5 Tips for Proactive Networking
Five Tips to Proactive Networking
The 2010 Executive marketplace is at last showing real signs of expansion, but as everyone is painfully aware, the search can still be agonizingly slow. Here are some tips to improve your networking and your results:
- Build a list of from 10 to 50 companies you have identified as a good match for your professional value. Make sure these companies are a good fit for your functional expertise and your personal and professional brand, as well as a cultural fit and a fit with organizational structure.
- Do your homework. Make sure you have a solid understanding of the company’s objectives and their problems. Discover who within the organization has the authority to hire you for the position in which you are interested, even if they don’t have an opening posted. There are any number of groups you can use to identify stakeholders, including friends, family, alumni, and professional contacts.
- Develop targeted solutions for each candidate company. Look at the organizational challenges and provide two to five solutions as to how you would address them.
- Earn the access to the hiring authorities. It’s often easier to find phone numbers than e-mail addresses. Make a call. It’s best to call around 9:00 a.m., around noon, or after 5:00 p.m. when the gatekeepers are gone. This approach is more proactive than e-mail and gives you an opportunity to present your value proposition directly.
- Once you have access, demonstrate your value by providing specific information. Also be sure to listen!
Questions? Call me, 800-876-5506.
