Networking is contacting people your contacts know...and people their contacts know...and people their contacts' contacts know.
Because it's done face-to-face, Networking is "personal contact" in that sense. And since someone you've met introduces you to...or lets you use his or her name with...the next person you see, it's also "personal contact" in that sense. Unfortunately, however, there's a big difference between asking people you already know for help and suggestions, and making the same requests of strangers you're sent to.
That's why we're looking at the two techniques separately, even though a lot of people prefer not to distinguish between them. And why we'll concentrate on getting only the good out of networking, and avoiding its pitfalls.
Networking is the single most powerful job-changing tool, so you should learn to use it effectively. Whether you give it heavy emphasis, or just let it happen spontaneously, some networking is inevitable every time you seek a new or better job.
First let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of Networking, including its most famous advantage:
"Networking increases your contacts geometrically."
For people who are actually out of work, Networking may well be the most popular method of finding another job. Certainly it's the most widely-recommended way...particularly since the advent of the "outplacement" companies that employers hire to help fired employees find new jobs.
As those experts point out:
"Networking increases your contacts geometrically."
The concept is that everyone you approach, while probably not personally in control of a job that would interest you, can at least refer you to several additional people. And each of those can send you to several more. If each person only passed you along to one further person, your progress would be "linear." But each Networking visit leads to multiple further visits, so your progress is "geometric."
Everyone has at least a few contacts. And through Networking, those few can mushroom. Consider these advantages:
More people meet and know about you. Your finite circle of acquaintances expands infinitely.
People who want to help can help. Only one hard-to-find person will provide your ideal job, but everyone can suggest additional people to see.
There's high impact in a face-to-face visit. Particularly in comparison to a printed resume in the mail, or languishing in a file.
Here's a process you can initiate. Rather than passively waiting for a recruiter's call, you can be as active as your time and energy permit.
The job you find probably won't require relocation. Local visits lead you toward local jobs.
Appealing as its advantages are, Networking also has some disadvantages:
It's time-consuming. Making and keeping networking appointments is slow, arduous work.
There's no confidentiality. You can't network without making your intentions public.
You reach relatively few people. You're doing well if you make and keep 2 or 3 Networking appointments per day...not enough to survey the overall employment marketplace very quickly.
Requesting favors from strangers isn't easy. Asking help from friends is hard enough; pursuing other people's friends is tougher still.
Focus is random and local. If you want to scour the nation for jobs in a particular field, a series of random local visits isn't the way to do it.
At its best, Networking is Personal Contacts. The big difference is that you're not limited to the few people you already know. At its worst, Networking is like dealing with Personal Contacts on a mass-production basis, with virtually all of the "personal" removed. Where on the spectrum you position your own version of this highly individualistic medium is entirely up to you.
Now let's look at Networking in practice.
Some of its implications are obvious, but others are not.
Let's go back to Jim, who wanted you to consider becoming his CFO and potential successor, and let's change the situation. Now let's say that he's not "bucking for President and Chief Operating Officer in about four years, when Caroline retires, and Ken moves up to Chairman." Let's say, instead, that Jim just got to Upward Corp. nine months ago. He's still consolidating his own position, and the Caroline/Ken scenario is at least 8 years away.
We'll also change the facts to make your problem immediate. Laggard Corporation has just reported a disastrous first half, following a big loss last year, and the Chairman is folding three losing Divisions into your profitable one, which will be headed by the Group Officer, his step-son, who's been your boss up to now. You and three other General Managers, plus a great many sales, marketing, administrative, engineering, and production people are suddenly out of work. Confidentiality is no longer a factor in your job-changing efforts.
However, Jim feels exactly as he told you he did. He's sorry that he didn't know of your availability when he had that "perfect spot a couple months ago." Unfortunately, he doesn't foresee having another opening for a General Manager in his Group for at least the next couple years, and by then you'll already be somewhere else.
