By JOSHUA GREEN
Article provided by mbajungle.com
Everyone you know—from your
first-grade teacher to the guy who snored his way through Stats
101—is a potential resource. We'll show you how to turn your
address book into a power networking tool.
Networking is a lot like getting your M.B.A.—it
can work magic for your career, but it's hard to know where to
turn for the best guidance. Most networking advice consists of
the same timeworn clichés dished out by "career specialists" who,
you can't help noticing, sound an awful lot like high school
guidance counselors. While peppy entreaties to "get out there and
meet people" might inspire the odd soul to whom the idea hadn't
occurred, we'll focus on more specific strategies for networking
your way to a top job in the new economy.
Start with what's easiest. Friends and family are natural
contacts, and you may be surprised at who they know once you
start asking. Make sure you update them on what came out of their
contacts. Your undergraduate school is also a great resource—many
schools keep extensive databases of information about alumni,
including their position and where they work.
Where You Are Now
Business schools are probably the best source for networking.
Aside from your fellow students and professors (who are almost
always happy to share their wisdom and help put you in touch with
other alums), the best schools offer students an implicit promise
that, along with their sheepskin, they will have access to a
network of distinguished graduates.
Sometimes, your school name is the only opening you'll need to
begin networking. "Any graduate from my school who comes out here
to Los Angeles and is determined to make it in the entertainment
business, I'll get them a job," promises Eric Bernt, a
Northwestern University alum and Hollywood writer who has penned
the feature films Virtuosity and Romeo Must Die.
This sentiment isn't unusual. For most alums, fondness for an
alma mater increases in proportion to their success.
Of course, this isn't always the case. But happy alums aren't
the only ones who can help you find a job. "I wanted to work at a
Washington magazine but could only find one alum from my
journalism school in that area," recalls one magazine writer. "It
turned out he hated the school as much as I did and wasn't shy
about telling me. So naturally we hit it off. He passed on a tip
to me several months later that landed me my current job."
Dumb Luck
You never know what seemingly random connections might come in
handy. A former McKinsey consultant tells this story about the
way he got the coveted position: "When I was applying to business
schools, Kevin, a McKinsey consultant, conducted the alumni
interview for Northwestern's Kellogg School. We really hit it
off, and I got in to Kellogg, but I had been out of the country
for a few years and really wanted to be in New York, so I opted
for Stern at NYU instead. When I got there, I found out that
McKinsey did not have a recruiting program at NYU, but that's
where I really wanted to work. So I called Kevin, who fortunately
remembered me. Kevin ended up supporting my efforts to get an
interview at McKinsey and I became McKinsey's first NYU
hire."
Networking has always been about making contacts, but how you
approach people and how you follow through have changed in the
last few years. In the new economy, few busy professionals have
time for unsolicited phone calls seeking advice. "If somebody
calls at the wrong time, you want to help, but you can't, and if
you're busy, it's always the wrong time," says Kelly Laferriere,
the director of interactive content at ESPN. "But if someone
e-mails me first, I'm happy to provide feedback on my own time
and set something up from there." An initial e-mail should be
brief and to the point: Explain why you're contacting the person,
what you're looking for, and how they can help you. It's a good
idea to include a compelling subject line that will convince them
to open your message. "Referred by—" or "Fellow alum looking for
help" are two good bets. When you do reach them by phone, your
call will be welcomed and expected, and your contact will be
better prepared to help you.
Distinguish Yourself
By now the benefits of networking are received wisdom. Everyone
does it. This means that potential clients and employers are much
more approachable. However, this also means that it's more
difficult to set yourself apart from the pack.
"You've got to show a level of interest beyond just the
ordinary," says Michael Staisil, founder and executive vice
president of Accelerator, a company that provides business
support to the venture capital community. "Once you've figured
out who you want to meet, make sure you know the person's
background inside and out. Get there early. Be the last to leave.
