A: I used to tell people that about 80 percent of their time should be networking. But in today's market, I tell them 95 percent of their time should be networking.
Q: What do you mean by networking?
A: It's a combination of face time - real people meeting across the table and also following up with e-mails, scheduling your day on your computer, doing some research. It's an integration of all these activities. And let's be clear. It takes a lot of energy, it takes a lot of discipline, it takes a lot of motivation, but it's the only game in town.
Q: How much networking should you do?
A: Every candidate should try to have at least one networking meeting per day. Preferably even two. These could be follow-up networking meetings, they could be initial networking meetings, but it's all about getting your name out there, digging into the market, understanding what's going on, learning where there are needs, where there are problems, who might be hiring, which companies are growing. You have to have a good sense of what's going on in industry. Reading, studying, preparing is a very important part of the day.
Q: Everybody talks about networking. Sometimes, forgive me for saying this, it just seems like a lot of talk.
A: Let me be clear: When I say networking, I don't mean sitting around chit-chatting with some acquaintances or friends. I mean a very structured business meeting that has a purpose, with an agenda, with papers to look at and with specific desired outcomes.
Q: Papers? What papers would you bring?
A: I instruct my clients to bring three documents. One is called their one-page bio. That's literally a one-page overview of their professional background, written in paragraph form. It's more the kind of a thing you see on the back of a book where a novelist has a bio. It's a very soft-sell document. It doesn't look like a resume, because the resume screams, "I need a job."
Q: And the second document?
A: The second document they should bring is called the target list. This is a list of the industries and companies that the candidate is looking at, focusing on companies they'd most like to work for. And this is pre-researched, pre-prepared. This document really zeroes in and focuses the listener and the candidate on exactly the industries and the companies they're most interested in.
Q: You're looking for the person to help you with contacts and suggestions about those companies, right?
A: Right. The third document a person should bring is an agenda. It has maybe eight or ten bullets on it. It has the person's name at the top. It has the time frame. That shows that you're respecting the person's time. And it has the specific points you want to cover during that meeting. This shows the other person that you're serious, organized, disciplined, and that you know what you're doing.
Q: Did you ever get laid off?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Business
NEWS
Philly.com Promotions
