Job Seekers: Try Networking This Way

Some love the excitement of meeting new people and learning new things. For many new job seekers, networking is difficult and uncomfortable. As a result, they avoid it. Or, when job seekers do try and network, they do it all wrong! Follow these suggestions to make networking more productive and mutually beneficial.

Leave Your Job Search At Home

If you are in job search, it may sound rather ridiculous to network without a resume. But let me propose this- if you are networking and people are asking you for your resume, you are doing it all wrong!

Why?

If you were already employed and asked to meet with someone, would they ask for your resume? No. Pulling out your resume during the first few seconds of the networking meeting is focusing the conversation on you and your baggage history, not the person you are speaking with.

Why Networking With a Resume is a Bad Idea

Any time you present a resume it reeks of “Hire Me! I am looking for a job” and puts you at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, being unemployed still has a stigma. But that stigma isn't what it used to be. Everyone knows someone who has lost a job due to no fault of their own. Today's job seekers have a reputation of being needy, greedy, or sneaky. That is to say, they pressure everyone they know for a job, use hit and run networking tactics or sabotage networking meetings with hidden agendas.

Networking should be about gathering and sharing mutually beneficial information. You are much more likely to be granted a networking meeting if the person feels like they have something to gain from the conversation. When you confess you are in job search, there is an unspoken expectation that the person you meet with will be expected to open their contacts to you, and many people are not comfortable with that. Plus, subconsciously, the person is probably thinking, “How will I benefit from this conversation?” It is up to you to make sure you address their needs as much as your own, so tell them up front how they may benefit. And remember, sincere flattery goes a long way.

Stop Saying This

Stop saying that you are in transition (or any other fancy term to indicate you are unemployed!) Your situation is of little concern to the person you are meeting with. Many job seekers I meet confess their unemployment status within their opening statement. Maybe they say this because I am a job search coach or maybe they feel it is important for me to know. Either way, my assumption is that if they confess this to me, they are confessing to others. It is irrelevant. The purpose of networking is to share mutually beneficial information. You can certainly share your quest for a new opportunity if asked, but you don't need to open the conversation with this.

You Are Networking To Acquire Information

Believe it or not, some people network all the time, even while employed. Having conversations with people outside of your company enables you to stay up on industry trends and perhaps learn about some of the projects they are working on. They are “talking shop.” Think about the information you are looking for, not the job postings. What questions do you want answered and personal insight is important!

• Why do you think about the changes in …
• What are you seeing…
• Do you ever feel like you have too much on your plate? How do you handle it?
• Have you tried implementing new processes or procedures recently? How did that work for you and your team?

What Information Can You Share?

You many be unemployed, but that doesn't mean you don't have experiences to share, people you know, opinions or valuable insight. The key to being a good networker (and being likeable) is to be a good listener. Listen for opportunities to offer help. Think about the failures and successes your have experienced. Think about the other people you have met with along your networking journey and the stories they have shared with you. Tactfully share information, names, resources, or data to help others. You will be viewed as a conduit of information, a connector, an informed professional, and valuable. No resume required.

Just In Case…

To provide someone with a your background and head off the request for a resume (it is doubtful this will happen if you aren’t telling people you are job seeking), be sure you include a link to your LinkedIn profile when you reach out to someone and request a meeting. You may choose to put it in the confirmation email instead of your initial outreach depending on how well you know the person. You could say, “Just in case, I have included a link to my LinkedIn profile here: “

Always have a business card and personal marketing plan on hand!

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