But Jim does want to help. Let's listen as he calls his friend and favorite customer, Norma Nice, Co-Founder and CEO of a young fast-growing multi-divisional company that makes electronic controls and computer peripherals:
JIM: "Norma, last week I had lunch with one of the best young General Managers who ever worked for me, Bill Versatile. In fact, I promoted him into his first general management job several years ago, when I was at First Corporation. Gave him a division that had been a loser for years...one we'd tried to sell and couldn't give away. We were almost ready to shut it down. Well, he pulled off an amazing turnaround...improved efficiency, lowered costs, modified the product line, and brought in some new customers. He got the thing very respectably into the black and kept it there for two years. In fact, he put it on a good growth trend, so that we had no trouble unloading it at a favorable price."
"Bill's done a lot of equally fine work since then, most recently at Laggard Corp., where he turned around a loser and made it the only profit-generator in their Speciality Products Group. Well, I won't go into all the details, but they're using his Division and basically his staff as the nucleus, and merging all four Divisions of Specialty Products into a single unit, which the Chairman's step-son is going to head. So Bill, who's done another extraordinary job, is out of work!"
"As you know, I've filled my Division Manager opening. If I'd had any idea I could have got Bill, he'd be here right now. I'd even fire a couple people to fit him in, but I can't make another change so soon after getting here myself. That's why I thought of you, because you're looking for a President of that motor company you just bought. Of course I say that selfishly, because with someone like Bill in charge, that business would take off, and you'd be buying a lot more of our stuff to put into it."
NORMA: "YOU really think he's that good?"
JIM: "Darn right. I only wish I could have him myself!"
NORMA: "Well, on a recommendation like that from you, Jim, I think I've got to at least meet him. But, unfortunately, I'm in about the same position you are. I finally found a candidate I like for that job, and he's agreed to take it. In fact, I sent him an offer letter last night by Federal Express. Unless they come up with a big counteroffer, my job is filled. But have Bill call me and come over. There's always the chance my deal may fall through."
JIM: "And even if it doesn't, maybe you can refer him to some other people. He's really great, and I'd appreciate any help you can give him."
NORMA: "I'll certainly try. Thanks for thinking of me, Jim."
There you have an ideal example of Networking. Everything is operating entirely in your best interests. You can only gain from Jim's effort to be helpful.
Jim:
- knows you well,
- enthusiastically recommends you, and
- unequivocally asks help for you.
- knows Jim well,
- respects his judgment, believes his recommendation, feels a friendly obligation to him, and
- is very likely either to have a job for you, or to be able to refer you to someone else who can be helpful.
But alas, your cookie crumbles. The signed-and-returned employment contract from Norma's new Division President is on her desk by the time you arrive for an interview tomorrow morning. Norma likes you on a personal basis, and wants to oblige Jim. So she treats you to an early lunch. And afterward, she makes several phone calls in your behalf. One is to Sam Supplier, from whom Norma buys a lot of components:
NORMA: "Sam, I don't know whether you need a Division Manager over there or not, but I just had a very impressive young man in my office that you ought to take a look at. He's one of the casualties at Laggard Corp., where they've had that bloodbath. A very able guy, according to a friend of mine, who thought he'd be good for President of that cassette drive company I bought. But it's too late. I just hired somebody else. Could you meet him and see if you can use someone like him? And if you can't, could you maybe introduce him to some other people who might need a good executive?"
SAM: "Sure, Norma. I'd be happy to help. I really don't think I need anyone at quite that high level. But let me meet him and see what I can do to refer him to others who might."
NORMA: "Thanks, Sam. I knew I could count on you."
No question about it. Sam Supplier will cheerfully see you to oblige Norma, who's one of Sam's biggest customers. He'll also set up further appointments for you. He almost has to. But this time there's no specific job in mind. And Norma can only relay Jim's endorsement. She doesn't speak from firsthand knowledge. So Sam doesn't hear quite the same glowing words Norma did.
