Accelerate Your Search™ Now

If you read the last post, you have answered the important questions.  If not to do so go to the last post and answer the questions.

It’s time to be clear about what networking is REALLY all about. To do that first let’s look at what networking is NOT.

It is not about asking people you don’t know, don’t want to know, and don’t care about for a JOB!

It is not about being slick and sleazy to get someone to take your résumé to their Boss, HR Manager or someone else in their company or finding the name and number of the one person you can “sell” to get a job.

It is not about going to meetings with a goal of grabbing a bunch of business cards so you have more people to “Tweet”, add to your LinkedIn contact list, or promise to email leads from your favorite job board, or call to talk about yourself, how great you are and your job search woes.

It is not about expecting someone to help you find a job or a new client!

It is not about showing up to an event, listening to a speaker, eating and drinking, dropping a business card in the basket for a free gift, then leaving.

Okay, if networking is not about these things, what is networking REALLY about – it is about building relationships!

That is not rocket science and you have heard it before reading it here.  Why is this so tough?  First, when you are without a job, you may feel needy or unsure of your value.  If you are new to networking or rebuilding a network, you may be asking “why would someone want to build a relationship with me”, “how can I help”, “I have no extra money”, or “what can I offer”, etc.  STOP IT!

People build relationships, offer referrals, leads, share “insider information” and help people they know, people they like and people they trust.  Think about the first day of school, you were in a room full of other kids, most of whom you did not know.  You did not yet know if you liked them, and did not know if you could trust them.

By the end of the school year, you had some type of relationship with each student in your class.  You might define those relationships as the person in my first grade class, the “kid in the back of the room-name unknown”, the “know-it-all” in my first grade class, my classmate (someone, you knew, liked, trusted but not a best buddy), your buddies, your friends, your best friend, the people you have known since first grade and stay in touch with or still have a relationship.  You had different relationships with each member of the class. Those long term relationships with people who know you, like you, and trust you are “your network”.

Networking is about building long term relationships with people who know you, like you, and trust you.  Those people become your connectors, people who can attest to who you are, what you do and people who are your advocates and business partners.  Those people are “your network”.

Networking is about building long term relationships with people who know you, like you, and trust you and building long term relationships with people you know, you like you, you trust.  Your network allows you to be an advocate for others and allows others to an advocate for you.

Networking is about getting to know people and helping people, and connecting people in your network with each other. The beauty of doing so is that those in your network will get to know you, like you, trust you and help you connect with others.

How many people are in your network?

How many people in your network are you an advocate?

How many people have you helped this week?

Yes!  No?  Did you quickly answer yes or no?

If you belong to a professional or trade associations, clubs or community organizations, your professional network is robust and you stay connected to your network, I bet you said yes. 

If you said NO, you may have been working hard with little or no time to network.  If you had a long commute, worked long hours, worked “head down, tail up”, were engrossed in family, and day to day life without much time to nurture your professional network, you may need to rebuild your network.  Or the truth is maybe you don’t like networking and are just gripped with fear about reaching out to build a network.

Either way, building, rebuilding, and nurturing a network does not need to take tons of time, money or energy.  It does require doing some basics each week and if you are beginning or rebuilding a network it will take preparation, reflection time and some time to determine what is the best way for you to network and where to network. 

There are no “magic bullets” nor is there a “one size fits all” method that works for everyone.  There are basics everyone needs to master.

Networking is about talking, connecting, meeting, and helping people.  If you this terrifies you, know you are not alone.  But if you know you need to network and you had decided to network, you must overcome the fear or at least find ways to deal with the fear until you overcome it to network successfully.

Do your homework and get prepared to network.  Decide why you want to network, what you have of value to offer those you meet, and how you can help those you meet. 

Why is it important for you to build or rebuild your network?

What value do you offer your network?

How are you willing to help those in your network?

Are you wondering if a Networking Group is right for you? Or if spending your time networking will REALLY help you find a job?

Maybe you are thinking – I could spend the same time at home on the computer, telephone, or sending out resumes and get the same results or why would I want to go meet a bunch of other people many like me looking for work or peddling their wares.  Those thoughts may be your first problem.

There are hundreds of networking groups, professional or trade associations that meet weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly within the United States.  Most of these groups are designed to help you meet people, make connections, and contribute to others.

If you are new to networking you may question the benefits of connecting regularly with other open minded business people in the same room.  Getting hired and being successful in business is as much about “who knows you” as it is about “who and what you know”.

There is magic in the building relationships and obtaining referrals from “Your Network”.  Yes it does help your job search.  Network referrals are the most commonly reported way to find a job.

Employers report referrals make up 26.7% of all external new hires compared to 13.2% of hires attributed to Job Boards according to CareerXRoads 9^th Annual Sources of Hire Study (February 2010).  The numbers speak for themselves.

Networking is one of the fastest, easiest ways to develop business relationships, get referrals and tap into the 70% to 80% of available jobs that are not advertised.  Networking works!

In just a few days I will have been involved in a coordinating a weekly networking group for professionals for five years.  The results, career success stories and lasting relationships are amazing.

Do you want to learn how to make networking work for your job search?

Check back to celebrate five years of “NfP” success I will share the best of the best tips to help you find a group, be prepare to network and make networking work for you.

When it comes to using social media for business, yes your job search is business, it is important to periodically assess where you are, what you are doing and if your actions are achieving the results you want.

So often when I talk to top talent about social media they are in one of three camps.  Camp one views social media as threat, silly, and a waste of time. Camp two loves social media, uses tons of different social media sites and activities, they “poke”, “tweet”, “friend” hundreds a times a week without a care, thought, plan, or concern for the benefits or consequences to their brand or reputation.  Camp three views social media a big opportunity and realize the value of the tool.  This camp is looking for smart balanced approaches for using social media and managing its challenges.

Which camp are you in?

No matter which camp you are in you need to grow your social media literacy and realize it is a part of a fundamental shift in the way people interact and business gets done.  It is important for you to have a plan and regularly assess how you use (or don’t use) social media to do business, enhance or build relationships in all aspects of your life.

Here are a few tips smart “top talent” and  top organizations employee when using and planning to use social media:

1.    Listen before you talk.

2.    Invest in training and learn to use the technology.

3.    Know how to communicate and what you want to communicate before you engage in goofy social media schemes or online marketing.

4.    Create a plan and policies for using social media.

5.    Understand the appropriate tone, image and use for the various social media channels.

6.    Build real relationships and connections using authentic conversations.

7.    Use caution if you outsource you social media activities.

8.    Understand the benefits and the consequences of failing to have and follow a plan, current practices and policies for using social media.

9.     Routinely review what you do and the results you get from your using social media activities.

What else would you add to the list of tips?

How are you using social media now?

What are your results?

Last week Dan Schawbel captured the just of Google Buzz and provided four simple steps to begin to use Google Buzz, check out his post 4 Step Personal Branding With Google Buzz .  It is important to have a basic understanding of the many tools available to help you assemble your online presence and build relationships.

How are you communicating the value you add to the world and your future employer?

Being visible and helping those you want to reach find you is not only critical in a job search it is a requirement to accelerate your career.

What are the best tools for you to use?