USING YOUR NETWORK

YOUR NETWORK OF CONTACTS CAN BE AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE WHEN YOU ARE JOB SEARCHING OR PLANNING YOUR NEXT CAREER MOVE.

If you have a target industry in mind, break this down into a list of organisations.

• Prioritise the list into ‘primary targets’, ‘secondary targets’ and ‘the rest’
• Identify whether someone in your network works in your target organisations
• Research your contact and approach them for information on your target organisation and recommended contacts. If you are able to refer to your contact in the application letter it will add credibility to your approach

If you are not able to identify someone in your network who can help you then press articles, job appointments, company websites and speaker lists from industry conferences are good sources of contact information.

Approaching a recommended contact

The best way to approach a recommended contact for a meeting is via an email or letter that emphasises your experience:

• The first paragraph should introduce you and state the name of the person in your network who has provided the introduction
• The second paragraph should comment on issues that the organisation currently faces, which you have identified in your research
• The third paragraph should state how your past work experience could help them in connection with the issues they are facing. If you don’t have relevant past experience refer to your transferable skills
• The final paragraph should detail how you are going to follow up.

If they don’t have any vacancies, they might not see you. Only send your CV with this message if they have requested it. A CV can immediately highlight the fact that you are looking for a job.

Approaching a cold contact

When using the direct approach aim to target people two levels above the level you want to work at.

If in doubt write to the most senior person, as a letter or email that has been passed down from someone senior is more likely to be taken seriously.

When approaching a company directly if you have relevant experience include your CV. If your CV doesn’t support your case send a letter that sells your transferable skills and demonstrates how you can help them.

Follow up tips

Schedule a time to follow up your message with a phone call a week after it has been sent. Any earlier and you might look pushy, any later and they might have forgotten about you.

If you don’t get through to your contact leave a voicemail stating that you are following up  your message.

If you don’t hear back from them within a few days, call again, but don’t leave another voicemail. If you keep leaving messages you might be perceived as a nuisance.

If you struggle to get through to them try calling at different times of day. You may have more luck getting through, and if you have encountered an unhelpful secretary or PA, that person is less likely to be there.

Meeting tips

Research your contact and the organisation before the meeting so you can prepare some good questions and work out how to position yourself.

After the meeting send them a message to thank them for their time. Depending on the content of the meeting you might want to mention the issues you covered, write a short proposal or reiterate how you could assist them.

Keep in touch and send them any information that might help them. They will be more inclined to help you if you can add some value to them.

Need help creating your networking plan? Contact us