And by the time Sam sees you and begins passing you along to people who owe him a favor, the transaction may be on quite a different footing. There may even be a disclaimer thrown in:
SAM: "Say, Phil, would you do me a favor and see a guy who's looking for a job? He was sent to me by my biggest customer, Norma Nice at Buyathonics, and I've got to show I've tried to help. His name's Bill Versatile. I don't personally know how good he is, since I've never worked with him. But he seems like a reasonably intelligent guy. He's one of the crew they threw out over at Laggard Corp. And Phil, if you possibly can, please try to pass him along. I did almost 15% of my total volume with Buyathonics last year."
PHIL: "Okay, I'll help...even though you've hit me at a really busy time. But, / did pretty good business with you last year. And I appreciate it. You can count on me, Sam, anytime."
And so it may go. As you get further away from the people who know you and believe in you, there may be less interest in you as a potential employee and in helping you find employment. And as that phenomenon sets in, Networking, which is basically your most useful job-changing technique, becomes less worthwhile. You spend lots of time on appointments, and yet the value of that time may be considerably less than outward appearances suggest.
We've just looked at classic "please-help-him-as-a-favor-to-me" Networking.
Today there's a more modern and aggressive form: Networking-as-a-contact-sport.
You should know about it. But use good judgment in practicing it.
I call it NFL Networking.
Consider it Networking-as-the-ultimate-scrimmage. What used to be a rather prim and polite pastime, not too far removed from lawn bowling and croquet, has been transformed into one of the roughest contact sports in the business world today.
Unemployment is a nasty thing...especially for the $100,000+ executive. Cutting off his income is like trying to choke off his air supply. He'll fight for life just as fiercely as any other wounded and cornered animal. Motivation he's got. Give him a strategy and he'll execute.
So, long before it appeared as a major national sport, the stage was set for NFL Networking. There were plenty of players available...all of them adequately motivated, without resort to Pro Football's megabucks. The only things needed to get a good rough game going were aggressive coaching and a new set of rules.
Enter the "Outplacement Counselors." Pervasive growth of the outplacement industry, which is paid by employers to help fired executives find jobs, has provided the missing factors: an aggressive and creative coaching staff which, in turn, has provided appropriately revised rules. Networking is the number-one favorite job-changing technique among these professionals, and they have contributed greatly to the advancement of the game.
The basic problem with the classically polite lawn-bowling-and-croquet form of networking...the please-help-him-as-a-favor-to-me version...is its passivity, its lack of vigorous combat. The job seeker is put into play by someone else, who wishes to be helpful and therefore opens doors and makes appointments that the executive might otherwise have difficulty achieving on his own. Merely capitalizing on these thoughtfully-provided opportunities, the unemployed executive keeps these dates, presents himself and his achievements as pleasantly and persuasively as he can, and graciously accepts whatever is offered at the conclusion of each appointment...employment, offers of further help, or merely good wishes. Regardless of the outcome, he expresses genuine appreciation for the time he's been given, and he may attempt to kick an extra point with a "thank you" note.
How bland and wimpish! In these days when there's more mayhem in a love song on MTV than there used to be on The Untouchables, the game of Networking was obviously long overdue for an update. That modernization has been brilliantly accomplished in NFL Networking.
The breakthrough change has been to free the job-seeking executive from prior restrictions on his actions in the game. Indeed, he's now encouraged to seize and retain, if possible, total initiative for every aspect of play. No longer does he passively wait to capitalize on play-making opportunities created for him by others. Under professionally-coached NFL rules, the job-seeker initiates every phase of play, and fiercely defends his prerogative not to surrender the initiative to any other player. Let's first scan the new rules, and then I'll interview Axel Bludgeon, reigning world champion NFL Networker.
Rules of NFL Networking
- Never fail to get into the office of anyone whose name is mentioned to you.
- Never depart with less than 3 new names.
