A Sure-Fire Way to Upscale Your Contact List while Sipping Eggnog and Merry Ho Ho Ho-ing your way through the Holidays … and Beyond!
People
always seem to freeze up and look petrified when, in my role as their Career
Coach, I remind them that the holiday season is the best time of year for networking. The reason behind this deer in the headlights response is because it seems to trigger that
old and horribly awkward, asking for a
job misconception around networking.
This usually occurs innocently enough when the erstwhile networker launches into what they think is the key question of networking: Do you know of any job openings?
Most don’t realize
this is the LAST thing you want to
ask at any seasonal do!
You
may be scratching your head now, wondering what planet I’m from. But, just for a second, twist the situation
on its ear.
Put yourself in the
potential contact’s shoes.
At
your job -- or when you were in one --
and people asked you about jobs in your company, did you know enough about that
area to give a helpful answer?
Typically,
your answer will be no, unless
you’re in Human Resources or in a small enough company where the managers and staff get involved in hiring. (In those situations
you’d have hit paydirt!)
It’s
not that people are running away from you because they think you’re a needy
imposing pariah! It’s because they feel badly because they
don’t have anything to help you!
Bottomline: People
like to help!!! And they are often
very happy to tell you about their job and company, so long as they don’t feel
pressured to try and find you a job.
Phew…
so now does it make more sense why so many people resist networking?
Which
leads me to the NUMERO UNO thing you
need to change to get better job-finding results through networking:
Forget
about job searching and focus on INFORMATION GATHERING instead.
Mentally put on a
DIFFERENT HAT: Imagine you’re
an Investigative Reporter or
a CSI guy/gal looking for and
then following up on leads and clues!
Whichever floats your boat.
This is the most
important distinction you can make when launching a conversation over the
canapés.
Sure,
it requires a bit of pre-planning and likely a shift in your typical conversational
style but here are 4 great questions to get you started (after a brief
rapport-building chitchat – you know, the stuff you usually talk about before you shuffle off to find another target
because the first conversation died as soon as you mentioned you were looking for work! The old standbys like the weather, the food
you’re eating, your kids or the most publicized football/hockey/ soccer game!):
Ideally, go with
the flow: Let part of the natural conversation spark
the most relevant segue into one of
these. Then try to finesse it somewhat
as you start to gain momentum.
1)
Your
stance: during a natural break in the conversation,
when you’re leaning over, to spear another meatball or lift another drink from
the passing tray…
a.
Question 1 (casually): So …(pause and munch/sip) … what kind of work
do you do?
NOTE:
in this day and age when far too many people are unemployed, one must be
careful here, because if your target is also looking for work, you will need to
switch tracks and launch into a potentially great sharing conversation where
you may be able to get leads from each other (ie. your current
network/knowledge may be able to help him and vice versa).
2)
Your
stance:
Above all, be naturally curious
about this person. Let that curiosity
lead your questions but also comment appreciatively or with interest to whatever
your contact is sharing with you… even if you have no idea right now whether or
not this information will ever prove useful.
a.
Question 2:
Sounds like an interesting line of work.
(And, if they haven’t already mentioned it yet)… Where do you work? (and, if you’ve never
heard of them before and the contact’s stated job doesn’t tell you implicitly:
What do they do?)
3)
How long have you been there?
4)
Is it a good company to work for? If so, or if not, why?
Once
you have an idea whether this is a company you might be interested in learning
more about, you can take the questioning to the next level?
You can go in two
directions at this point:
A)
Your stance: on hearing that the company sounds like it does hire people with your skills, or is an
industry you have been wanting to explore for a career change, you can start to
deepen your questions into more leading directions, continuing to gauge the
receptivity of this person by asking:
5)
What kind of people/skills does your
company need? (You might also ask how big they are: how many people work there? Medium to large companies are more likely to
have many departments and, ergo, more potential job openings! Plus more variety in jobs.)
6)
Do they ever need people with (list your top 3 skills based on what you’re now
hearing are potential matches to the needs of this organization)?
7)
They sound like a good company to work
for! (If they do!!!) Is there anyone you know internally who might
be available to give me an informational
interview, maybe someone in the relevant department (specific area
you’ve determined could relate most to your skills) or the HR department (for more
general information source)?
