by Jason AlbaCareer Transition Editor
We went through LinkedIn, and I showed him how to find the right contacts to talk to. We did searches by industry, company, job title, geography, and even Groups. He had already done some searches on his own and found a few people he wanted to talk to. In just a few minutes we easily found a dozen people that could prove to be valuable in his job search.
Then we spent some time on JibberJobber.com (the site I run), and I showed him what a job seeker does with JibberJobber. This is where he would keep track of jobs he applied to, companies he is networking into, network contacts he is nurturing relationships with, which version of his resume he uses to apply to which job, etc. It was obviously a good tool for him at this point in his job search, especially as he was about to start networking more aggressively.
After spending about 45 minutes on technology, he asked "so what do I say to these people? Do I just go up to them and say 'hi'?"
I think this is really the hardest thing to overcome, and once we figure it out, the key to really growing our network and nurturing relationships.
Does a job seeker say, "hey, can we have lunch? I heard there were some openings in your company and I'd like to learn more about them?"
Should a job seeker say, "I'm going to interview at your company next week and I really need some more information. Can I schedule an informational interview with you?"
Should a job seeker say, "I'm in transition and would like to pick your brain - do you have a few minutes?I think any of these could be okay. Not great, not spectacular, not exceptional, just okay.
This is going to sound very basic, even silly, but the first thing to say might just be "hi." That's it. Sometimes just a "hi" will do, and the conversation can go from there. Here are two tips for what comes after "hi":
- Ask the person about themself. This isn't a time for 20 questions, but it is a time to see where you have things in common. It's okay to dig deeper on some questions where you really have interest, with something like "oh yeah? That's really cool, tell me about that!"
- Ask the person why they are at the event. Not a "so, do you come here often?" Perhaps something like "so, are you a member of XYZ association," or "do you work with marketers," or something like that.
If you need more help with how to network, or what to say, check out Some Assembly Required by Thom Singer. It's a great book with a lot of advice for business/professional networking.
Aside from what YOU should ask, you need to be ready to say something back, if they ask about you. I'll guess more than half of all first impressions are tarnished because someone wasn't prepared to answer "tell me about yourself." I've heard some that are too unpolished, talking about all kinds of hobby or personal things, and some responses that are too scripted... which isn't bad but they just don't sound natural.
Your target is to create a compelling statement that is around 30 to 60 second that gets across the main thing(s) you want the other person to know, and leave some room for THEM to ask YOU for more information. You can google "30 second commercial" and find a lot of opinions on how to create an effective pitch.
You have to know what you want, who you want to meet, and what you are going to say if they want to know about you. But first, you just have to get to that point where you say "hi," which for some of us might be the hardest step of all.
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Jason Alba is the CEO and creator of JibberJobber.com, and author of “I’m on LinkedIn – Now What???” After a corporate downsizing impacted Jason in 2006, he experienced firsthand the difficulties of conducting a job search. Drawing on his extensive computer software and IT experience, Jason analyzed the job search process and developed JibberJobber.com, the gold standard in career management technology.
Widely acknowledged as a leading career management evangelist, Jason continues to spread the word to job seekers through his blog, JibberJobber.com/blog. He is co-author of “I’m on Facebook – Now What???”and offers tutorials on how to fulfill the role of being CEO of You, Inc.
Jason Alba is:CEO of JibberJobber.com Author of I’m on LinkedIn – Now What??? Co-author of I’m on Facebook – Now What??? Founder of CEO Training for Me Inc.
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