- Never leave follow-up solely in the hands of the person you just saw.
JOHN: "Congratulations, Axel. You've won again! When you first got into NFL Networking, did you ever imagine that you'd become champion and hold the title three years in a row?"
AXEL: "Thank you, John. But before I answer your question, I also want to thank all those executives who helped me win. A big annual victory like mine is just a series of daily skirmishes. And if those guys and gals hadn't let me beat them down to get an appointment and come in, then I couldn't have forced them to give up the three names so I would leave. So thanks, fellas...and ladies...I owe it all to you!"
"Okay, now I'll answer your question. No, when I first started Networking in NFL competition, I had no idea I could stay unemployed for three years, despite meeting close to 1,000 executives in their offices. Surely, I thought, somebody would want to hire me, and then I'd be out of contention. But early on, I met some of my competition...like in corporate reception rooms, where we were both waiting to see different executives. And when I saw what wimps they were, I was pretty confident. Did you ever meet Pete Polite, or Carl Courteous, or Cathy Considerate? I think the longest any of them lasted was four or five months!"
JOHN: "Axel, NFL Networking is really only a few years old, and some of our readers may not be familiar with it. Would you please explain how it works?"
AXEL: "Sure, gladly. First, somebody has to give you a name to get started. And then you go right ahead as if it were standard old-fashioned pre-NFL Networking. You call up the person at their office and say:
'Hello, I was talking to so-and-so, and he told me to call you. I'm in the process of a career change, and I'd like to come in and see you for just 15 minutes to get the benefit of your thoughts and suggestions. Now, I'm not going to ask you for a job. It's just that so-and-so speaks so highly of you, and he feels your advice could really be helpful. When would you like me to come in?' "
JOHN: "What if this person is too busy to see you, or maybe doesn't believe you're going to be out of there in 15 minutes? What if he'd rather just tell you what you want to know on the telephone? Then he or she can hang up when your 15 minutes are over."
AXEL: "NOBODY is too busy to see me. That's NFL Rule #1, Never fail to get into the office of anyone whose name is mentioned to you. I can't let them cop out on 'busy,', or I'd never get to see anyone important. And I sure can't go ahead on the phone. That's clearly against the rules, precisely because they can hang up on me in 15 minutes. Of course, nobody, even Cathy Considerate, would be in-and-out of an office in 15 minutes. Who ever heard of a 15-minute meeting on any subject? It's impossible. Once I'm in there, I'm good for a half-hour at least. And pretty often 45 minutes. How do you think I got to be National Champion? Under-promising and over-staying is an important technique."
JOHN: "Another question on your basic spiel. If so-and-so really wants this person to see you, why doesn't he call the person himself?"
AXEL: "Good question. Look at NFL Rule #3, Never leave follow-up solely in the hands of the person you just saw. I never leave anybody without finding out who they have in mind for me to talk to. That's NFL Rule #2, Never depart with less than 3 new names. If they say they'll call a few people and try to set up some appointments, I demand to know who they intend to call. That way, I'm no longer at their mercy. If they don't bother to follow up, I can go right around them, call the people they mentioned, and say they wanted me to meet those people, which of course they did. That was one of the first things my coach taught me."
JOHN: "Speaking of your coach..."
AXEL: "Excuse me, John. But let me just go back to your other question about why not have the person call for my appointment instead of calling myself. That question shows that you just don't grasp the fundamental change in Networking from the old sissy way to the new NFL tactics. Under the old rules, I could leave it up to the person I just saw to call and arrange my meeting with the next person. Because under the old way, the person I just saw would know and like me enough to really want the next person to see me. Or at least he'd have a good dollars-and-cents business reason to pass me along. Under those circumstances he really would follow up. And I could walk out of his office without forcing him to tell me the names of the people he was thinking of calling in my behalf. Under the old style, people would be seeing me because he wanted them to. The fundamental motivation of the game would be him saying:
'Help Axel as a favor to me.'
