Everyone has heard about the power of connections and how important they are to your career. The more connections you have the more likely you are to land a great job. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70 percent of all jobs are found through networking, yet the majority of people tend to spend their time searching in areas that only yield a fraction of return (5-10 percent) on their efforts.
Learning how to build connections and expand your networking activities throughout your career is the most effective way to uncover opportunities, yet networking can be a misunderstood term. The definition of networking is often associated with working a room full of strangers trying to connect with people for your own gain.
Let’s face it: At some point in your career you probably have encountered networkers who seem so insincere that the thought of using their strategy to meet people would be your last choice.
One job seeker described an incident that made a negative impression on them and affected their networking activities for years.
They recalled a networking event where a group of professionals were discussing industry trends and were suddenly interrupted by a networker who handed each person their business card asking if they knew of any job openings.
Unfortunately the networking encounter felt more like an abrupt attack rather than engaging in a relationship-building discussion. The networker who left will not be remembered for his value to the group, but rather his harsh approach.
The true definition of networking has nothing to do with asking for a job and everything to do with building relationships, inquiring about information and being a source of value to the other person. Networking is genuinely being interested in people and wanting to talk to them with the goal of exchanging information — a give-and-take approach.
Fortunately, other people felt the same way and after the attacks on 9/11 Scott Heiferman decided to do something about bringing people together, forming a sense of community. Meetup was founded by Heiferman in 2002 to help people feel connected to a community, which can be especially challenging in large cities where it is easy to get lost in the crowd.
Heiferman’s idea to create an avenue where people could meet others who shared their interests has taken off and currently there are an estimated 22 million Meetup members in 182 countries with 206,595 groups. The mission behind Meetup is to revitalize local communities and help people around the world self-organize.
In cities such as Houston and San Francisco, Meetups are catered toward people looking to networking and increase their job-search skills.
Building relationships is easier when you share a common interest, however to be most effective in your job search you need to continually meet new people beyond those you already know. Consider adding a Meetup group to your networking activities. If meeting people seems too overwhelming for you start out slow and take a friend along for support.
Here are some do’s and don’ts when building connections:
• Don’t ask new contacts for a job. If you do, chances are your conversations will be short ones. When people are asked for job leads before rapport is built, the conversation stops cold because you put them in an awkward situation.
• Do tell people that you are currently looking for work, but you do not expect them to have a job for you. Being offensive rather than defensive quickly takes away the pressure others feel when asked for a job. People are 10 times more willing to help when you take away the expectation from them.
• Do ask for ideas, brainstorming different options, names of their contacts that could be helpful to you.
• Don’t assume networking is for extroverted people only, as a good portion of the groups will be introverted as well.
• Don’t ramble with your thoughts. Have a clear introduction to those you meet. Practice your introduction where it becomes natural, not rehearsed.
• Do follow up with those you meet. One of the greatest mistakes is making good contacts and letting them go because you failed to follow up.
Meetup groups are wonderful ways to connect with like-minded people and build relationships. All it takes is the first step; the rest is great networking.
Have you attended a Meetup group? How would you describe your experience?
