Strategic Networking for Career Growth

If you listen to this podcast on a regular basis, you know that many of my topics come from clients – what they are struggling with, the questions they are asking me. Today’s topic is one such example.

Two of the things I hear most frequently relative to networking is:

#1 – I don’t know very many people

#2 – I only know people in my job function/industry, and that’s no help to me because I want to pivot

As a reminder, here are my definitions:

A career pivot is like a pivot in basketball – you keep one foot on the floor when you aren’t dribbling the ball. A career pivot means you are either keeping a foot in your job function or your industry – and pivoting out of the other.

An example of pivoting out of your industry might be changing from a human resources director at a hospital to HR director at an automobile manufacturing plant.

A pivot out of your job function might be moving from IT at a tech company into a sales role at a different tech company.

A career reinvention means you are moving both feet – to a new career function AND a new industry. An example would be changing from a marketing executive at a CPG company to do Foundation work at a university.

So back to “I don’t know anyone” and “I only know people in my job function/industry.” Here are my strategies:

You DO Know People…More Than You Think

A good way to begin to grasp your true network is to jump on LinkedIn and a) review your existing connections for growth possibilities there, and b) connect with people you haven’t yet connected with. Keep in mind that you don’t have to already know these people – your invitation to connect is you saying that you WANT to get to know them.

To review your existing connections, use the Advanced Search function. Rather than giving the steps here, which will likely change in the not-too-distant future, reach out to me if you don’t know how to use this resource.

One you’ve opened the filters, select “2^nd connections” and put in the name of your connection you want to review. This will open up all of this connection’s connections, which you can then mine for possibilities.

I recommend a message something like this: “I see we’re both connected to Jim Smith, one of my former colleagues. Let’s connect!”

This previous method works from who you are already connected with. Let’s say you also want to connect strategically with people who work in a certain company, hold a certain job title, or have worked there or held that title. The Advanced Search function comes into play here, as well.

If you want to find the Director of Operations for ABC Company, used the Advanced Search function with the filters of Current Company and Job Title.

You message for this situation might be: “I see we both used to work at XYZ company – let’s connect!” OR “I am impressed by the level of engagement you have on LI – let’s connect!”

If you are going to use the approach of commenting on some aspect of their profile, you MUST customize this so they know you’ve actually looked at their profile. Nothing as generic as “Great profile – let’s connect!”

Notice that with all of these messages, I am not revealing my true intentions. Any sales person will tell you that someone has to know, like, and trust you to buy from you – and the people you are connecting with don’t know you and therefore can’t like or trust you yet.

Come up with a 3-to-4 step approach with these connections, starting with your invitation to connect. Then perhaps your next communication, which should be once they accept your invitation, is to ask them a soft-pitch questions they are uniquely qualified to answer, such as “I see you’ve worked at ABC for three years now. I have some friends who have worked there and they had a great experience – they particularly commented on the company’s strong executive leadership. What has your experience been?”

Now note that this person isn’t likely to say anything negative about their current employer – that would be career suicide. But that’s not the point – the point is to get them engaged with you.

If you get a response, then your next question could either be another soft pitch, such as “What is the biggest thing you are focused on right now at work?” or a more direct “I am interested in getting my foot in the door with your marketing department. Can you recommend someone I should reach out to?”

You could also try something like this: “I am conducting a job search focused on pivoting from HR to marketing, staying within healthcare. Is there any piece of advice you could give me for making this pivot?”

Now that I’ve given you the messaging strategy, WHO specifically should you be reaching out to for a career pivot or reinvention? That depends entirely on your new career goal.

I DON’T recommend using LI as a fishing expedition for what your next career step should be – that’s what career coaches and mentors are for. Rather, you are leveraging LI to help put you in contact with people who work in your new chosen job function and/or industry.

Going back to the Advanced Search function, you might put in a certain job title, say Vice President of Sales, and an industry, such as Tech. You’ll want to play around with your search parameters to get a manageable number of results back (I consider this to be about 200).

So far, everything I’ve talked about is using LI. Let’s talk a bit about in-person networking. This is really the same as if you were networking for a job in your same job function and industry; here’s a refresher:

#1 – First be interested, then interesting (let them do most of the talking)

#2 – Make it a goal to give at least as much value as you get

#3 – You are asking for leads, ideas, and referrals – not, in most cases, a job

#4 – Vague requests lead to vague results. Be specific and succinct

#5 – Follow up and follow through

Finally – and this is very important – stop telling yourself that you don’t know anyone in your new job function or industry. Science has proven that our brains take what we tell them and then scan our environments to find evidence. If we are telling our brains that we don’t anyone, that’s what our brains will see. It’s called confirmation bias.

Instead, try a more useful thought, such as “I am making new connections every day” or “I am meeting people in my new job function/industry.”

There is no room that people with strong networks go into, where the “at capacity” lights come on and no one else can go in. You can go in that room at any time – just get to networking!

Are you in the wrong job that chips away at you every day? The document and coaching programs offered by Exclusive Career Coaching will help you find a job that uses your zone of genius, recognizes your value, and pays you what you’re worth.

If you’re ready to take your job search to the next level by working with a highly experienced professional with a track record of client success, schedule a complimentary consult to learn more: 

https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/zoom-meetings2