"But today, under NFL rules, I've got to see lots more people and get lots more referrals. And many of those referrals have got to come from stone-cold strangers, who don't know me from a hole-in-the-wall, except that I'm in their office and I won't leave until they give me names. If I simply walk out, do you think they're going to call their friends and business contacts and tell them they've got to see me? Don't be naive! Under the new rules, it's up to me to keep the game going. Since the guy I just saw isn't likely to put much pressure on, / apply the pressure, and say he told me to do it. Instead of trying to get him to say, 'Help Axel as a favor to me,' I say...or at least I imply:
'Help me, or I'll see to it that you're in trouble with him.'
"Now of course I can't really get the guy I'm calling in trouble with the one who told me about him. But he doesn't know that! Get my drift? The guy whose name I'm using doesn't care much one way or another whether I get my next appointments...certainly not enough to call for them himself. In fact, he'd be too embarrassed to call and be as pushy in getting me an appointment as I can be when I use his name to get my own appointment. So you see the new rules put me in charge of the game and don't depend nearly so much on how other people feel about me."
JOHN: "Very interesting, Axel. I see you've really given a lot of thought to your game."
AXEL: "I've had to. You see, the intimidation of NFL Networking is psychological, not physical. So the entire game is mental strategy. It's not easy to get a no-agenda meeting with a really busy person. And the ones who aren't really busy aren't important enough to want meetings with. And besides, I'm not the only job-changer who's calling them. Some senior executives get several calls a week just like mine. So I've got to be the one who gets in when the others are turned away. I've done a lot of thinking about the psychological handles I can use to manipulate these people...first to get an appointment, and then to get the names I came for, so I can leave. Do you want to hear what I've come up with?"
JOHN: "Why yes, if you feel you want to give away such strategic information."
AXEL: "NO problem. Just because other people know what the levers are doesn't mean they'll be able to pull them as hard as I do. Here are the psychological weaknesses I can appeal to in getting what I want, and I try to go for as many as possible in each case:
Friendship. Personal friends want to help if they can.
Altruism. The desire to help another human being in need. There's a streak of 'Good Samaritan' in everybody.
Greed. The desire to do business with the person whose name I mention...in the present and the future.
Fear. Concern that if they don't do what I want, it will prejudice business and personal relationships with the person I name.
Guilt. The feeling that if they don't do what I ask, they'll be letting down the person I mention, who probably would do what I want for somebody they sent to him.
Charm. The idea here is that if I'm face-to-face with people for a half hour, I can get them to do anything I want...from hiring me to spilling all the names they know. I always go in counting on charm as my main leverage, and then I wind up using anything else that works better."
"Now, John, there are two other possibilities I've thought about but never used, because they're against the rules...even the rougher, more realistic rules of the NFL. They're Sex and Bribery. The closest I've come to those is that I've sometimes used a CEO's girlfriend as the name that referred me. Since, technically, that's just using one name to get another, it's perfectly within the rules. And it does get attention!"
JOHN: "Well, Axel, you've certainly been generous in sharing your expertise with us. One final question...and I'm almost embarrassed to ask it so late in our interview...but what is the exact connection between the National Football League and the NFL Networking title you hold?"
AXEL: "Don't be embarrassed, John. We're a relatively young sport, and just about everyone still asks that question. There's no connection. My sport is purely an individual one-on-one activity...not a team sport, and nothing to do with the National Football League. It's the Networking by Force League."
JOHN: "Thank you, Axel Bludgeon. And best wishes for another year of unemployment through obnoxious Networking by Force."
There you have it: up-to-date, truly aggressive Networking, as practiced by a master. Axel Bludgeon is managing to get into the offices of a great many executives...and to walk out with the names of plenty of additional executives, whose offices he'll also penetrate. He has a virtuoso's mastery of the techniques of modern high-pressure Networking. It's the objective he's lost sight of. Axel is not getting hired.
