Networking and "The Power of Who"

In his book, "The Power of Who: You Already Know Everyone You Need to Know," author and headhunter Bob Beaudine writes, "Most people never get what they want for three simple reasons."

He goes on to explain the three:

1. They don't ask. No one can help if they don't know what you want. 
2. When they do ask, they ask the wrong people. For some reason, people are uncomfortable asking their "Who" for help. As a result, they'll ask most anyone except their friends, who are the only ones with a motive to help. 
3. When they do ask for help, they ask you vaguely. Even if I'm motivated to help a friend, I can't do it when I don't know what he or she wants.

I find this to be the case for many job seekers. For example, when my clients are networking, they often don't talk to the people who are best suited to help them succeed.

I had a client who worked in the transportation industry and was laid off. After weeks of telling him to make sure that he was talking to his network about his career goal and asking for specific help, he was getting stuck. So I reached out to my network. Within a day, I had an opening at a local company for him to follow up on. When I gave him the information, he said, "Oh. A guy I used to work with works there now." Well then, dude, why didn't you already know about this opening?

Because he didn't ask.

"I'm Not Getting Job Interviews Because I'm Overqualified"

A recent article on WorkBuzz (the CareerBuilder) blog, caught my attention ... as did the comments of dozens of job searchers on the Facebook status referring to the article.

My comments for these job seekers:

The first thing to remember is that you are probably not OVERQUALIFIED for a position ... you're just not a good "FIT." Employers know the level of the position that they've got available, and from experience, they know that someone who was making $50,000 before is not going to be happy making $8/hour (equivalent of $16,000/year). So even if you would TAKE that job (just to have one), you're not overqualified ... they just know that they're going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to train you ... only for you to find out that you're bored -- or, worse, you'll leave when a better job opens up.

If you TRULY want to make a career change, or "step down," then you have to demonstrate your commitment to that new level of work. The idea to volunteer for an organization is a great one. Ask if you can "job shadow" someone doing the work you want to do, to make sure it's a good fit, before you apply for the job.

The other big mistake I see job seekers making is that they apply for hundreds of jobs ... don't follow up on any of them ... and wonder why they don't get interviews. If you are one of even a dozen people applying for a job, stand out from the crowd by trying to make a PERSONAL connection with the organization -- and, in particular, someone at the company. If you want to work in retail, shop the store. Get to know the manager. Identify ways you could help make the store make more money, keep their customers, get new customers ... and then share those ideas with the manager. If you want to work at a place that isn't "retail," then "shop" the company by researching them thoroughly -- read their website, Google them, talk to their customers, talk to their competitors.

Networking is important. If you're new to an area, it's actually easier, in my opinion. Say, "Hi, I'm new to the area, and I was wondering who to talk to about a job in (x)." Go to neighborhood association meetings and introduce yourself to everyone there. Call the local chapter of your professional association and introduce yourself to the Membership Chair. Ask for his or her help making contacts in the area (NOT for help in GETTING A JOB ... just MEETING NEW PEOPLE).

Employment agencies are struggling. Their clients -- employers -- don't have as *many* jobs to fill, so they are filling square holes with square pegs. There are simply too many good people out of work nowaways (like a lot of you guys on here), so you need to set yourself apart. > SMALL companies are the ones doing the hiring nowadays, and they're not advertising in the Classifieds or posting the jobs on CareerBuilder (most likely). Instead, look on CareerBuilder -- or USE YOUR NETWORK to find these companies.

You need to be absolutely clear about the value you offer to companies. What makes YOU unique? The answer MIGHT absolutely be your depth of experience. You need to identify what sets you apart from other job seekers.

Do something different. If you've been out of work for a while, you're probably in a rut ... and depressed/demoralized. Now is the time to take a fresh approach. Have a professional resume writer take a look at your resume and cover letter to identify possible pitfalls that might be keeping you from getting interviews. Start -- or join -- a job search group or club. Take a class in job search techniques.

Networking Tips

I recently received an e-mail from a client who was trying to break into a new industry. She wanted to "network" her way into the new job, but after querying her about what she was doing to network, I discovered she was a little confused about the difference between following up and networking.

She had drafted what she called a "networking" letter, but what was really a follow-up letter, since she didn't have the name of a specific individual at the company she was interested in.

It's not a networking letter if you don't have some connection to a specific individual -- it's not even a good follow-up letter ("To Whom It May Concern" doesn't exactly jump out and grab the reader.) You can try to find an individual in the department, either through an online service like Monster Networking or LinkedIn ... or try to meet them through involvement in your professional association activities or educational pursuits (or even at a career fair).

How do you cultivate actual *networking* contacts? You might meet someone in the a workshop or other educational course (maybe the instructor would know someone where you want to work?). I'd also recommend the idea of "informational interviewing." Find the name of an individual at the institution you'd like to work for. Contact them and ask for 15 minutes of their time -- maybe even offer to buy them coffee. You're not looking for a JOB -- you're looking for insight into what further preparation you need to make to position yourself for this kind of job. Beyond specific credentials or training, what else would they recommend? How did they get started? What do they wish they would have done to prepare? Do they know anyone *else* you should talk to? Be sure to send a handwritten thank you -- and be sure to follow up with anyone else they recommend you talk to.

Even if you don't have a robust network of your own, you can draw on the networks of others. Ask others for help! I find that most people are glad to assist, if you only ask.