In last month’s post, I wrote about networks: what they are, what yours is, and the value of them.
This month, I want to talk about what do with them. Because people say “networking” to mean connecting with people, but they don’t say much about how to connect them, just who they should be.
In my mind there are two different kinds of “networking” conversations. Lets call them the fertilizer and the harvest:
1) Fertilizer: conversations when neither party is looking for something
2) Harvest: conversations where at least one party IS looking for something
The Fertilizer connection is when you’re just checking in with people in your network to keep your connections alive, current, and, most importantly, keep you in good enough favor for when you actually need to ask that person for something.
These can be e-mails, quick calls, chats over coffee, etc. More importantly, they can be done whenever it’s convenient for you. Breaks between meetings, sitting at the gate before a flight, or sitting in a doctor’s office waiting for your appointment.
I like to look through my connections on LinkedIn (you ARE linked in, right?) and pick a few names of people I haven’t been in touch with in a while. Then, I’ll e-mail them, something like:
“Hi! I was just going through LinkedIn and came across your name and realized we hadn’t spoken in a while, so I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know I was thinking of you. Things are good here; I’ve been doing ____ at work, and ____ outside of work. How are things with ____? I’d love to catch up live when you have some time. Let me know when you might be free for a few minutes? Take care, Kathy”
The Harvest connection… the dreaded meeting where you need to call someone to ask for help, a favor, a connection, an investment, a donation, or even a job.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Asking for things is hard. Do it anyway. It’s how things come your way, more often than not.
2) People like to help other people. Make it easier to do by making the “ask” something they can help with.
3) People like to know what you did with their help, and how you turned out.
How do we take this to, say, job search networking?
Few people in your network will be in a position to give you a job, despite people saying to you, “Oh! Call my friend’s husband’s brother, Larry. He works at blahblahblah, inc. He can totally get you a job.”
Chances are, Larry can’t actually get you a job. BUT you can reach out to Larry and ask him for what he CAN give you:
- I’m interested in blahblahblah, inc. I was wondering if you can share with me your thoughts about their culture and what it is like to work there?
- I’m interested in making a career change, and I’m interested in getting your thoughts on how I’d best position myself for roles like the ones you might see at blahblahblah, inc or other organizations you’ve been in.
- I’m trying to learn about how best to break into an industry like yours; can you give me some lessons learned you’ve made along the way of your own career?
All of these things are “easy gives”; there are no commitments made, no obligations, or worse, guilt-trips for the askee to fall into.
The opportunity for you is to get the conversation on the books, make it happen, and shine. When the conversation goes well, it allows for more questions like, “What do you know about any future hiring at your organization?” and “are there other people you know that you might recommend I speak to about these kinds of questions?”
Finally, no matter what happens, no matter how many people you speak with, follow up with a thank you note for their time, and, after you finally land somewhere, reach out and let them know how it all ended up. After all, you want to make sure your network stays fresh, and they know where to find YOU when they’re in a position to need help next.
Now go out there and fertilize!
WivesUnscripted 