Or…
B)
You’re not hearing anything that really resonates with you, so you can
double back to the weather, food or sports discussion again then, fairly soon
after, extricate yourself and move on to another likely candidate. No
harm, no foul!
Okay, so when there
does seem to be a potential opportunity there to dig into and learn more…then
what?
Asking advice can be
the next major step to facilitating that all important 2nd
conversation, which I recommend takes place at a neutral time far far away from
the cocktail party: the follow up, more
formal information interview that
this new contact will hopefully help you arrange.
FINAL MOVE: at the end of your initial holiday party confab
(especially if they’ve agreed to broker a meeting for you with their company somewhere
down the line), make sure you get their business card or jot down their particulars/contact
info in a notepad/phone memo if they don’t have one. Always make a couple of identifying notes on
the back of the card so you can recall something unique about the person that
will help you engage with them again in either your follow up email or meeting.
Which
brings me to the … POST PARTY ACTIONS:
Always,
always, always… follow up within a few days or weeks with the person you met;
reminding them of where you chatted with them and what you talked about. You can do this through LinkedIn if you can find them there. And since it’s always nice to offer them some
recompense for their time, inviting them for coffee (or lunch) is a great way
to start developing the relationship.
Remember: Don’t
expect instant results!
Sure
it can happen, but it’s really more like a lottery win when you land a job
after just one meeting.
Keep the faith! Your new connection may not bear fruit for
weeks, months or even years down the road.
Or they could also introduce you to a contact who opens your next new job door. You can never really know but the closer you
can get to people who can help you get closer to jobs or companies you recognize
as being on your top 20 list, the better your chances of landing a position
you’re really excited about.
FRIENDS FIRST: If any of this scares you or makes you worry
about imposing on strangers, practice first on people you know. Very few of us truly know what our friends
and families do at work or what their companies are all about.
Most
people are happy to be asked about their job and what they do. And, if you take
that tack instead of asking if they know any jobs at their company, you’re
likely to get a whole lot better traction.
Proviso: each of these questions and scenarios are
only loose approximations of what can happen and above all else you need to
stay light on your feet to flow with the conversation’s natural momentum. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and the
same goes for networking in any capacity.
The more you practice it – just like the equally dreaded public speaking
– the better you’ll get at it and the more natural you’ll appear to others.
FINAL PEP TALK!
Don’t burn yourself
out: try not to spend any more than 15-20 minutes
with a possible contact at any one event.
And try to meet 3 new people, then take a break and go talk to someone
you know; then do 3 more and call it a night!
Your Ultimate Goal: get closer to the Hidden Job Market – where experts still say anywhere from 60-70% of
jobs are found – is still primarily accomplished only by one-on-one networking.
And what’s the secret to that: Talking
to people. That’s it! The key secret to finding more and better job
opportunities -- and not just while you’re out of a job, either! But
that’s a whole other blog article!
Possible stumbling
blocks: when your target turns
the tables on you and asks about your
job, only you’re unemployed. Is the jig up? Will they, realizing your true job-seeking
intent, scurry off to the powder room, leaving you embarrassed and ashamed?
NO! You can handle this! Be honest and deftly sidestep it or rejig it
into something more upbeat. You could say
you’re looking at making a career change or you’re taking some time off to research
your options – hence your interest in his/her work. Or you can distract with some volunteer
activities you may be doing and find a way to turn the conversation around to
skills you are using or want to use more! This is a great opportunity to throw the
questions back at them and ask their advice about how they took what they’re
doing and shifted into something else?
If
you’re currently seeking a career change or readjustment, you can definitely
tell them what you are looking for (again, keep it brief – this is where a 60 Second
Sell that you’ve prepared ahead of time – and which you can adjust on
the spot, if possible, for relevance to your new contact’s organization --
comes in handy).
In
case you are planning to meet them again -- as
you should be at this point, otherwise why are you still talking to them? -- never say you’re working if you’re
not. It will likely come out at some
point, or they may check up on your LinkedIn profile and see you were fibbing,
then they may question your honesty. But
it’s not lying, even if you are up to
your armpits in job searching, to say you’re taking some time to explore some
new career options and find a really great fit for yourself.
Everyone
can identify with that. I know, I hear
it every day and more often than not from people who are currently working!
