Networking isn’t as fancy as spaghetti
I had some far-fetched metaphor with a pot of cooked spaghetti I was going to use… yeah…
Plan your network strategy in advance
Who are you going to contact? How? Send an email to a large pile of people is a low effort way to do that. It’s not the most successful on an individual basis, but it’s a great place to start.
When will you contact them? Don’t wait long. “Later” becomes “never”.
Start contacting
Each contact can give you something new. Like with the Christmas lights in the last post, you can get new contacts from these. Don’t miss that opportunity.
Call people
People seem to have this idea that they will be rejected if they call someone up. I call people for a living, and people who get upset are one in a million. You’re calling people you know. They’re happy to help you, and you’re not wasting their time.
Call some of the people you’ve been emailing after 5 days. Talking on the phone can get you a lot more information, as well as contact people who didn’t respond.
Let the network WORK
Chances are, you won’t get a bite right that second. Give it a bit of time to cook (like the failed spaghetti metaphor). Send another email to check up on them. Wait a few days, see who responds and talk to them.
Follow up
Follow up with everyone who contacts you. Follow those leads to their end and see if they work out.
Plan your strategy again
Bites don’t always come on the first try. Take what you’ve learned from your first try and plan it out for a second go.
Don’t forget to continue to search for jobs in other ways. Job boards are always around. Check them periodically. Call businesses. Don’t forget the basics.
Something To Do Today
Make a networking plan. Write it down on a piece of paper. If you need more networking hints, look up “networking” at
http://www.howtoreallygetagreatjob.com/blog/archives.aspx .