Let’s face the facts: it’s likely that we’ll be in a virus-driven world for a long time. We could complain and lament our fates. No one would fault us for feeling bad about young adults losing out on their college experiences when universities turn to remote learning, your vacation is canceled at the last minute and the dreaded feeling of being stuck in your home or apartment over the holiday season sets in once again.
The other option is to make the best of a bad situation. It takes a strong person to push back on all of the negativity and fear and take proactive self-affirming measures.
The holiday season was always a great time to reconnect with family, friends, long lost relatives and people who you haven’t seen for a long time. Now is the perfect time to rekindle relationships and start reaching out to people. With nearly everyone housebound, you should commence an aggressive networking campaign.
One of the best ways to achieve long-term success is by intelligently, thoughtfully and consistently networking. Here’s an effective example of how this easily works. If you see a job posting you like on LinkedIn and notice that 150 applicants already applied, you immediately feel dejected. The first reaction is that the odds are stacked against you. The company didn’t only place the role on LinkedIn. It’s likely to be on Indeed, Glassdoor, other job boards and the organization’s own internal online career section.
If you just send a résumé to a random email address, you’ll be one of hundreds of candidates. To gain a competitive advantage, start searching online to find out anyone you know who works at the organization. If you recognize somebody—it could be a close or loose tie—reach out to them.
Depending upon the level of how well you know the person, you can initiate a phone call, ask for a video conversation, text or email them. Say “Hi, it’s been a while. How is everything?” Offer some small talk about their family and what’s going on at work. Then, be direct, “I’m searching for a new job and noticed a position that’s a perfect fit for me. It’s with your company, too! I immediately thought of you. Could you please do me a huge favor? If I send over my résumé to you, will you feel comfortable helping me out and sharing it with the appropriate hiring manager and human resources person?” More often than not, the person would say she’s happy to help you.
It makes a massive difference when a résumé is shared internally. Companies love internal referrals. They know that if an employee recommends a person, they must be good, as no one wants to risk their credibility by suggesting a person who is inappropriate for the role. It also saves on the costs of retaining a recruiter to fill the role or paying for more job listings.
If you’re bold, find a second person at the firm. If two or more employees share your résumé with the hiring manager and HR, they’ll be blown away. The internal professionals will believe that since several people independently made the same recommendation, you must be amazingly awesome and perfect for the role.
The hype gains their rapt attention and interest. There’s a feeling of mystery and intrigue. They’ll wonder who this person is and will anticipate meeting you. Now, instead of being just another résumé, the decision makers will feel that they already know and like you. You’ve got the seal of approval. You just went to the front of the line.
It’s also practical. Put yourself in the shoes of the new boss. You’re wading through hundreds of résumés. It’s hard to gain the sense of a person based solely upon a piece of paper. It changes the dynamic when the people you networked with tell the internal corporate personnel how great you are. It’s a no-brainer. Why sift through all the résumés when you can start with the candidate that’s been highly recommended?
Now that you see how this works, you can take the next step and be bolder. You may have heard of the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” It’s kind of a dated reference, but back in the day, Kevin Bacon was in so many movies that it was a party game to see how he was connected with other actors. It didn’t have to be a direct link. It could be that Kevin Bacon worked with an actress who later did a film with Brad Pitt. Then, anyone Pitt did a film with would be indirectly associated with Bacon. It’s the same with seeking a job. Find someone who may know someone who has a friend, family member, neighbor or contact who can get you an introduction to the company.
This part of networking is easier. Engage in an authentic branding and marketing campaign on social media. The key is to showcase your skills, ability, knowledge, achievements and brilliance. You also need to broadcast what you are looking to do next, so people are aware of how they can help you.
It shouldn’t just be a one-way street. Offer your services to help others in need too. Before you ask for anyone’s assistance, you should first start building your network by helping others without requiring anything in return. If there is a junior person on your team, offer mentoring. If you have an experienced professional who is not up to date with some new technologies, provide unsolicited tutoring. If a co-worker is struggling, stay late and help them meet a deadline.
Networking needs to be organic and mutual for both parties involved. It is considered a little inappropriate to reach out to a person that you have never given the time of day to in the past and now demand a favor—asking them to make an introduction, so you can get one step closer to attaining a new position.
These random acts of kindness—instead of being thought of as networking—should all be done in the spirit of helping others. If the recipient feels that you are only being kind because of an ulterior motive, it will spectacularly backfire on you. When people truly believe that you care about them, they will only be too happy to help you when offered the chance.
It’s important to build and create a tribe of professionals to help you throughout your career. These will be people who you trust and can go to for advice, counsel and guidance—work friends who will tell you when you are doing something stupid that can potentially ruin your career, fill you in on an opening at their company, impart wisdom on how to navigate a difficult boss or offer a vast array of other career assistance.