Walk a person to his car if he tells you he's on his way to a
meeting." Most of all, try to make a personal connection, even if
it happens outside a formal business setting. While vacationing
in Hawaii, for instance, Staisil attended a cocktail reception
where he met a potential client whose wife informed him it was
her husband's birthday. "Two hours later, I threw him an
impromptu party at the hotel grill," Staisil recalls. "We struck
up a friendship, I flew back out to follow up with him, and four
weeks later he was my business partner."
Follow-up doesn't have to be nearly so elaborate, but it is
undoubtedly what distinguishes the best networkers. Since a
potential contact has his own network of friends and colleagues,
it is important that your name be the one to come to mind when he
hears of suitable job openings.
Making sure your name (and the favorable impression you've
created) stays familiar is a process you should set in motion as
soon as you've finished your first talk or meeting. "Start with
an immediate follow-up e-mail—just something along the lines of
'Nice to meet you, keep in touch,'" advises Jonathan Aspatore,
founder and CEO of eBrandedBooks.com. "Then put them in your
PalmPilot and have it remind you every six months to drop your
contact list an e-mail, just to keep in touch. A lot of people
let contacts die soon after the initial meeting. Maintaining them
is as important as making them, because you never know when
they'll be able to help you." Follow up with everyone you talk
to, but pay extra attention to those who are the most helpful. In
the digital world, a handwritten note goes further than it ever
has.
Another great strategy is to show your interest in the company
you want to work for by reading and clipping relevant articles.
Send them with your feedback to contacts in the field. Take it a
step further by writing articles yourself in industry
publications, and attending conferences and lectures.
Party Hearty
As networking has gained currency, the outlets for engaging in it
have become more appealing than they once were. Networking
parties and Web sites have replaced business conferences and cold
calls as the preferred methods for making contacts. The
overbearing enthusiasm once encouraged by career specialists is
now considered déclassé. Subtlety and charm are more valuable
assets in networking's new arenas, which increasingly resemble
classy social events.
Networking parties are a popular example, especially in new
media circles. "Bernardo's List" is a weekly e-mail announcement
of Internet parties that's indispensable to New York City's
plugged-in Silicon Alley set. For the publishing industry, there
are Laurel Touby's MediaBistro parties, which bring together
high-powered publishers, editors, and writers. All serve the same
purpose: to provide a comfortable setting in which to meet
people. "I didn't go to Yale, so breaking in here was quite the
feat," Touby says. "But I discovered that creating an environment
where you have the freedom to walk up to anyone and talk to them
comfortably is immensely helpful when it comes to making business
contacts. Everyone is secretly here to meet new people. Everyone
wants to meet someone who can improve their life." Touby is a
reluctant networker's dream. She takes the anxiety out of
approaching potential contacts by circulating, Southern belle
style, among her guests and introducing them to helpful
contacts.
The Online Network
For the extremely shy networker, similar help is available
online. Dozens of good Web sites have sprung up to offer
networking and mentoring assistance over the Internet. These
sites are great for those who aren't naturally outgoing or feel
intimidated at the thought of one-on-one networking. ESPN's
Laferriere is a columnist for one such site, webgrrls.com, which
specializes in giving networking and mentoring advice to women
working on the Web. "If you can find a safe haven like
webgrrls.com where the resources are available online, it is easy
and painless to solicit advice and knowledge from people who want
to help you," she says.
Networking sites can be valuable sources of expert advice and
counseling for those about to embark on informational or job
interviews. But job hunters shouldn't make the mistake of relying
too heavily on online job listings. The old bit about 90
percent of all jobs never making the classifieds still applies in
the new economy—with the exception of government jobs, Web
classifieds on job boards reflect roughly the same proportion of
available jobs. A recent study by human resources managers
revealed that personal referrals and recommendations are still
the surest ways to land a good job.
If networking doesn't lead to a job, the skill itself could
pay off. Laurel Touby has leveraged her flair for networking into
a multimillion-dollar business. Venture capitalists were so
impressed with her enthusiasm that they backed her business,
MediaBistro.com. Now she throws networking parties in five
cities, boasts 10 employees, and has networked herself to a great
new job: CEO of her own company.
