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For those who have been networking for a long time with no “results” (job offers), it is time to rethink what is being done and make changes accordingly.

One of my career mentors (Doug Whatley at http://www.sp3group.com) recently observed many companies are looking for people with deep knowledge/expertise in very specific areas (rather than “just” a variety of general leadership, management, and business skills). For me, that means I need to articulate my resident knowledge and industry domain expertise in a manner that compels prospective employers to contact me.

Another advisor (Beverly Harvey at http://www.harveycareers.com, no relationship to me even though we have the same last name!) recently emphasized the importance of an integrated marketing campaign to minimize the transition time and maximize the likelihood of finding a great job that is a perfect fit and at the right company. I am now starting to use JibberJobber as a key component to organizing and tracking my progress.

For those of us currently in transition, networking is essential. The bigger challenge is to upgrade our perspective on networking from a fixed-duration focused-objective activity to long-term relationship-building that makes a positive difference for people, organizations, society, the world (in addition to paying the bills and feeding the family!).

Think about it…meeting people is your gate to success

-Dan Schawbel

I’ve got some longevity to this blogging fad, going on my sixth year now, and my comments have usually been pretty good. I have about half as many comments as posts on this blog, but this isn’t really a commenting…

First my appreciation of your interaction and thoughts in various forums and your blogging. You claim to be looking up at authorities in so many fields, but you have deserved a seat amongst the VIPs.

Yes networking, though it takes enormous time and energy, results in benefits. Besides the learning experience of different people, cultures, opinions, perceptions, etceteras, there is also the professional and in some cases the monetary benefit. To many it is hidden, to some it is a challenge and to few it is or has become or will become a reality.

One of my stories of success: while I am working as an interimCEO and founding partner of a web2 initiative – The MARKETING VILLAGE, I have been able to realize professional connections which have lead to why we were initiating the MARKETING VILLAGE in the first place: a business service community for collaborating amongst experts, bidding and project deployment, geared around a specific niche in the market. The initiative has changed tremendous, but while that is ongoing, I experienced the value of connecting to people, I would otherwise have never met. A month ago I ran into a consultancy offer for my Interim Management Practice ACCELERATE, from an international development institution, requesting my interest to review their internal organisation relative to change management and change facilitation. I reviewed the scope, identifying that it would be impossible for one person to capture and make their expectations possible. So I turned around to my network – not openly – but identifying which skills and personalities + background would fit to make a combined offer. Within 3 days we formed a consortium, we agreed upon some basic stuff such as confidentiality and how to collaborate and within a week, though we are 3 experts in 3 continents/regions from 3 different be it European roots, we had our bid out, very professional, glueing our expertise and know-how to hit a non-refuseable bid. Well we have to be patient no, but we have good hopes. Even if it doesn’t happen, we have proven that professional and/or social business networking works and IS A MUST in this flat world. One doesn’t need to be another BIG4 to bring value. In this flat world, we can act big though small and big ones can act small to compete with the innovative ones. The world is changing, and taking away some sad interruptions, I see great things happening.

Regards,
Joris Claeys
LinkedIn = http://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratejorisclaeys

Co-moderator ASEMke Forum
TEN – Americas / SE-Asia Emerging Markets

CEO (interim) & Managing Partner
The MARKETING VILLAGE™ your world, our village! ©
Business Service Community for the emerging markets
Facilitating Knowledge Convergence ©
Collaborative Knowledge Platform – Resource Expertise Pool – Domestic Insource Pooling

Managing Director
ACCELERATE Global Supply Chain Solutions
Collaborative Supply Chain & Marketing Mix Management
for the Extended Enterprise ©
Knowledge Management – Value Networking – Relations Management
Member of The MARKETING VILLAGEâ„¢
Business Solutions – Interim Management – Consultancy

Networking can work if you give it time. And that’s something which in the Age of Instant Everything few are willing to do. That’s why Networking appears to fail them, because it doesn’t produce “results” at high speed.

The way Networking gets described in many job hunting literature (books, Web sites) is 2 people click eyes immediately across a professional association meeting floor, chemistry and interviews happen, the job offer comes, and they live happily ever after. When one networks with this common expectation, however, it rarely materializes. Instead, you may get to know one person who then knows another who then knows someone else to get to the hiring manager. And several reschedulings may need to happen because “Life Happens!” (And why are there hardly ever hiring managers at those professional association meetings those who are serious about careers are told to attend?)

Furthermore, there’s rarely any forewarning of what may go wrong when you try to network. Again, the oft painted picture in job hunting folklore is everybody you e-mail and call to will drop everything they’re doing just to meet you. However, don’t we in our 60-70+hour workweek climate hear so many complain they can’t even schedule time for their own spouses and children?

Let us also realize that some take pride in saying how busy they are. They don’t make time just for anybody, they let you know. That arrogant persona doesn’t sound like the industry insider who wants to get to know another colleague. (And nowadays, if you do get face-to-face, you may have to deal with the Crackberry “No time left for you.”)

One of the most non-productive letdowns in networking is the “doing-a-friend-a-favor” sequence. Frank, a mutual acquaintance tells you “Talk to my buddy John. He’s in the industry you’re investigating.” John meets with you primarily to stay in good terms with Frank. If you’re unemployed, John may see you because he feels sorry for you. However, John has no leads, only prayers for you and gratitude that he’s not in your shoes.

Networking has also gotten a bad reputation by some who have misused informational interviews. Therefore anything that looks or sounds like a fishing expedition for job leads gets turned down.

Lastly, there are some in hiring who do not want to be seen as playing favorites. One of my greatest bosses preferred people who weren’t a friend of a friend. This way, hiring focused exclusively on job competence. He didn’t want anybody on our team to feel they had an insider’s edge because they knew somebody. To people like me who love cold calling and persuading solely on what an individual brings, this is orgasmic.

Does it seem like I’m anti-networking? Not at all. I have benefitted from it immensely, as I have gotten jobs and other opportunities because someone I met 4 days ago or 4 years ago referred me through up to 6 degrees of indirectness. And those who know me (if you’d like to call that Networking) know one thing they can count on is I’ll never supply them one and only one viewpoint of something.

To that I attribute Richard Nelson Bolles’ book _The Three Boxes of Life_, where he speaks of triangulation. For just about any subject, you will find those who support it, those who don’t, and some in between. (The odd thing about triangulating is you’ll be “networking” while you do it.) You will find some people for who are sold on networking-for-jobs, others who aren’t, with the real answer probably somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I love those “diamond in the rough” stories. Like the record executive on vacation who spots an undiscovered singer in a Population 50 town saloon, I love meeting talented candidates no one knows about yet. I also like when in the otherwise lonely world of job hunting they find me on their own.

And Networking gets even more suspect when all your contacts are themselves out of jobs. Then your only 3 reliables are Me, Myself and I.

The same applies to anyone who is networking. If you look at networking as how will this benefit me, it will be apparent that you are needworking. (I can name you a number of forums that many avoid because it is need working). However, if you view it as how can I help those in my network, those who you have helped will return the favor some day.

By the way, if you are an engineer looking for work, consider Utah. Our unemployment rate is currently at 2.3 percent and there are over 1000 unfilled engineering jobs in Utah.

Networking is the single most effective way of hetting a job. At a seminar recently, the presenter asked people in the room how they got their most recent job — more than 80% were due to networking. This seems to be consistent with other stats I’ve read.