Networking

Networking can take many different forms

The main types of networking are online networking (meeting new people and building contacts through social media), and relationship building (face-to-face networking)

Within these two areas, there are multitudes of different things you can do to expand your networking profile

This can include things like talking with friends, family, employers, staff members, or other job searchers like yourself. You can also go online to create new profiles, sign up to new social media sites, tag, friend, and follow people on social media, create your own tailored multimedia content, start your own blog, and so much more. Done correctly, these things can help you obtain leads, referrals, advice, information, and ultimately give you a big advantage over others when it comes to finding new job opportunities

40% of recruiters will check your social media presence to learn more about you. And it is estimated that around 60% of all jobs are attained either directly, or indirectly, as a result of basic networking. There’s no hidden skill to networking, in fact, we all network to some extent whether we are aware of it or not. Networking, in its most common form, simply involves talking with people and building relationships with them. It’s just an extenuation of our basic socializing skills. The difference is that we are now taking deliberate, calculated actions to get to know people or to get involved with organisations who might be able to offer us employment opportunities. Networking is the art of building contacts and relationships with people or organizations for the purposes of maximizing potential opportunities in a particular area. However, sometimes this is not a helpful way to think about it, so consider that simply by being pleasant and taking the time and effort to get noticed by people and striking up conversations with them, it can sometimes open up a wealth of untapped opportunity. Whether it’s done online or face-to-face through relationship building, the premise is always the same. When we speak of ‘networking’ with people it’s nothing complex, and it’s certainly nothing sinister – it is simply an extenuation of our basic socializing skills. Part of an effective networking strategy should be to purposefully identify people and organizations that may be able to help us achieve our goals, we then engage them in conversation and attempt to build good relationships with them

HOW TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE NETWORKING STRATEGY
Shortlist the companies you want to work for first. If you know what field you want to work in – do a search in your local city and get a list of the businesses in your area. Once you know what companies you want to focus your attention on, do a search on social media for the hiring managers and directors of those companies. In this way, you can tailor your applications to those companies and try to network with the people in them. Remember you can widen your search to regional or national companies if you need to…

When we consider face-to-face networking (relationship building), we want to draw up a list of people based on the following

A. People you know on a first name basis

B. Other persons you see or have contact with, either on a regular or occasional basis

C. Agencies, groups, charitable and voluntary organisations

On your first list, labelled A, write out the names of the people you know and beside each person write down their relationship to you, whether they are friends, family, employers, or other job searchers like yourself.
On the second list, labelled B, write down the person’s name if you know it, but if you do not know someone’s name, then find another way to make reference to them. For instance, the person with black hair at the local job center. The friendly shop assistant at the local supermarket. The purpose of this is to identify potential sources of networking opportunity. Once you have drawn up these basic lists, we then need to decide on a plan of action for how we are going to go about approaching these people

Remember that local groups and voluntary organisations can also provide sources from which we can network as well. On your third list, labelled C, note down the organisations in your local area and get involved with any you think may provide opportunities for you

See the NETWORKING LISTS examples on page 3.

Planning your approach (Plan of action)
This could be something simple like trying to start up a conversation with someone, asking them directly if they know of any job openings, or handing them your C.V – to a more involved approach like trying to make friends with them first, or following them on social media

Following on from the list of people you have compiled, now you need to write out how you intend to approach these networking sources. The approach you take is up to you, you may decide it’s not worth the effort trying to network with some of the people on your lists. But you need to have a plan of action – although it may seem a little overbearing, this is necessary to have the methodical approach we need to maximise our opportunities.
This can be kept in a dairy planner, you can write it beside each person’s name on your lists, or you can keep a mental note of it in your head

(Here we are looking at taking a methodical approach to our networking strategy. Again, you can either keep a diary, write the approach you intend to take beside each person’s name on your list, or keep a mental note in your head of any next steps on how you want to approach the people on your lists)

It could be as simple as making casual conversation with the person behind the counter (and then gently steering this towards the topic of employment). It could be asking a friend or relative if they know of any job openings in the area. Or it could be a more direct approach where you walk up to someone on your list with your C.V and cover letter

The amount of untapped opportunity that the ordinary job seeker misses for networking opportunities on a regular basis is immense. Here we examine the most common networking sources that can be overlooked

Family
This should be your first port of call. Many people will have at least one family member in employment. Family members are the first people you should go to find out if they know of any job opportunities that might be available. Hopefully they will be among the most trusted, helpful, and reliable sources you have. Not only do people usually feel a lot easier approaching a family member over someone they don’t know, but it can also be easier to land a job through a family member as a lot of employers have friends and family schemes. This is especially true of large corporations and government agencies. These schemes are very popular because from an employer’s perspective, a family member or friend of an existing employee has a greater chance of being loyal and reliable to that organization than an unknown jobseeker off the street

Remember to check with extended family members too

Friends
This should also be one of your first ports of call. Many of your friends will probably be employed. Simply asking them if there are opportunities available at their place of work can sometimes yield unexpected results. They will also sometimes have heard of, or know of, other opportunities that you might not be aware of       

Other jobseekers
This is another source that people don’t often consider. Other job seekers are out there looking for work like yourself. It’s logical to assume they might have good information about what places are hiring. They will also be able to tell you about what places they’ve applied for themselves. Other jobseekers might also have information regarding things like job fairs or help into work schemes, both of which are very helpful things when looking for work

Staff members
What better people are there to ask if there are job openings than the people who actually work there. They will be among the first people to know if there are any job openings available within that establishment. They may be able to give you tips on how to approach the hiring manager, and on what to say to them.
It is important to remember that if you’re doing this as part of a walk-in enquiry, where you’re actively going into a business with the express purpose of asking for a job, (as opposed to going there with the intent of striking up a conversation for the purpose of networking) – you should always ask for the manager or decision maker in the first instance

Employers
Trying to get on friendly terms or onto a first name basis with an employer is always a good idea

When it comes to seeking out opportunities for work, approaching them at the right time is key. Avoid straining the relationship you have built by pressuring them for work at the wrong time. Being on speaking or friendly terms with an employer can be a shoo-in for a job on some occasions. Try to keep your ear to the ground so that you will know if there are any opportunities up for grabs, then you can make your move

Charities, clubs, and other voluntary organisations
This is also another good networking source that people commonly overlook. These types of organisations have a lot of traffic flowing through them both in terms of people and enterprise. They are heavily involved in community events and heavily connected with local people. There will be numerous opportunities to speak with people and get information regarding jobs and opportunities. Taking the time to get involved either as a member, part of the staff, or as a volunteer, can pay dividends

Work programmes
Work programmes are a great way to provide yourself with additional opportunities to get into work

They can provide you with access to additional resources such as funding for work clothes, travel expenses, training and certification programmes, as well as additional opportunities to apply and interview for jobs through career fairs.  Work programmes and help into work schemes are almost exclusively done through the job centre, so if you are signed on and claiming benefits then it is definitely worthwhile asking your personal advisor if they can enrol you. While some schemes will differ from others in terms of what they offer, on the whole, they are a great way of sourcing additional opportunities for yourself if you are committed to getting into work