We held our fifth webinar of the year last week concluding our three month suite of webinars on topics around job searching. Our longtime collaborator and career coach Julie Jansen led the session once again and covered the basics of networking, why it's important and how to effectively network. We often hear from people who hate networking and feel uncomfortable at the idea of it. Julie laid out five sources of networking which may help you get started.
1. Your Personal & Professional Network
This can be anyone that you've met in either your personal or professional life. Your friends, family, former colleagues, classmates, professors. It can even be someone from a workout class you take or your dentist. The idea here is to think big and not limit yourself to just people you know in a professional setting.
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn continues to be a key tool for many in the job search process. You can use it to keep up with your personal/professional network by commenting on posts, congratulating people on promotions or milestones and sharing updates yourself. You can also use it to connect with people to request informational interviews about a company you might want to work for, or a career path you might see yourself in.
3. Influential People
These would be people whose jobs involve networking all the time such as the heads of trade organizations, government appointees, business consultants, fundraising professionals. These people are usually much more open to meeting new people as they too need to network to expand their business. It can never hurt to request 15 minutes of someone's time to pick their brain. The worst thing that might happen is they say no and you go about your day.
4. Trade Associations & Organizations
Chances are no matter what industry you are in, there is a trade association or organization for your industry. These groups often hold events or networking opportunities where you can meet other people working in the same business as you. Julie even talked about going to events for other industries because you never know who you might meet.
5. Recruiters and Search Firms
Recruiters spend a huge portion of their time networking and searching for ideal candidates for positions they need to fill. Talk to your friends and former colleagues to see if they can put you in touch with any recruiters, or go on LinkedIn and see if you can introduce yourself to someone recruiting for your industry. Likewise, if a recruiter reaches out to you and you're happy at your current job, see if you can recommend someone to them to make the networking process reciprocal. Doing them a favor might help you out down the line when you may be looking for a new role.
To watch the full presentation, click here. We hope you'll join us for our next webinar on Wednesday, June 5th at 6pm ET for Balancing Work & Nutrition. For more job search resources, check out: