By Angela Sun
The Career Center's guide to networking is a wonderful overview of the ABCs of networking, and a great place to start for delving into the practice.
But after studying the basics, you may still have some questions, or be wondering why you don't seem to be as successful as you had hoped to be. This post will help you reflect on the purpose of your personal journey in developing a professional network, which should provide some guidance about how to network.
Before writing this post, I asked around to see what questions students had about networking. The key feedback I received was uncertainty about how to ask for things without seeming like you're asking for things.
So very first, the secret to growing a sustainable and substantial network is that it's not just about asking for things! Getting a reference, feedback on your resume, or even low-and-behold--a job offer immediately, is not always the best, or even right thing to have in mind when networking.
Am I Networking for the Right Reasons?
Despite having found the contact through an electronic database, and potentially exchanged all conversation via email, at the end of the day, there sits two persons behind the computer monitors. Engaging with contacts in a professional network is in many ways similar to connecting with friends and family. One size does not fit all. Personality, preference, and schedules will dictate how they prefer to communicate. So consider taking the conversation off-line.
There is still an element of 'unnaturalness' to cold-emailing a stranger, or making a relationship out of a career fair speed date, but acknowledge the human aspect of networking by considering where the other person is coming from.
What does your contact do? How much time does he/ she have to communicate with me? Why would he/ she want to help me? What can I offer him/ her?
Thinking through these questions will help you manage expectations, which should be a range--rather than one item. It is for the most part impossible to know where a conversation with a contact might lead you. Here are just some of the items you could get out of networking:
- Informational interview (range in length and format)
- Insight into their job
- Advice for your next steps
- Recommendation/ someone willing to "vouch" for you
- Referral to someone else in the target company
- Internship/ job (information about a job, an offer for an interview).
Think realistically about your contact's position and which items would be appropriate to anticipate. A Human Resources Recruiter is in a position to offer you an interview, whereas a consulting firm employee might not be. Targeting the appropriate expectations will help you avoid asking for too much and putting the contact in an uncomfortable position.
On that note, it is usually not appropriate to ask a contact to look over your resume. They could offer to do this, but refrain from asking. Set-up an appointment with the Career Center for a resume critique, so that you're bringing an already polished resume to the table.
Also recognize that there is no hard-and-fast rule for the timing of networking. Just because you are interested in accounting, doesn't mean if you meet a news producer at an event, you shouldn't follow-up with a thank you note and add them on Linkedin. One of the most common remarks I heard from panelists at the Harvard Women in Business Conference was that your interests will probably change. You never know who could be relevant when.
The human component also means people are busy. Sometimes it's hardest to get a response from senior executives or higher ups in a given company. A contact might offer to help you with something, and then fall through on doing so. You might never hear back from someone--for no real reason. It is important to be mentally prepared and maximize your chances by reaching out to many people, but also establishing a compelling and specific argument for why they should respond to you.
One effective networking technique is to start with your immediate circle. Linkedin is a great resource for this because it tells you if you have a 2nd connection with someone. That way you can ask your 1st degree friend/ contact to refer you to your target contact. Give the same dedication to Linkedin as you do to Facebook, as the more 'connections' you have, the better your chances are at knowing if you have a mutual contact. The Tufts Career Advisory Network also provides you with a good starting point as it is full of alumni wanting to help out fellow jumbos.
Networking is an exercise in strategically managing relationships. You may find your professional 'lunch buddies', 'study buddies', 'mentors' and so on. Being flexible and intentional will help you network for the long term. Your career begins rather than ends with your first job offer. Taking the time to get to see through the lens of the person you are networking with, and making the effort to stay in touch with holiday greetings, emails, or sending articles along from time to time will go a long way.
Am I Networking in the Right Ways?
So you can already see some of the ways in which a changing perspective on networking affects how to network.
A great tip I learned is to start of with a compliment, what's more revealing about the human component of networking than that? You can't compliment an online job portal and hope it'll bump your resume to the front!
As college students, we might not have the same things to offer a contact. But every relationship goes two ways, and recognize what you do have to offer. Sometimes, it could be as simple as a show of appreciation for someone's dedication to their industry. This could be the best boost for them at the end of a 10 hour cubicle shift!
But we're also bright, educated, hardworking students who happen to be masters of communication. So sell yourself a little in your early correspondence. Explain what your skills are and what experiences you already have relating to the industry/ position. This will help a contact understand why you are reaching out to them. What else? You might be in a position to offer publicity about their initiative, especially if they are trying to reach out to a college audience--offer to spread the word.
And effective communication means being specific about what you are seeking. One pitfall is sending an email that says, "I would like more information about xyz position/ company." Your contacts likely don't have the time to send you 'information', but they might have time to answer your questions about specific requirements, recruiting time lines, or a typical job description. The Linkedin page of the contact is usually a great source for inspiration for questions.
Different communication portals also have their strengths and weaknesses. Face-to-face meetings are always best because they allow you to make an impression on someone, and to adapt to their nonverbal cues. However, this might be unrealistic for contacts who are extremely busy, and might prefer phone or email. Phone offers the opportunity to change questions depending on the answers, while it is difficult to have the same fluid, two-way conversation via email. It is also usually more work for the person answering the email to type out all the answers. However, a contact may still prefer email because it allows him/ her to answer on their own time. So take all these things into consideration when you set-up an informational interview.
Some ambiguities of networking will still be ambiguous. This may sound daunting, but feel empowered that you already have plenty of experience under your belt. Everyday, we manage a complex web of relationships, reading people, adapting our communication styles to their personalities...without even thinking about it! With a little practice and critical evaluation, many of these skills can easily be applied to networking.
With practice, networking will become clearer and even comfortable. I strongly recommend working alongside a career center counselor through the process.The counselors are incredibly knowledgeable and patient, and great people to connect with professionally...sound familiar?
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