By Phil Rosenberg
If you keep your eyes open, you’ll never stop being amazed.
Jason Alba of JibberJobber.com quoted stats generated by JobBait (a resume mass mailing company) claiming (tongue-in-cheek) that “Networking Doesn’t Work”. But Mark Hovind’s (JobBait’s president) numbers also claimed that mass mailing 3,500 pieces of junk mail works 85% of the time for executive and managerial jobs. Maybe these stats were from the good-old 1970’s.
It made me laugh, because the statement is just so blatantly wrong.
Networking is a very effective way for candidates to find the best jobs – that goes for face-to-face and online networking. Of course networking doesn’t work if a job seeker under utilizes networking opportunities.
At their well attended event last night in Chicago, I asked the three founders of Networking for a Cause, Mark Carter, Becky Brett, and Justin Roy how people misuse networking opportunities.
Networking Coach, Founder and CRO Mark Carter offered “Networking is connecting others who you can help also; not just trying to sell everyone you meet.”
Justin added “Often, people blow it by being too selfish and self serving in their introduction.”
Becky commented “People self destruct during networking when they focus too much on themselves and not enough on the other person. How many times do we have to say, ‘it’s not about you! It’s about what the other person needs.’ ”
Networking isn’t just gathering business cards. Networking isn’t passing out resumes or asking everyone in the room or in your LinkedIN network for job leads. Because that isn’t networking, nor is it effective.
Effective networking is helping others … first. Because a pile of business cards won’t help you much. Personal fans will.
Networking for a Cause’s event invitation suggested that attendees ask other networkers what TWO things (or people) they need in the next 30-60 days. These could be connections, resources, information that are relevant to achieving a solid result soon. What are two problems are they facing? Who can help solve them?
Great advice! An effective networking contact for me, is someone with a problem that I can solve, or recommend someone to solve. If I’ve provided value first, without asking for anything in return, I’ve recruited a personal fan.
Personal fans help, because you’ve established a relationship with a personal fan. A personal fan wants to help, and depending what help you first provided…may even feel that they “owe” you.
Sending your resume or a letter to a LinkedIN database, passing it out at a networking event, or snail mailing it to 3,500 people is just junk mail.
What do you do with junk mail?
About Phil Rosenberg
Phil is President of reCareered, a career coaching service and website. Phil runs the Career Change Central group, one of Linkedin’s largest groups for job seekers. An active blogger about social media and career change, Phil’s articles have been republished by Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, AOL, FastCompany, CIO, ZDnet, The Examiner, and the leading job/career/recruiting sites). Phil can be contacted at phil.reCareered@gmail.com.
This is a great post, and as the author of, “I’m at a Networking Event–Now What???,” I have plenty of proof that networking skills, like leadership or management skills, can be learned and can be extremely effective. However, since there clearly are quite a few myths around the activity of networking, and so many people still don’t get it, I am going to attempt to debunk a few of the myths here:
Myth #1: Networking means you’re looking to use people to achieve selfish goals, or opportunistically ask people for help.
REALITY: The definition of the word network according to The Oxford Dictionary:
nétwerk n. & v. a group of people who EXCHANGE information, contacts, and experience for professional or social purposes.
Networking can therefore be defined as one’s efforts to create this group, and of course it can be done honestly and considerately.
Myth #2: You have to be a born networker or a natural at it.
REALITY: The skills needed to be an effective networker can be learned by anyone. Start by getting comfortable asking folks you meet, “So, what are you working on these days?” or, “What do you need help with right now?”
Myth #3: You must have above average charisma to be a good networker.
REALITY: You merely need to be thoughtful, sincere and genuinely helpful. You get offered a job or opportunities from people who are trusting of you (or have become a “personal fan” as noted here). There IS a hidden job market out there, but you have to be willing to be open and giving to be part of it.
Myth #4: You have to be a good talker or an overly chatty “schmoozer” to be a good networker.
REALITY: The truth is it is almost the exact opposite. According to Guy Kawasaki, co-founder of Garage Technology Ventures and author of the recently published, Reality Check, “The mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. Thus, good schmoozerʼs are good listeners, not good talkers.”
I hope this content encourages your readers to continue their networking efforts because networking truly is one of the few ways you get access to that hidden job market everyone talks about.
Jacqueline –
I am sadden to see your guest blogger, Phil Rosenberg (who holds himself out to be a career coach of sorts) chew again on an old bone of his that is belied by good direct mail principles, primary research in the area that is the object of his rant in this post, and by most of the comments responding to both of his swipes (yes, he took two) at Jason Alba’s original April 17, 2008 post.
His foolish pejoratives aside, Phil is still just way off on these three issues: First, Phil’s mis-quoting of Jason’s report on JibberJobber April 17, 2008 of some job search results from Mark Hovind’s JobBait.com, second, his mis-characterization of the direct mail approach and its targeting performed by Mark for his clients, and third, his mis-representation of what Mark recommends to six-figure job seekers about sending a resume.
Jason actually (and accurately) quoted JobBait’s chances of getting a job offer results to be: Going Direct 85%, Networking 30%, Outplacement 25%, Recruiters 1%, Job Boards 1%, and Resume Posting 1%. The data simply shows (without saying why) that networking doesn’t work as well as going direct – by a long shot. Second – in fact, Mark’s direct mail is sent very specifically to the exactly the persons most likely to hire the job-seeker – and it gets opened by them. It clearly is not “junk mail.” And third, again the fact is, Mark never recommends sending a resume, having found that the response rate is six time higher to a one-page, value proposition letter, instead.
Phil is at best, simply still wrong on all of these issues. And knows that he has been wrong ever since he was refuted by the majority of responders to his uninformed comments to Jason’s original post over two years ago! Maybe a good marketing course could give Phil the information he rejects from successful career coaches in the field. Maybe a little attention to the details, too. Get out of the denial phase, Phil. Learn and grow.
Art Ritter, Owner and Principal Advisor, Arthur W Ritter, Total Quality Advisor