Sometimes in networking, it is not cut and dry. Once in a while, you land what on paper looks like a dream contact. You are introduced to someone in your field they sit down and start telling you all the things they will do to help you! You can’t believe it! Unfortunately, those are rare and oddly enough in my experience end up not being that helpful because no relationship is formed. Around a year ago I was really interested in a certain type of government work that was related to my experiences but much more focused. Naturally, this was going to be difficult since I was looking for a small pool of people in which to connect. Finally, after several months I was able to network my way into a coffee with Sally, a young woman in this field, who would have amazing insight. She offered some good advice and to introduce me to someone she knew. After the meeting I quickly sent a thank you email to her and followed up about the introduction. I was very confused when she connected me with an older gentleman who had worked on Capitol Hill over a decade ago and had been in scientific research ever since.
To this day I am not sure why on earth she thought I should meet with him since I have no interest in working on Capitol Hill and scientific research is nowhere close to my career field. The young me would have dismissed this entire introduction but practicing the steadfast spirit I knew better. I
spoke with him, asked questions, wrote a thank you note, and even followed up with him a few weeks later. I jumped through these hoops because I knew for some reason Sally thought I should meet him and the very least it created a common contact between her and I. Now Sally can feel more comfortable introducing me to other, hopefully, more relevant, people because she knows I will not make her look bad.
Eric, a student I’ve been working with, recently had a dilemma where he made a great contact but she would only make recommendations about job sites or companies. This was a nice gesture but also something he could do using google. I encouraged him to stay positive and persistent with her. The key would be to look up all the sites and companies she recommended and give her feedback.
“Thanks for recommending indeed.com I went on and created a profile like you recommended. I also checked out company XYZ they look great! Do you know anyone who works there? I’d love to connect with someone to learn more.” When you follow people’s guidance, it can make it easier to make ‘an ask’ down the road.
A lot of people will not just introduce someone they do not know to their contacts so your goal is to become someone they DO know. Always track the advice people give you and give them an update, it is a great way to stay in touch.
Let’s say this contact doesn’t know anyone at XYZ Eric can stay in touch anyways and in a couple weeks he can reach out and say “hey I have not had any luck on indeed.com do you have any advice for making my profile look better? What worked well for you?” People love to know that their advice sunk in with someone and it makes them feel valued. Also by always relating it back to them (“what worked well for you”) they get to talk about themselves and feel more connected to you. This is one way to build the all important career investor!
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