A Tale of Two Encounters

Have you ever found yourself hesitating to use networking as a tool to help you land a job? I know countless people who have…including myself when I first started. I used to be a huge introvert and the idea of meeting someone I didn’t know and who didn’t know me was very scary. Add to that having to tell the person that I was looking for a job and could they help?... Well, that was even more scary.

I’ve learned since then that networking is the best way to land a job and that it doesn’t have to be scary. Sometimes it can happen quite naturally. Read on to see what happened in these REAL LIFE situations that two of my clients went through during their job search. Their names have been changed to protect their confidentiality.

Jimmy was extremely unhappy in his job. We worked together to help him figure out his life purpose. Through a series of exercises and reflections, Jimmy was able to determine what it was he really wanted. We had started working on how he might be able to achieve that when he came to one of our sessions with the following information. Jimmy was excited about the possibility of doing something completely different but he was also unbearably unhappy in his current situation. He didn’t think he could last long in his job and he really didn’t want to quit without having something to fall back on. His conclusion was that he would need to find work using his current skills, but working for an organization whose values he could share. So we switched gears and started working on his job search.

One day Jimmy attended an industry conference, where the head of an organization he respected was speaking. At that conference, Jimmy also met a long-time friend he hadn’t seen in quite a while. His friend also happened to be working in this organization he admired. They chatted for a while and Jimmy brought his friend up to date on his circumstances, and just like that, the friend offered to take Jimmy’s resumé to one of the directors of the company, who he knew was looking for a person with precisely the sort of credentials Jimmy had.

Suzie, on the other hand, had been working for a government agency for many, many years. She was promised promotion after promotion although none seemed to materialize. Suzie was also frustrated at the levels of bureaucracy she had to go through to get even the smallest thing done. She was ready to start looking elsewhere but was worried about losing the security this job provided her. In our work together, Suzie was able to recognize not only the kind of work she was interested in but also the kind of position she was attracted to. She wanted to work in a role that would support the whole management team as well as the number one in the organization. When Suzie started networking, it was slow at first. She made a list of people she knew. On that list was the director of a non-profit organization. Suzie wasn’t at all sure she wanted to work in the non-profit world; she believed the pay would never be as good as what she was earning in her government role, but she valued this person’s opinion. On the day Suzie was about to reach out, she noticed a job posting for a second-in-command to the person she knew…the director of this very same non-profit organization.

What do these two stories have in common?

For both Jimmy and Suzie, networking was not the original goal. Their encounters took place quite by accident. In Jimmy’s case, a chance encounter at a conference. In Suzie’s case a job listing that was a great way to open the door to a meeting she had already been planning for. Oh, and by the way, I don’t believe in coincidences. The moment Suzie and Jimmy opened up and started talking about what they wanted, that’s when opportunities began to appear.

You see, networking doesn’t have to be scary. You can start with who you know and simply have a conversation. You can listen to what the other person needs and see if there is some way you can help. Whether or not a job is involved is not the point. The idea is to listen and to find out if there’s anything you can offer. It’s about intention and showing interest in the other person. It’s interacting with others in a way that is authentic, caring, and giving. As Maya Angelou said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people?will never forget how you made them feel.”

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now…Suzie and Jimmy were each offered a fresh start in these new environments . Both were extremely happy with the results of their efforts, and beyond thankful to have the skills to be able to make it through the entire job search process, including acing the interview and negotiating a great offer.

What about you? Are you in the process of looking for work? Or thinking about changing jobs? Do you have a list of fears and reasons why you can’t make a change right now? Or do you know someone who is going through this?

I’m launching a new course that will make your job search fun AND help you land the job you want. I want people to remember how you showed up in your job search. I want that for everyone. But first I’m looking for volunteers to help me validate the content. If this speaks to you, please write INTERESTED in the comments.

I have a very special offer for everyone who volunteers to help me out.

I look forward to speaking with you very soon!

Warmly,

Danielle