The righteous choose their friends carefully,Let’s travel back twelve years to my sophomore year in high school. Like any other sixteen-year-old kid, I was anxiously working toward that laminated ticket to adolescent freedom we call a driver’s license. Of course, the license alone would not be enough. I needed a car to call my own if I was really going to experience the teen life in its fullest. I learned quickly, however, that cars aren’t cheap and the piggy bank of my youth wasn’t going to get me behind the wheel of anything bigger than a Matchbox car. If I wanted that car, I needed to go out and find myself a job. Comfortably nestled in a chair in my living room, I sifted through the local paper. There, in a sea of ten-point fonts, vertical columns, and seedy personal ads, I saw it: “Cashier needed at Walmart.”
Without hesitation, I called the number on the ad, and soon after put in an application. Thus began my glorious journey toward obtaining my pretty blue vest with the oh-so-lovely Wally World smiley face on the back.
JOB LISTINGS ON STEROIDS
Thanks to the Internet, the way employers list jobs, advertise those listings, and attract employees has been radically and irrevocably changed. Naturally, the way we go out and look for jobs has changed as well. Instead of picking up the newspaper to see who’s hiring down the street, we can pull up Wanted.com and see who’s hiring all over the country.
The beauty of this method of job hunting is that it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort on your part. Put on a pot of coffee, sit down at your laptop, and surf to your heart’s content. With little effort, you could find a hundred job opportunities by lunchtime. The problem with this, of course, is there are a whole lot of other folks just like you doing the same thing right at this very moment. That translates into a whole lot of competition for you and a whole lot of noise for the potential employer. All of this means your odds of standing out from the crowd are extremely low. It is also important to recognize that oftentimes, by the time job listings hit the web, they are old news. Since most companies prefer to promote from within and hire by referral, the word on a new opening can spread like wildfire as soon as that position becomes available. In many cases, you’ll find the job is filled by the time the first few applications start rolling in.
IF NOT INTERNET LISTINGS, THEN WHAT?
It appears as though we’ve finally found a problem the Internet can’t solve! So, what’s a job seeker to do? In a word, my answer is this: network. You’ve heard the age-old saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” This statement is almost a cliché, but remains absolutely true. Inside information and personal recommendations tend to be the most fruitful methods of filling new positions within organizations. The better connected you are as a result of intentional networking, the better your chances of landing the right job in the right organization.
NETWORK TO GET WORK
For some of you, networking is a natural extension of who you are. You’ve always been a social butterfly, making fast friends everywhere you go. You excel at building relationships and staying in touch with people. Building a diverse and engaged network is a simple matter of course for you, so you don’t even sweat this. But for the rest of us, networking is a dirty word. To us, it’s a business term to be found in the same category as shmoozing, hobnobbing, and glad-handing. We don’t like it, so anytime we’re injected into a situation like a business mixer or cocktail party, we feel like we’re at work.
I lump myself into the second category because I am, by nature, a big-time introvert. For the first twenty-five years of my life, I lived inside a relational bubble. I had a couple of friends and my happy little comfort zone. If you were outside of that, I had absolutely nothing for you. I wouldn’t even think about talking to strangers, much less willfully put myself in a room full of them. Not only did I object to networking out of discomfort and fear, but something about the whole deal seemed a bit forced. I didn’t want to meet people who were only looking to meet me so they could get something out of me. The flip side is also true; I never wanted to become the guy who treats people like currency.
I have since learned I couldn’t have been more wrong. Having started a very relational kind of business, I learned quickly that in order to survive I would have to bust out of that shell. That experience, along with my work in and around ministry, taught me I actually had a knack for meeting new people and building real relationships based on what I have to offer rather than what I can get from the relationship. I learned networking didn’t have to mean sucking up to strangers and trying to milk them for whatever they had to give. I could actually meet amazing people, hear their stories, and connect with them on a much more human level than I ever expected. And when you take the time to get involved in other people’s lives in that way, you’ll find connections beget more connections and opportunities will naturally begin to come your way.
TWELVE TIPS FOR NETWORKING SUCCESS
1. Find out who your people are. Take out a piece of paper and divide it into three columns. Label the first column “People I know.” Label the second “People I want to know.” Label the third “People I need to know.” With an eye to your industry and the people you know in and around that community, start to fill in the columns. The first group of folks are the ones whom you already know and have a relationship with. The second group are the people who work in your industry or are generally wise people who may be able to help you figure out the next steps or get connected to the right people. The third column is for those specific contacts in your industry who may be able to help you get in, get connected, and get a job. Prayerfully seek God’s guidance as you intentionally map this out and consider with whom you’d like to pursue relationships.
