by Kevin Foley » Fri Feb 25, 2005 6:26 pm
?Most people offer little, but ask for a lot in cold calls?but why do we hate spam and telemarketers so much??
As a hiring manager, I can really relate to that comment, John!
We?ve all heard the old adage about real estate and location. Likewise, when you are hunting for a job, there are only three things that you need to worry about:
1) networking
2) networking
3) networking
Despite this fact, for some reason, we seem to spend a lot of time on this forum talking about interview clothes, CV formats, headhunters, or whatever. Obviously this is because networking requires most people to move outside their comfort zones. It?s damn hard work!
But if you really want to find a great job in industry, you need to drop everything else and spend 100% of your time networking. [I would say 90%, but as this forum illustrates, that 10% inevitably grows into 90%! Hell, you can blow 90% of your time between Monster and talking to headhunters, thinking you are working really hard, and never find a job.]
But there is much more to networking than just talking to people.
The one thing most job hunters forget, is to place themselves in the shoes of the people they are trying to networking with. Ask yourself the question: ?What?s in it for them??
Say I publish a paper and someone calls me up on the phone to chat about it. Are they someone famous? No. Are they one of my competitors? No. Do they want to collaborate? No. Do they have a great idea for me to try? No. Did one of my friends suggest they talk to me? No. Well then, why are they calling me??? It doesn?t take more than 15 seconds to figure out they are ?networking.? But they completely forgot to think about it from my perspective. Why should I spend my valuable time talking to you about my work or my company, when all you are really doing is making small talk before broaching the subject of a job?
The answer is that I?d be stupid to waste my time talking to you.
The single thing to remember when networking is that you need to convince the other person that talking to you, and ultimately hiring you, is in his or her own best interests. What can you do for that person or company that they really need?
Let me repeat that question: What can you do for that person or company that they really need?
If you can?t answer that question convincingly, you are just wasting their time, and ultimately your own.
Cheers,
Kevin