Landing a dream job
involves more than having the necessary skills. It is about people. The right people. The number of
people you come in contact with determines
determines your chances of making
that achievement. The importance of networking
to ones career cannot be overemphasized. In addition to a great
personality, building cordial relationship with people is essential in getting that dream job. In the following
article, Helene Lauer provides useful tips on how to build such relationships.
By Helene Lauer
In this age of
increasingly short-term job cycles, networking is an essential skill for
managing your career. Many people think that networking is simply a euphemism
for asking for a job—nothing could be further from the truth. If you are truly
networking, you are building resources, acquiring information, and offering
assistance to others all at the same time. Unfortunately, networking is not an
instinctive skill. This guide will help you start networking your way to your
dream job.
What
is networking?
Networking is the
art of building relationships for the purpose of acquiring and disseminating
information; it can be done informally and naturally every time you interact
with another professional. When you network, your objective is to learn about
the other individual and to seek their advice on your project. In the case of
job searches, the project is about locating resources—including
individuals—that will help you learn about the job market specific to your
particular expertise and interests. It’s a good idea to network while you are
still happy or moderately happy with your job. Once you’ve established a
professional network, you can more easily expand on and give focus to this
process when the need arises.
Getting
started
Some of the best
networking can be simply talking to people you know well. If you are new at
networking and are just beginning career research or a job search, begin by
making a broad list of people you know—even those people you hadn’t thought of
as network contacts. Your list should include friends, relatives, work
colleagues (past and present), and service providers such as your accountant,
physicians, and others with whom you do business on a personal basis. Also
include neighbors, club members, teachers and professors, alumni contacts,
social and community contacts, and local merchants. Informal discussions with
these various individuals can often lead to more helpful, formal networking
contacts.
Be prepared to
discuss your career background even with people who know you well. You'd be
surprised how little others may know about your work accomplishments. You can
also start networking by joining a professional association. Gales Directory of Business and Professional
Associations—located in the reference section of your local library—can
help you identify the organization(s) most appropriate for you. Web sites such
as the Internet Public Library's page can also help you find professional
associations and contacts.
Setting
up a meeting
Once you’ve made the
transition from informal to more formal contacts, assess whether it is better
to call or write to request a meeting based on the nature of your relationship
with that individual. In some cases, you may want to do both—send a letter or
an e-mail message, then follow up with a phone call. Whatever the medium, you
can set the tone for the meeting and provide your contact with some general
background if you include the following points:
- * Opening lines that express interest in this person and a reference to the last time you met
- * A brief update on your professional status
- * A statement about your interest in investigating a new career direction
- * A request to discuss these ideas and obtain some advice on your endeavor
Asking
the right questions
The questions you
ask depend on the nature of your career investigation and the person with whom
you are networking. You
- * The key skills and core competencies that employers are looking for in the field
- * The hottest sectors of the job market for this type of work
- * Three to five of the most important issues currently being addressed in the field
- * The professional resources used by the movers and shakers in the field
- * Changes that could impact the field and industry
- * How to gain field or industry status and recognition
might want to pose
questions that relate to the following:
Organizing
your networking activities
If you are
networking while currently employed, you might want to set a goal of five
networking conversations per month. These could occur in person or over the
phone. If you are actively job-hunting, you should aim at having several
networking conversations per week.
Very quickly you’ll
find that you need a tracking system to record names of initial contacts,
referrals obtained from those contacts, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and
mailing addresses. You'll also want to note the source for each referral, dates
when you’ve made contact, and any follow-up conversations you plan to have with
that individual.
Source:
Microsoft ® Encarta
0 comments:
Post a Comment