Networking Plays a Critical Role in Your Job

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December 14, 2009 (10:00AM) by Ron Thomas

Today's post is written by Ron Thomas, a human resources professional

with more than 15 years of experience, including roles with Martha Stewart

Living and IBM. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal,

Workforce Management, Chief Learning Officer magazine and Crain's New

York Business. Recently, he was named to the HR Hall of Fame by HR

Network of New York. Ron's blog, StrategyFocusedHR, focuses on human

resources from a strategic perspective.

I attended a conference years ago in which the presenter gave me an "Aha!

moment" during a discussion about careers: "You are no bigger in your field than your Rolodex."

(Or, for today's younger workers, your connections and followers.) I have never forgotten that

statement.

As an avid user of LinkedIn and Twitter, I've noticed a phenomenon that involves a sudden boost

in connecting daily with many people or posting a lot of new recommendations at once: either

the person is anticipating becoming unemployed or is on the cusp of losing their job.

But that's not the way to network.

To land that next job, you must network every day, whether you're facing unemployment or not.

Here are four ways you can do that:

Seek out professionals in your career focus area or target industry. Reach out when you

don't need them.

Read a great article about your industry, then send a note to the author letting him or her

know how much you appreciated their insight.

Listen to a great speaker about a topic in your area of expertise, then try to meet and

exchange business cards.

Ask for a coffee date to get more information about an industry or career path you'd like

to pursue.

You'll be surprised how many people will want to give you career advice. Everyone within your

network should know your career aspirations and that you're in the market. (Tip: Always carry a

business card for in-person meetings—even if you're unemployed—because you never know

when you'll run into someone you want to connect with.)

My Resume's Great—Why Network?

If your job search consists of just sending out your resume, your success rate will probably be

about the same as putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out to sea. In my prior role as a vice-

president of human resources at Martha Stewart Living, we could post a job online and have 500

resumes within a day. That number is probably higher now. This just gives you an idea of what

kind of competition you're facing and why networking is so critical.

Any time to meet people is a time to network. With the holiday season here, we all receive

invitations for various get-togethers. Sometimes we don't feel like going, but you may be passing

up an opportunity.

A career coach once told me about a young woman looking for a job with a specific company.

While she was home for the holidays, she discussed her plans with her elderly aunt, who replied

that one of her weekly bridge partner's granddaughters was an executive at the company. Her

aunt contacted her friend, who in turn called her granddaughter. Within a few weeks, the young

woman was interviewed and ended up with her dream job. This proves that you must let

everyone know when you're looking.

Target the Places You Want to Work

Another aspect of networking is creating a master list of companies you'd want to work for.

This is another way sites such as LinkedIn come into play. Search for a company and find a list

of people who work there. How many of them are in your network? You should also do this

when the company posts a job online. If you don't have a "1st Level" connection, find "2nd

Level" connections and send them a note. They just might know someone there who can forward

your name. Another great resource to connect with others is the groups feature on LinkedIn.

More recruiters are using LinkedIn; some have even told me that it's their primary source for

talent. And more recruiters are using Twitter and Facebook. Which one would be better for you?

The best time to network is when you're not looking for a job. Remember: You're no bigger in

your field than your Rolodex, or your connections and followers.