There’s no need to embark upon your job search alone. Think of it as a group effort and leverage all of your resources. It’s time to crowdsource your job search. Enlist as many people as you can think of. This includes family, friends, college alumni, former co-workers, business associates, kids you grew up with, members of organizations you belong to and people you met at various functions. If they don’t have any solid leads, politely and persistently ask them to point you to someone that they know who may get you in front of the right person.
With the people you are networking with in the real world and online, include them on your social media go-to sites. Invite them to join you on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. The platforms will vary depending on your job and level of experience. Like, comment and share their posts. It’s a great way to stay in touch. As you develop your social media reach, you can follow successful people in your field and attempt to turn the online dialogues into real relationships—further broadening your reach.
Seek out well-known recruiters in your field. Even if you are not actively searching for a job, connect with them on LinkedIn, submit a résumé and set up an in-person meeting. Let them know that you are not actively looking right now, but would love to be on their radar. You can do this with up to about five recruiters. These recruiters will know almost everyone in your niche. They will fill you in on new openings, what’s happening at other companies and may know more about movements in your firm than you do.
Your next job or career break could come from a chance interaction with an alumni from college or graduate school, some kid you grew up with who is now some big hotshot, the parents of your children’s friends that you meet at soccer games, acquaintances of family and friends that you bump into at functions, people you meet at religious or community events, the gym or at the local neighborhood Starbucks. When you remain friendly and open, you will be amazed at how many people would like to connect with you.
Here’s a smart and productive hack. Jed Clark, the former chief compliance officer for ICONIQ Capital, a multifamily office and private equity firm, offered a brilliant networking tip. Clark previously left his important executive job to embark upon a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world, planning to visit 11 countries on four different continents. He meditated in silence for 10 days in Prachin Buri, Thailand, trekked 125 miles over 13 days in the Nepali Himalayas, circumnavigated the Annapurnas, taking a very cold (and brief) swim in Tilicho Lake at an altitude of 16,000 feet. In the midst of his wild journey, the pandemic hit and Clark was forced to rush back home to San Francisco.
Although he returned home without a job, Clark wanted to keep mentally occupied and started seeking out a new position—during one of the toughest job markets in recent history. He casually shared with the group what he’s been doing since arriving home and self-quarantined. Clark said that he had a goal of setting up three or more video calls a day with people. The online calls are with former co-workers, bosses, people who have reported into him in the past and extended out to casual business relationships.
Clark tailored a brief email politely asking the person if they’d like to jump on a quick video chat to catch up. No agenda or ulterior motive was mentioned. His theory, which has proven true, was that everyone is in the same boat now. At the time, we were all incredibly bored and stuck at home, looking for something to do, as there’s only so much time you can spend binge-watching Netflix shows, like the Tiger King. We all needed something a little different and interesting to pass the time. It’s an added bonus if it’s also productive. What’s better than mixing a friendly reacquainting, talking shop and maybe gaining something valuable out of the conversation?
The call would be light and go over the standard stuff, like how’s the family, gossiping about mutual friends, sharing what’s new and discussing ways to cope with our new collective reality.
Invariably, the person will ask Clark about his work. When informed that he’s no longer connected with his firm, the other person would usually offer to help, almost as a knee-jerk reaction.
They’d provide some advice and suggestions, as well as a name or two of people whom he should get in touch with. The more video calls he made, the more job leads were generated. It may feel awkward at first, but I’d suggest that you should immediately add this tactic to your job search repertoire. This is especially a brilliant move during this time period.
Alejandro Suarez Cordova is a college student at Hult University and a natural at networking. For the new Happy at Work podcast, he got the attention of Dr. Robert Langer, the MIT scientist and billionaire cofounder of Moderna, the CEOs of two Formula 1 racing teams, Zak Brown and Otmar Szafnauer, and others.
At first, it was assumed he came from a wealthy family and had close connections with powerful people. It’s not the case. He was a racing fan and found his way into the circles of people in this space. Being polite, friendly and unafraid to make the “ask,” he was able to enlist the CEOs of Aston Martin and McLaren race teams to be guests on the startup podcast. With regards to Langer, Cordova noticed that he had spoken at an investing club at MIT and invited the scientist-businessman to talk at his school too. Langer became part of his growing network.
Cordova said, “A common question I get is, ‘Who is your father? How do you know X or Y?’” That isn’t the case. “I come from a normal family, a regular background. When networking, I create opportunities from nothing and generate a real synergy and bonding.” The key to his success in networking is that Cordova has a genuine interest and passion for something and connects with a person in the field to learn more about it. He does this in a transparent, earnest, sincere and polite manner. Another lesson learned from his approach is that he’s unafraid of asking the person for help, assistance or advice. In sales, it’s called “asking for the order.” Most people fail, as they’re afraid to hear the “no” and nothing ever happens. If you’re brave enough to reach out to people, doors will be opened to you, followed by great opportunities.
If you start methodically, intelligently and continually seeking out quality people, you will see your network dramatically increase over the new year and your career will benefit from the efforts.
Source: Forbes
