My Favorite Networking Story

I'm a nostalgic person.

I enjoy looking back at stories about how we got to now. 

The small connections and chance happenings are fascinating to me.

Building a professional network is full of what I call "connection chains." These chains are the brief conversations and passing suggestions that lead us from one person to another as we add connections to our network.

I'm going to tell you my favorite connection chain story, and as I do, think about your favorite connection chain story and share it in the comments below, or send me an email with the details to [email protected]

I lost my job one October.

I spent November doing the things every other job seeker does: applying to jobs online. I knew I needed to network, but I didn't really believe I had a professional network to tap into. I started slowly with the people I knew from the company I had just left.

For the first few weeks, I sent emails and LinkedIn messages and didn't hear much from the people I contacted. Some of them responded and said, "Sorry to hear you lost your job." Others asked if they could help. I wasn't sure what to ask them to do for me other than to let me know if they heard of any openings.

One day in December, I was Christmas shopping and stopped in a local hardware store. As I was looking around the store, I bumped into Kristie. She and I had worked together earlier in our careers. We weren't on the same team, but in the same department. She asked how I was, and I told her about my recent job elimination. She did what everyone else had done: said sorry and how could she help?

I told her what I had told everyone else: let me know if you hear of anything. Then she did something most other people hadn't. She said, "I know a guy named Dennis who is looking for a job, too. You should get together with him and share your job search ideas."

In the conventional wisdom of professional networking, Dennis would not have been a high value connection. He was also unemployed. When people give advice about networking, they tell you to find people who are well-connected, high profile people in the organizations you want to work in. Dennis was not one of these, but I thought it would be good to talk to someone who was in the same situation I was in. At least it would be good to know I wasn't the only one looking for a job.

I got Dennis's info from Kristie and connected with him through LinkedIn. We made arrangements to have coffee. We had an enjoyable conversation talking about the types of work we were looking for. At the end of the conversation, Dennis said, "I think you should meet Jorge. I met him through my search and he is looking for a job as well." 

Just what I needed: another unemployed networking contact. 

I took Jorge's information and contacted him. I let him know Dennis had suggested we meet.

It was after the start of the year when Jorge and I had coffee. We both had backgrounds in human resources. Jorge's experience and background was deeper than mine and he was looking for higher level HR roles.

At the same time, I was following the connection chain from Kristie to Dennis to Jorge, I had another chain going: the vendor chain. One thing I learned in my search that no one had told me was the vendors who had called on me in my previous roles were great contacts. They worked with companies all over town with people in roles like mine, and they knew who had openings or who was looking to make a change in their department.

I stumbled on this source of networking connections because I was letting all the people I had worked with know I was leaving the company and who the new contact would be. Many of them responded saying "thanks for letting me know and tell me if I can help you."

One vendor I contacted was Jim. We talked a couple of times on the phone about the kind of jobs I was looking for.

Jim is an important part of the story because he brought these two connection chains together.

At the same time, I was adding links to these two chains, I found a position with a company I really wanted to work for in a role that was perfect for me. 

On the exact day I received and accepted the offer for that role, I got a strange call from a woman who said she was Dick's assistant and that she wanted to set up time for Dick to talk to me. I didn't know who she was or who Dick was, and I actually thought this was some sort of sales call from a broker or insurance company. I ignored the first call and she called back. I took the call the second time and she told me Dick had an open position as head of HR for his company and would I be interested in it. I was curious about the position so I set up a call with Dick.

During the call, Dick mentioned he had gotten my name from Jim. They had been discussing the HR systems at Dicks' company, and he mentioned to Jim he was looking to fill this position. Jim gave him my name.

As I listened to the role, I realized this would be a perfect position for Jorge. I told Dick I was sorry. I didn't want to waste his time. I had just accepted another position, but I knew someone for his role. He told me to send over Jorge's resume. I contacted Jorge, told him about the role, got his resume, and sent it to Dick.

A few weeks later, Jorge let me know he would be starting his new job at Dick's company.

If you are reading this and thinking, "Your favorite connection chain is about how you got someone else a job?" you followed the story correctly. There are a three reasons this is my favorite connection chain story:

1. The connection chain started with a casual, unplanned conversation. As you are cultivating your professional network, be ready to make a new connection in every situation. No connection is trivial or unworthy of your time.
2. There were multiple chains going on in this story and eventually they crossed paths. Keep finding new chains everyday, and eventually, they will tie together.
3. Adding connections to your professional network is not only about helping yourself, but helping others when you can.

While many of the events of the story seem like luck and chance, they occurred because I kept moving forward adding links to my connection chain. At the time, I didn't know where it would lead, but I kept going anyway.

As I look back on it, I am reminded that in order to create a vibrant professional network, you have to show up each day, look for opportunities to build meaningful connections, and keep following the chain. You never know the wonderful places it will lead.

What about you, what's your favorite connection chain story?