There's a "catch 22" in basing a job campaign on the aggressive new style of Networking.
Using force to generate appointments offends the people you're trying to impress.
Let's look at this problem...and ways to overcome it.
If you're in a high-profile position...in control of attractive jobs, or likely to know about them...chances are you're up against a lot of Axel Bludgeons these days. Either you're seeing them and resenting them, or you're fighting them off and feeling guilty. "After all," you think, "just a slight turn of the corporate-wheel-of-fortune could throw me into Networking. And then how would I want people to react to me?"
But your work week is more than filled with your job. And if anyone's going to get an extra half or three-quarters of an hour from you, it ought to be a family member or a friend...not some stranger, who drops a name and insists on an appointment for a "15-minute" matter, instead of straightforwardly handling it by phone.
On the other hand, if you're currently out-of-a-job, you're in an even worse position. What are you supposed to do...ignore today's most widely-recommended job-seeking method? Walk away from advice your former employer may have paid upwards of $15,000 for? Possibly delay restoring proper income to your household? And all because you're too prissy or sissy to do what others are doing every day?
If you're the appointment-giver, you're weighing the "clout" of the name that's dropped. How much do you revere or fear it? What's it worth in business gained or lost? Would the "name" see someone you sent her? Would you send her anyone? Is your caller really close to the "name" he's using? How busy are you? Do you like the caller's voice and manner? Do you want to help him? Does he sound willing to accept your best efforts right now on the phone, or must you flatly say "No"? Or are you willing...or forced...to say "Yes"? Only you can decide. And only on a call-by-call basis.
In this situation one thing is clear. If you're the appointment-seeker, you've got the more difficult decision to make. Pressure or no-pressure? And how much pressure? If you push too hard, you can alienate the person you're approaching...even if she feels obliged to see you and even if she gives you further names.
Moreover, you could easily lose the respect and sponsorship of the "name" you're using. Regardless of what you imply, you only have a slight and probationary acquaintance. If you wield the "name" like a war-club, there's a good chance the person you're approaching will ask the "name" about you. He'll find out your relationship is tenuous at best, and he'll feel obligated to let the "name" know about your foolhardy use of her most precious asset. Then you'll be on two you-know-what lists.
Overaggressive Networking can backfire into "mop up" calls disclaiming connection with you. I make such calls. And I always inform my friends and contacts when their name is inappropriately used with me. My loyalty is to them...not to the strangers they've mistakenly tried to help.
Obviously you don't want to portray yourself negatively, while seeking appointments to present yourself positively. Here are some ways to get around that dilemma:
Emphasize close, rather than distant, contacts. The nearer along the networking chain you are to the people who know, respect, and genuinely want to help you, or have a business reason for doing so, the less pressure you'll have to use in getting appointments. Consider shifting to widely-connected purely social contacts, before relentlessly pursuing reluctant strangers.
Consider leaving appointment-solicitation in the hands of the person you've just seen. If someone says she'd rather call her contacts than have you call them, back off...even though this violates NFL rule #3. If she does set up dates, you're way ahead. You walk in with no prior record of bullying. If she doesn't follow up, you can probably call and slip in one discreet reminder, plus an offer to save her bother by calling the contacts yourself. If she fails to proceed on either basis, you've probably lost the right to use her name with those people. But you never really had it anyway. Maybe someone else will introduce you. Or you can write letters and introduce yourself.
Listen carefully during your self-introductory phone call. Tune to the "vibes," as well as the words. Whether you're being obnoxiously pushy is subjectively up to this listener, at this moment, of this call. It's not up to you, nor to any "Counselor" who has instructed you. If you've only met your sponsoring "name" during a brief networking visit, no matter how cordial, she's not your friend. She's the friend of the person you're calling. The only interpretation of this phone call she'll ever receive and believe will come from her long-standing contact...the person you're talking to. Don't sacrifice a successful prior networking contact through insensitive handling of a later one.