The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
PROV. 12:26 NIV
2. Go where your people go. Learn about the people on your list and see what kind of events they go to. For example: you’re trying to land a job in the marketing department at Nissan and you learn the marketing director loves to send her staff to professional development events around town. Check your local chamber of commerce’s Web site as well as Web sites like Meetup.com for specific opportunities in your area. If you’re involved in a professional trade organization, they can help you as well. Maybe it’s time for you to start attending those events. Worst case, you learn something valuable and make a few new friends. Best case, you hit it off with someone on the staff and you’re on your way to getting your foot in the door.
If you’re having trouble thinking of places to find your people, here are just a few examples to get your wheels turning:
Facebook
Local Special Interest Groups (Meetup.com)
Neighborhood Associations
Sports Clubs
Professional Development Events
Seminars
Conferences
3. Do what you like to do. When investigating where your people are, don’t forget to use your best judgment. You don’t want to blindly go to every event or party just because you’d like to meet a few key people there. You have to actually be interested in the activity in which they’re engaged. Otherwise, you’ll reek of insincerity and probably fail to connect with those people on any sort of level that matters. When you go out and do what you already enjoy, however, you’re going to meet people with the same interests. These are the folks with whom you’ll share the most affinity and develop the deepest connections.
4. Know thyself. Have ready answers to the important questions, “Who are you and why are you here?” Whether you walk into a networking event or you just happen to meet someone on the street, this information will be vital in developing a real connection with whomever you meet.
5. Don’t sweat it. If you’re introverted like I am, you might see a room full of strangers and immediately want to turn around and go home. Remind yourself they’re just people and fight the urge to freak out.
6. Have an attainable goal. It’s easy to walk into a room full of twenty people and get immediately overwhelmed. Of course if you try to psych yourself up to hand out a stack of business cards or meet everyone in the room you will feel anxious, and that anxiety can show up on your face and in your voice. Try to attend these events with the goal of having five meaningful conversations. Once you hit that goal, you are free to leave and retreat to the safety of your pj’s and couch.
7. Get happy, smile, and make eye contact. Nobody likes the negative guy or gal. It’s okay to be in a bad mood, but you’ve got to put that aside and be happy in the moment. If you can’t get to a positive place, you’re better off leaving the party and going home. When meeting new folks, greet them with a smile. Be warm, inviting, and open. You may be afraid to approach a random stranger, so make it easy for others to approach you. Be aware of your body language. Standing with your arms crossed and eyes fixed on the ceiling does not tell others to come and chat.
8. Listen attentively. If you’re in a crowded place or at an event and find yourself in a conversation, resist the urge to scan the room. Nothing makes a person feel more insignificant than when he’s speaking and you’re paying attention to everyone and everything but him. Wherever you are, be in the moment. Be truly present with the person you’re speaking with. Listen to the words she says and get to know where she’s coming from.
9. Speak openly and authentically. When it’s your turn to talk, don’t hold back. This isn’t the time to be cryptic or to withhold information. This is your chance to talk about who you are and why you’re there. Don’t be afraid to share your struggles and let whomever you’re talking with know what you’re looking for in life and in your career. Give the other person a chance to get to know you.
10. Seek opportunities to be generous. This is where we turn the old-school concept of networking on its head. Instead of “working the room” and focusing on what others can do for you, focus on what you can do for others. Be a resource and a helping hand. It may require you to invest some time and energy, but the return on your investment will be huge.
A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
PROV. 11:25 NIV
11. Follow up. Don’t let your new friends end up in a stack of business cards and cocktail napkins on your desk. There’s no point to networking with new people if you’re not going to follow up. Call your new contacts, write them notes, send them e-mails; stay in touch and build relationships with these people.
12. Get connected digitally. With our society’s current obsession with social media, you simply cannot ignore this. Find ways to link up with everyone you meet, whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or wherever, find a way to connect.
DO WHAT WORKS
Amidst all of the different methods for finding work, it’s best to isolate the methods that work for you and focus on them. If Monster. com is a dead end for you while networking around town is turning up a new opportunity every day, then stop wasting your time on Monster.com. If you are finding opportunities in the newspaper that speak to you and are receiving responses to the resumes and cover letters you submit, then buy the paper every day. Devote your time and energy to the things that produce results and, most importantly, stick with them.
Having said that, never stop networking! It only takes one connection to change the game. It may take you weeks or even months to make that connection, but it will happen if you persevere. Trust God’s guidance, intentionally seek out other people, and focus on blessing them before they can bless you. Become that kind of person and you’ll have no shortage of wonderful opportunities in the very near future.
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