It's Who You Know: The #1 Way to Build Your Network Photo Source: Freedigitalphotos.net
October 1 2012

It's Who You Know: The #1 Way to Build Your Network

How many times have you heard it's not what you know, it's who you know?

Do you believe it yet? Maybe a real example would be helpful to demonstrate this daunting concept.

How I got my job through networking. More specifically, through informational interviewing!

What is an informational interview?

Simply put, it is a form of networking where you interview someone for information. The goal of this conversation is not to be handed a job, but to learn about an individual and their career by asking insightful questions. This networking strategy is something to start far before you are actually job searching. These networking conversations can help clarify your interests, discern between career paths, and open doors for job opportunities. To be successful, you will want to begin connecting with as many people in your desired career path as you can. What do you have to lose if connecting with professionals can only help you reach your goals?

How did I do this?

I was working in career services during my graduate program; I loved it, and knew that it was the area I wanted to remain in after graduation. I also knew that networking would be the most successful way to obtain my best-fit position considering I was choosing to limit myself geographically. So, I began contacting professionals at different career services offices asking for 30 minutes of their time to talk about their career path. These were not people that I knew prior to contacting them, just those that had similar interests to my own. LinkedIn and Google are useful tools for this part of the process.

Why did I do this?

I wanted to learn more about the different colleges and universities, as well as the different career offices themselves. I wanted to hear advice from professionals who had been through the job search process and who could tell me exactly what to expect. I had several wonderful conversations with professionals ranging from all stages in their career. One of these conversations was last December with my now current boss. At the time, I had absolutely no idea that I would end up working with him. We had a few follow up emails, he reviewed my resume, and then in February I saw an opening in that office. I applied right away, was contacted shortly after for an interview, and the rest is history!

Obviously I still had to prepare well and interview just like any other candidate, but the difference was that they had seen my name and resume before, and we had already spoken about my interests and skills. If I hadn’t done this informational interview I probably wouldn’t have even seen the opening in the first place. Many times when you build a relationship with someone and you hit it off, you will get notified about open positions or leads before they are publicly posted.

Who should you contact for these networking conversations?

Start with alumni. These are people who you already have something in common with: a school. One of the easiest ways to search alumni is by using LinkedIn. If you sign-in to your account, you can search thousands of alumni and even narrow your search based on industry, geographic location, or specific company.

So start building your network now!

By using your college or university’s career office, LinkedIn and other social media platforms, it can be easy to build up your network with the key players in your future job search. Who you know matters!

About the Author:  Jena Szatkowski is a Career Counselor at Hope College in Michigan. In her position she coordinates networking events and works with students individually to develop a networking strategy to explore careers and opportunities. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.

Tags:

Comments