Looking for a job is a job in itself. We've all heard this. So those on a serious
job quest polish their resumes and dutifully distribute them around town. When
I found myself in the job market last year, it was the way I began. Then I
discovered aggressive networking.
For many, the concept of networking conjures thoughts of calling up people
they know and having lunch or coffee with them and talking about opportunities
that may exist in that person's company. Aggressive networking carries this a
step further.
First, make a list of people you know who have jobs in your line of work or
related to your line of work. Then sit down and call each person on your list
and suggest that you meet for a coffee or something equally brief. There are
two reasons for this. One, you don't want to take up a lot of the other
person's time and two, lunches and dinners get to be expensive if you have
many of them to buy.
Take networking seriously. That is, don't spread the meetings with your list
of contacts out over a month-long period. Start on a Monday morning and call
everyone to book a get-together for later in the week or at the latest, early
next week.
When you have the meeting, keep it light. Don't show up with your resume and
ask, "Do you know of any jobs?" This is simply a reconnaissance mission. The
person you're having coffee with is in the business and knows what's happening.
Ask for this information. Try saying something as simple and straightforward
as: "You're plugged into what's going on around town. Any suggestions on who
I can talk to about what might be coming up in the future?"
And here is the secret: Get three names from each contact. If I know the person
really well, I out and out asked for three names of contacts. If I didn't know
the person that well, I listened and if they mentioned a company, I asked
something like: "Oh, XYZ Industries. Do you have any suggestions as to whom I
could speak to over there?"
By the end of the week, you may have a couple of dozen names of people in the
industry. Sit down the next Monday morning and call them. Introduce yourself,
explain where you got their names and ask if you can have 15 minutes of their
time. Suggest meeting for a coffee near their office. Often, the person will
say something like, "Why don't you drop in around 3 p.m. We can talk here in
my office."
Schedule your week, filling in time slots to meet people. And again, get three
names from each of these people. After a while, you may notice an overlapping
of names as your contacts give you names of people you have already contacted.
Don't ask for a job. Just the same as meeting with your acquaintances, keep it
light. Say that you're looking for a place in the industry and in the meantime,
you're making an all-out effort to keep plugged into what's happening.
Ascertain, if possible, what interests the people you meet. Keep a record of
who you met and what their interests are. This gives you a good opening for
recontacting them if you see an article or hear about something that might
interest them. Keep in gentle contact with them.
You not only get your name spread around town so that when something does come
up in your line of work you hear about it, there are ancillary benefits to
this kind of dedicated and aggressive networking. You get to meet a wide
variety of interesting people and your keep your working muscles intact by
having a specific task to do each week: meet more contacts.
Did it work for me? Yes. And in the best possible way. I'd worked in communications
previously and as I talked to more and more people, I began to have small
contract jobs come my way. Something would come up at an office and someone I
contacted would remember me and give me call. (Yes, I left business cards with
everyone I met. Nothing fancy. My name, phone number and a line describing the
type of work I do). I didn't take a corporate job after all because I got so
much contract work and discovered that I not only like it better, I make more
money at it. And the self-imposed discipline of making contacts trained me to
be my own boss.