You Don’t Suck @ Networking

It just feels like that today.

This is a message to my friends who spend all day every day networking: Just stop.

Powerful recruiters and experienced job seekers know how to push forward, to keep getting the message out, to make that next connect. You know how to network. You’re glued to your laptop. You’re combing LinkedIn. You’ve got inmails and messaging and feeds and matches all going at once. You’re #onfire. You’re making. it. happen.

Until you’re not. Some days, all that hard work just doesn’t seem to result in the connections you really need.

What if you stopped shouting, just for a minute? What if you walked away, found yourself a salad, or a big juicy burger or something, and got quiet, just for a minute? Ask yourself, Where in my network is that friend who knows someone? Who in my network is even better connected than me? Who can I text right now, today, who is in a position to help me?

…Who do I know? And how long has it been since we actually talked live?

A while back, I met a high-energy headhunter who bragged that he never calls more than three people when he’s trying to fill a position. Let’s think about that. He has a lucrative position to fill, and within 3 tries, he has a candidate. Sounds aggressive, but maybe it’s not. If you spend a fair amount of most days talking to 3 people, you’re going to get to know a a lot of people really well. You’ll know what they do, how they tick, and who they know.

You’ll get to understand their wheelhouse, and they will get to know yours.

I know, I know, building that kind of network takes time. You have time. You do. And you have all the technology you need.

Who do you kind of know, that you’d like to know better?

Who might benefit from networking with you?

Now, finish up that juicy burger or salad and contact three people. Try to get them on the phone or get coffee on the calendar so you can talk in person. The point is to be thoughtful and then to actually, truly connect.

You just might be surprised at how taking a minute to rest and rethink makes networking work a lot better.