who, once they eventually got around to exploring the system, wrote to me to share their LinkedIn networking triumphs  — and their regret that I hadn’t forced them to take advantage of the tool much, much sooner!

So for those of you out there who may still not have gotten around to using the LinkedIn system, I thought it might be helpful to share one of the actual messages I received, below, with only a few minor edits to protect the confidentiality of the person and the situation:

“Matt, when you introduce people to Linkedin.com, make sure they completely understand how powerful this tool actually can be.  As I now realize (and as you already know) the site involves much more than just putting up your name and accomplishments, linking in with friends once in a while, and checking whether you know someone who happens to work at a company you are interested in.  For example, I am currently interviewing with a manager over at a local technology company and would never, in my wildest dreams, have expected to find this person listed right there within my network of connections if the Director of HR at the company had not asked me whether I had checked him out there! (And, as I found out later, I am connected to her, too…)  So here’s my main point.  The next time you show someone LinkedIn, sit him/her down and go through an actual example: e.g. ‘Suppose you are going in for an interview with Tom Smith at XYZ Company. Chances are, you already know someone who knows him!  Don’t believe me?  Here, type in the name Tom Jones in the people field and voila, tada, here he is — and you are connected to him via Susie Smith who knows Linda Brown who is Tom’s former partner at ABC Company!’  It’s just amazing…”

So there you have it — the power of LinkedIn expressed in a client’s words, not mine — and I can assure this individual that her plea has not fallen on deaf ears.  Going forward, I will definitely be investing more time introducing people to the full power of the LinkedIn system up front, when they start services, since it appears that a “show” versus “tell” modality will have far better results!

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Keep Your Contacts Fresh!

If you’ve got stacks of business cards lying around, and have found yourself adding dozens of new names to your contact list as result of your job search efforts, congratulations — this is definitely a sign that you’re putting some serious energy and effort into the networking process!

It’s important to note, however, that great networking is as much about quality as it is about quantity, and many people make the mistake of focusing exclusively on building new contacts instead of following-up regularly with the people they’ve already met.  Many opportunities are likely lost, in fact, because job hunters don’t realize the importance of keeping their current network updated, engaged, and energized.  Why do we suspect this?  Because even among our own client base, we’ve noted that some individuals keep us constantly in the loop regarding their progress and efforts — while others disappear without a trace for months at a time.  And in case you’re wondering which group tends to transition faster into new jobs, we can assure you that it’s the former, not the latter.

So if you’re currently in a job search, yourself, we’d strongly suggest that you try and make contact with every single person in your network at least once per month until you’ve landed your next assignment.  A month may seem to pass by quickly, to you, but remember that the perception of time is always a bit different for job seekers given the emotional turbulence, pressure, and lack of daily structure that goes along with the process.  So every 30 days, drop each of the folks you know a line and remind them of the types of jobs you’re pursuing.  Keep them updated on your progress.  Let them know where you’re interviewing.    Ensure they have copies of your updated resume.  Send them leads and resources that they might be able to use, themselves.  It doesn’t really matter what type of content you pass along, exactly; the key is to infuse SOME type of energy back into the relationship on a periodic basis so that people don’t forget about you — or stop searching for opportunities on your behalf.

In order to facilitate this habit, you may need to create some sort of “tickler” system to keep track of each contact you have with people and to schedule the next time you need to check in with them.  Whatever works for you, go for it!  As long as you don’t end up bugging them TOO frequently (“Hey Joe, it’s your daily 10:00 call from your favorite job hunter!”) and always make a point to bring something new to the conversation, they’ll appreciate your follow-through and the seriousness with which you are taking your job-finding efforts.  Fail to do this, and there’s a good chance these key allies you’re counting on might assume you’ve already landed a job somewhere — and be adding zero to your networking efforts!

The Cardinal Networking Rule: Have You Broken It?

In recent weeks, we’ve heard a disturbing number of accounts from clients and business contacts who have offered referrals to people, but never actually heard back whether the individual in question took them up on the proffered leads and introductions.  The horror, the horror.  Such behavior is not only inexcusable, and anathema to one’s professional reputation, but also violates one of the cardinal rules of networking — which is that if you ask people to take the trouble to help you, you are then fundamentally obligated to take them up on the assistance offered!

Now I know what you’re thinking — surely most of you out there have never violated this rule in a blatant sense and are as appalled as I am to hear that such behavior exists.  Have you come close to committing a violation, however?  Or flirted more than you should with the boundaries of this rule?  For example, even job seekers who are running an otherwise classy, professional marketing campaign often let certain leads lapse for more than a week before acting on them.  This is too long.  Not only does it diminish the perception that you’re serious about reaching your goals, but also can backfire if the original referring party reaches out to the contact in the meantime on your behalf.  Additionally, we’ve seen many people blow off a piece of advice (“I appreciate the thought, but don’t really see how that person could help”) without fully thinking it through — as well as folks who actually do follow up on a given introduction, but then fail to circle back around to the initial party to communicate the results of the meeting.

The failure to follow this latter networking “success habit” is a behavior we find particularly mystifying, because providing quick follow-ups to your contacts about the help they’ve provided solves the problem of “why would I bug them again?” and gives you a perfect built-in excuse for making the next networking contact!  So going forward, be highly conscious of this dynamic and ask yourself whether you are making networking follow-up an appropriately high priority on your daily to-do list.  It’s not only the right thing to do, but it leverages the truth of the old saying: “the best way to get somebody to like you is to let them do you a favor!” Counterintuitive, for sure, but a sentiment we think is right on the money.

Entrepreneurial Networking Groups

Despite the fact that we’re Bellevue Chamber of Commerce members, ourselves, we still have trouble keeping up with all of the great resources and events that this organization sponsors within the Eastside community.  For example, in a recent perusal of the Chamber’s September newsletter, we noted that they are now hosting several very focused, niche networking groups that we feel might be of tremendous interest to many of our clients.  These groups include:

•  Entrepreneurial Roundtable: Meets regularly to allow entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and small business owners to network and discuss ideas/strategies for ongoing business success.
•  Chief Executives Program: An exclusive series designed to help integrate senior-level executives and their spouses into the Seattle/Bellevue community.
•  Young Executives Program: A yearlong peer group series that allows up-and-coming local professionals (2-8 years of experience) to build their network, hone their leadership skills, and receive mentoring from seasoned senior managers in the Puget Sound area.

While the Chamber hasn’t yet updated their website with detailed information on each of these groups, you can find out more about them by visiting www.bellevuechamber.org, clicking on the “About Us” link, clicking on “Newsletters”, and then reading page two of their September newsletter — which you’ll find available in Adobe Acrobat format.  Also, if you’re interested in these types of programs but don’t live in the Bellevue/Redmond area, we’d encourage you to contact your local Chamber of Commerce to see if they might offer similar types of groups!