Earlier this week, I was checking out the new site redesign at Brazen Careerist (and if you haven’t checked out this great resource lately, hop to it now). While there, I saw the headline for a member’s blog post called something like “How to job search when your computer is broken,” or something to that effect. I clicked to see the post because, naively, I assumed it was going to be a piece on networking (and as it happens, I’ve been not only doing a lot of networking myself lately, but I’m trying to organize something on that very topic for our next Toronto-based Leaving Academia meetup).
As it turned out, the post suggested activities like, “If your wireless is down, you can still search for jobs in newspaper classifieds,” and “Write letters to companies you might want to work for.” Huh? What about, um, say, talking to actual live human beings, some of whom you may already know!
Networking is not a mysterious activity; it’s also not a sleazy activity. Networking is about relationships. It’s not about begging or cringing while you ask for a job lead (in fact, asking for a job lead is probably the last thing you should be doing while you’re networking). It’s about information gathering and relationship cultivation. Probably one of the simplest, most straightforward pieces I’ve read lately validates what I often tell my clients: talk to everyone you know about the fact that you’re looking to change careers, including your hairdresser, your dog walker, the concierge of your building, and, as the article says, your grandma. Sure, you may not want a job as a hairdresser, a dogwalker, a concierge or…a grandma. But those people all know people, and following the trail of people is partly what networking is about.
But don’t forget that networking isn’t just a one-way street, of squeezing information out from people about job prospects. It’s also about finding out what other people need and want. As researchers, we’re trained to look for gaps — so start using that skill in your everyday life. Is your hairdresser him/herself looking for a dogwalker? Hook him/her up with yours. Is your concierge looking for a a hairdresser? You get the idea.
I’m going to post again about my own networking activities as of late to give you a bit of an illustration about what I mean. In the meantime, I’m going to spend a little more quality time with my computer before I head out to engage with some real, live human beings.
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Real people? Eh?
Seriously, though, I’ve found that ‘networking’ is the best part of the job search in many ways. If I think about it as information exchange or research or just talking to people, it’s fun. ‘Networking’ is a scary word & my immediate reaction is ‘but I *suck* at that!’ But talking to people? Doing research? Those I can do!
I’m interviewing for a company (2nd interview) that I wouldn’t have thought to apply to if someone hadn’t suggested it to me at a neighborhood block party. I talked to a friend of my cousin’s about what it’s like to work there – which is helping me figure out big things like whether I can do the job – and little things like what to wear for the interview.
But I love that I’m meeting people and hearing about their lives. I almost wish I could network for a living!
So I was at a meeting last Thursday, and really connected with the presenter. She leads a team that does the same type of work as is done on the team I currently work on, but she’s in a different government department. In fact, she’s just plain different… a bigger-thinker, edgier, and way out-of-the box than any of the team leaders with whom I’m currently working… and, bonus, she swears like a drunken sailor!
I liked the swearing, her work-style and the vision she elaborated; I emailed and let her know this, including a few (very) brief details about myself. She responded immediately to let me know that she, too, noticed how well we had hit it off. She said that there are many opportunities where she works and asked me to let her know if I was interested. I replied yes(!), and attached my CV and said I would touch base with her every once in a while in the meantime. Easy… since we’ll also be working together over the next little while, and I can check out how her style translates in an actual working relationship.
Also, that same day, a colleague of mine gave me the names of two people and asked me to email them (”cold-call” style). I’ll send short emails to them tomorrow morning. I’m interested to see how that works.
Now, despite a facade of extroversion, I’m actually really strongly introverted (so these are huge steps for me!). And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with introversion… unless you’re looking to network. On the other hand, I’m also a mini-maxer. For a lot of stuff, I just employ the 80/20 rule and, professionally (if not in other areas — just try finding a good, reasonably priced plumber these days), networking is often the fastest route between A and B. What to do?
Having left academe, my instinct over the last couple of years has been to build solid relationships — I call it a “quality network” (okay, so it’s not that catchy, but my plumber and I get along like a house on fire). What I’ve noticed is that, in any given professional environment, there are always at least a couple of key connectors. These, for me, are people who are natural relationship builders, but also able to effortlessly, elegantly and meaningfully leverage these relationships. At first, I just sat back and watched what they do and how they do it. Then I reached out to the ones with whom I felt an actual connection and started to practise.
This made “networking” seem more palatable, doable and I’ve actually become more curious about it (thanks for the links and articles!). And I’ll tell you what, it made a huge difference to my workplace happiness, as well as the feeling of connectedness to my colleagues.
Recently, I moved cities and switched jobs. I now work in an environment in which colleagues joke that “staff changeover day is every Thursday.” That, to me, is a signal: there’s an awful lot of room to move and grow; you can be choosy about the jobs you take; and you have more negotiating power. Word has it that a lot of the movement happens through networking.
So, perfect opportunity to test my nascent theories and skills in a more systematic way. Ever the researcher, I’ve decided to embrace networking as an action research project. Why not?
Let’s see how it goes… My running hypothesis: by finding a couple of “grand-connectors”, with whom I can be myself, I can be more strategic about how I network and where I invest my relationship-building energy, mixing methods (relationship-building with less gregarious approaches). This way, I minimise the need to disperse radical amounts of energy building endless connections (some people just love doing this; I want to love a couple of those that do) and still maximise opportunities.
Networking can be really intimidating. It can conjure up all sorts of negative sterotypes. Or it can be a personal science. And, c’mon now, which introvert among us academic leave-takers doesn’t love the start of a new research project, especially one where we are the topic of research…
Phoenix, I love, love, LOVE this comment! There’s so much I want to respond to, but it would be kinda redundant, anyway. I love that, even though you’re fairly new in your job, you are keeping the networking machine going–this is key. And yes, it is a research project. And I love your idea of sniffing out the “grand-connectors” and building your relationships with them. AND, because I’m reading “Trust Agents” right now (the new Brogan/Smith book), I’m all about the idea of leverage. There are a lot of awesome lessons in this comment for everyone. Thank you.