Also, reactions to your networking calls will differ with each person you phone, and even with the day and moment your call happens to come in. Be alert and flexible.
Consider accepting immediate help on the phone, rather than holding out for a visit. There's inherent weakness in your logic when you insist that you must have a face-to-face appointment, and yet you'll "only take 15 minutes" and "not ask for a job." If it's true that you only want "the benefit of your thoughts and suggestions," and only 15 minutes of them, then why not accept them right now on the phone?
Of course, what you really want is to display your personality and charm, which you expect will expand the 15 minutes into a pre-employment interview, or at least a "we-forgot-all-about-the-clock" brainstorming session. After dozens, and even hundreds, of calls like yours, and plenty of appointments like you're asking for, the person you're calling knows exactly what you want. If he's refusing it, and offering a valuable substitute, be smart. Accept and benefit. Make the most of what you can get. Otherwise, you may exhaust the time your respondent is willing to give you and wind up with neither on-the-phone help, nor an appointment.
Realize this. Calls like yours are frequent. And everyone's delivering the same high-pressure get-an-appointment script. When the person you call tries to get you to deal with him in the efficient and logical way he prefers, you have two choices: (1) Do so, and stand out from the crowd; you may so impress him with your alertness, common sense, and flexibility that he may decide to see you after all. Or (2) stick to the script and increase the pressure; prove your ability to follow instructions, while disproving your flexibility and resourcefulness.
One further point: Armed with the kind of resume you should be using (which we'll thoroughly discuss later on), you'll feel more confident than you do right now, to speak by phone and follow-up by sending your resume by mail or messenger.
Make lots of polite contacts, keep records, and use time as your ally. Rather than besiege and bully a few key contacts, deal lightly-and-politely with lots of them. And be sure to keep careful records. That way, you can graciously leave follow-up in the hands of others, if they prefer. You won't forget to inquire about loose ends. And with lots of contacting underway, you won't be tempted to push anyone too soon or too stridently.
Concentrate on your current industry, where talking to you will seem most relevant. Except for your own purely social contacts, the people likeliest to grant you appointments will be in your industry, not unrelated fields. They'll expect an interesting conversation, which may even include new competitive scuttlebutt gained in your job-searching travels. So besides helping you, they'll figure there may also be some benefit for them.
Try to have something other than just your employment interests to talk about. The most irksome aspect of a networking appointment is its one-sidedness. Unlike almost every other business meeting, this one has nothing in it for your host...that is, unless he might want to hire you. And 99% of the time, he knows in advance he won't. He spends time, possibly risks valuable contacts, and maybe takes on a follow-up assignment. Yet he personally has nothing to gain. No wonder he's unenthusiastic!
Try to think of a topic that may interest your host, and offer it as part of the agenda:
"I'd really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. And maybe, since you're planning to build your own plant in Brazil, you'd be interested in some of the things we found out."
Who knows? Besides melting your host's resistance, you may get scheduled for more than 15 minutes. Incidentally, Chapter 18 is devoted entirely to activities which, if they match your career objectives, enable you to conduct a meeting of genuine interest to your host, while still doing the same self-selling you'd do in an ordinary networking session.
Trust your own good instincts, good manners, and good taste, whenever they conflict with what "experts" are telling you to do. You're just as able to judge what behavior will and won't turn people off, as any "expert" urging a commando raid. And unlike Axel Bludgeon, you want to get hired. Most people don't hire foot-in-the-door vacuum cleaner salesmen...or subtle extortionists...into high-level executive positions. And they're not comfortable entrusting their valuable contacts to them either. Through Axel's type of manipulation, someone may have to see you. But she doesn't have to like you. And you'll be a lot better off if she can do both.
