McGee Communications

Articles and Best Practices

Casting the net

Take the red pill.

In fact, take it now before you really need it. That’s the lesson I’ve learned
about networking.

In The Matrix, our hero is given a choice: take a blue pill and continue on with
his life or take the red pill and see life as it really is. Of course, he takes the
red pill (wouldn’t be much of a movie if he didn’t), the veil is lifted and he
becomes aware of things that were always there but never seen.

Lately I’ve begun to build on my own network of friends and professional
colleagues, coaxing it to take form, and develop. Actually, I'm helping it grow.
The network was always there; I just never saw it. Then I took the red pill.
Then I took the red pill.

It was April 2006 when I was first asked to join a friend’s network through
LinkedIn. Sounded like fun and a good way to stay in touch with people. But
I rarely looked at it. The next request came in October 2007. I was flattered
someone would ask me to join a network and, yeah, I felt hip.

But it wasn’t until this past February that I began to build my network in
earnest. I had to; my role had been eliminated and along with so many others
folks I was in the market for a new position.

As so many will attest, you’ve got to get out and network. This may seem
rather obvious but it isn’t something all of us do when we’re employed. Of
course, some roles – from sales to marketing to politics – require networking
and maintaining relationships to achieve their goals. Networking within the
organization was key to my last role.

Many job descriptions, however, do not ask you to stay in touch with people
who don’t directly affect you or your work.

Because so many people are new to this networking gig, it seemed like a good
idea to ask some friends from my network what they have learned along the
way. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it is road tested:

Get out of the house – My friend Buzz put it as a simple, Nike-esque
rule: “You just gotta be out there! Go out and go to things anytime you
can.”

It’s okay, everybody’s doing it. And by “it,” I mean looking

for work.

Here’s the yin and the yang of it: We all know

that this isn’t the best

time in the history of humankind to

be looking for work. On the other

hand, the stigma of

being out of work isn’t what it used to be, not when

many people are in the same position. There’s no shame in

being

unemployed but somehow it seems a little easier to

say “I’m in

transition” when the headlines are always talking

about yet another

round of lay offs. Just ask all of those

former headline writers.

Don’t be so shy – Of course, once you’re out of the house you’ve got
to meet people. “People want to help,” as my friend Katherine put it, but
don’t make it difficult for them. Give them your personal marketing plan
or your newly updated resume to review. Suggest meeting for coffee so
there’s an understanding that the meeting doesn’t have to last for
hours. (And note that just because you say “Let’s meet for coffee”
doesn’t mean you need to drink coffee at every meeting – especially if
you have several lined up in one day. Trust me on this one.)

Job seekers and their friends might want to read

this article

from

The

New York Time

that provides some suggestions

for how to give and

receive help. “The most important

corollary to this rule,” Katherine

points out, “is to thank

people for their time and respect their

schedules.”

Be prepared – It’s not just for Boy Scouts anymore. “Never show up
unprepared even for a quick networking meeting,” said Katherine. “You
have to do your research in advance, or you waste people’s time.” This
means knowing about your contact’s business and providing something
for them to use (which can be as simple as meaningful article referrals,
for example, suggests Leslie).

Back to basics – It’s all about the prompt follow-up and the
personalized, hand-written thank you notes. Making sure to write down
unique reminder information on business cards. (“No,” says Leslie, “you
won’t remember who all those folks are when you’re sitting in front of
your computer doing the follow-up.”)

Don’t just do something, stand there – “A lot of people don’t know
how to listen,” says Buzz. It’s not that you just sit back and watch the
show. “If you ask somebody for help, shut up and listen! Don’t ask for
advice and then overwhelm someone with your expertise!”

Here’s a surprise: You’ve already started. As I mentioned earlier, my network
was always there. Sure, it was a little fallow and needed some tending and
weeding. But at the risk of taking this gardening metaphor too far, let’s just
say you’ve bought the land already; employed or not, you need to start tilling
the soil.

At a meeting of job seekers I attended, one participant put the benefits of
networking this way: “I’ve lived in Chicago for 20 years. Now it seems like a
small town.”

Take the red pill.