Use all the various job-changing techniques for what each can do best. Many "outplacement" advisors urge Networking almost to the exclusion of everything else. By the time we've examined all the Rites of Passage, you'll see Networking in clear perspective among all the various job-changing methods, and you'll have the skill to use each when it's most appropriate.
If you're ever out of work, Networking will be your most powerful technique...and the one you turn to most frequently. It's always available as a productive, open-ended outlet for your time and energy. After you've done about all you can with your Personal Contacts and Executive Recruiters, and perhaps you've even conducted a Direct Mail Campaign, Networking will still beckon to you:
"Make another contact, and get several more to make."
That's Networking. Used sensitively, it can be richly rewarding
Now let's Network in reverse.
Instead of meeting everyone your contacts send you to
let's pick someone you especially want to meet,
and find a contact who can introduce you.
I call this technique 'Targeted Networking." And you'll benefit from it, even if you never change jobs.
Is there a Chief Executive you want to meet?
Maybe he's a CEO whose head of a division, or a corporate function, is nearing retirement age with no replacement in sight. Or possibly a CEO with a division or a function so mismanaged that he should be looking for a new executive, whether he is or not. Or maybe she's a CEO who's searching for candidates, but using a recruiting firm that can't propose you because your company also gives it some business. Or perhaps a CEO with a corporate asset that's well managed, but falling far short of its potential, because nobody in her organization sees that potential as you do.
Who do you want a personal introduction to? A high-ranking business or financial executive? Or perhaps the head of a university, a scientific association, a philanthropic foundation, an art museum, a professional sports league, a labor union, a charity, or an opera/symphony/ballet company? The possibilities are endless. But the method of identifying someone you already know, who also knows the person you want to meet, is the same.
If your "target" is prominent enough to be listed in a few of the many directories being published today, then a visit to the library should do the trick.
Glance at Appendix I. My Research Director has introduced you to dozens of directories you'll find in most large libraries. If you should ever conduct an all-out job search which includes a direct mail campaign, you may even want to buy some of these books. She's made that quick and easy too, by providing phone numbers (many are no-charge 800's) that will put you in touch with the publishers.
A Few Parting Comments about Targeted Networking
Targeted Networking is a lot of work. You won't do it, unless there's a very compelling reason...probably to meet someone who controls an ideal job for you. And that job either is open...or looks from your vantage point as if it should be.
Then an all-out effort to reach your "target" may be justified. But when you do, be sure you're easy to say "Yes" to. Use the strategy we discussed in asking for a reference, rather than a job. Don't frontally attack. Instead, do lots of listening and subtle questioning. Maybe toss in one or two of your best ideas as possible approaches you might explore if, on closer inspection, things are as they appear.
The strongest response you can hope to get at the end of your meeting is:
"This has all been very interesting. I'll be thinking about our discussion, and we probably ought to get together again."
If the best way the person you've reached can use you is to fire whoever has the job you're aiming for, he or she may ultimately decide to do so. On the other hand, he or she may come up with a different way of using your talents that appeals to you even more. But one thing is almost certain: If you go in with guns blazing, naming names and suggesting tough action, you'll get the fast easy answer..."No"...rather than the one you want..."To be continued."
Networking is your #1 tool. But use it carefully.
Networking..."targeted" and otherwise...is your single most valuable job-hunting tool. But always bear in mind that the further Networking takes you away from people who actually know you and can vouch for you, the weaker your referrals will be. And if you push too hard to get appointments with reluctant strangers, your behavior may become stridently self-defeating. In asking for your appointment, try to imply that you're inclined...and able to give, not just take:
"There is one good thing about job-hunting. And that's getting up-to-date on the really important things going on in our industry. I couldn't do that when I was chained to my desk. For example, those new wholesaler incentives Acme has put in that Zenon is meeting..."
Unfortunately, only a few of the people you'll meet while Networking will at that moment control a suitable opportunity...or know of one. Which brings us to our next topic, Executive Recruiters, who are often knee-deep in situations you'd love to find out about.
