Networking
Networking
Networking
Networking
You have 250 Facebook contacts and 300 linked-in contacts. Is that a great network? Well,
having the details of friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances can be useful (you never
know one of them could pass a job opportunity your way) but much more important is the
building up of networks with those that can positively influence your career both within your
organization and beyond it.
Internal network
It’s all very and well and good to have regular catch-ups with senior members of staff
dotted around the company. Indeed it’s great to hear and learn more about what’s going
on. However, for a relationship to become stronger, more fruitful and easier to maintain
there are certain aspects of the relationship which you should focus your attention on:
• Is it a symbiotic relationship? Are you simply obtaining a down-load of information
from your colleague or are you ensuring that the catch-ups you have are beneficial
to them as well? If relationships appear to die, and the other party does not appear
to make an effort to propose or find time for the two of you to meet, it’s unlikely to
be a personal issue but may reflect the fact that the meeting is not perceived as
added value by the other party. However, if you wish to continue the relationship,
as it is as added value from your career advancement point of view, consider the
following:
o Prepare an agenda before each time you meet (even if you are meeting
informally over a coffee). You don’t have to send through the agenda in
advance but rather make sure that there are items listed on it which will be of
interest to the other party.
o Think about the frequency of your catch-ups. If you meet up very regularly
you may run out of interesting things to say and debate. Make the meetings
less frequent but more powerful.
o Follow-up on action points raised by your contact. If they see you as
someone who can get things done they’ll be more willing to meet up again.
But there is a balance. Don’t become a gofer; that is where you end up with
a list of action points after each meeting that suits their agenda but adds little
to yours. The relationship should be balanced.
o Follow up and thank them for their time setting out why the catch-up was
useful and what issues, ideas or points you are going to take on, along with
what you believe they have agreed to think through or act upon.
Water cooler moments. I’ve placed this under the section ‘Internal Networks’ but
water cooler moments in reality serve a number of uses (beyond getting refreshed).
But let’s deal with the networking issue. When you are grabbing that glass of water
of coffee and there is someone else there (who you don’t directly work with) make
the most of the opportunity by asking them what they do (if you don’t know), what
major initiatives their department is up to and think through what else from a
business perspective they can impart to you. Most people enjoy being asked about
the job they perform and are flattered to be asked about it in more detail. This is of course a fairly quick conversation (don’t time steal) but it’s extremely simple to learn
one or two important facts or facets which you can bring back to your team, peers or
manager. Of course, one should avoid rumor and gossip and as such discussion
should be mature and focus on learning about their operation and thinking through
how your department could help them in some way, if that is relevant, or allow you
to better understand the inter-relationship between your two departments. Having
‘fun’ Water Cooler moments remains essential in my mind (don’t become a bore) but
do use these short passages of time to help you add value to the business and
potentially impress those around you. By showing interest in their work they form a
more favorable impression of you, your team and your boss.
External network
The importance of an external network, and indeed its size and content, clearly depends
upon how far up the career ladder you are. The more senior you are, the more important
such networks often become (but this is certainly not always the case). However, there are
some distinct benefits of having a well structured and effective external network. These are
as follows:
• New job opportunities. One of your contacts may be able to help you out with
finding a new job opportunity if that proves necessary or desirable. In fact, with a
wide network, or at least one where you have stayed in contact with colleagues from
prior employments, you may well benefit from the occasional cold-call (or email)
asking whether you would consider jumping ship to join them. For this to take place
they would either be keen to have you on board as they value you skills and
experience or they get some kick-back from their recruitment department for
introducing new staff given that no agency fees apply. Believe me when I say that
the latter can be a very strong factor for someone contacting you. But remember
that it is almost certain that you will still have to go through the standard
recruitment process so don’t count your chickens before they hatch (if you chose to
go for the job) and certainly don’t resign until you have a written job offer.
• Job references. Staying in touch with your previous managers is certainly a smart
thing to do as they may well be involved with one of your future jobs. On a number
of occasions my former boss has been asked to provide a reference to my potential
new employer. Many companies now only provide standard responses to reference
requests but I assure you that verbal conversations could take place in the
background or other communications could be made in the implied form which could
affect your chances of grabbing that new role. The golden rule is to ensure that you
don’t burn your bridges.
• Sharing ideas. If you have kept in touch with colleagues that have had similar
roles to you in the past then you should be able to benefit from the sharing of ideas
and technical updates (not to the extent that you breach any of your company’s
policies!). In reality, some (particularly) senior people may rely more on a trusted
ex-colleague than a professional or trade body or other type of network. So, for
instance, if you had a really great boss make sure you keep in touch when you leave.
If you valued your staff and trust their judgment then that’s a really good reason for
staying in touch too.
• Business opportunities. Another great reason for building a solid network and
staying in touch with former colleagues and contacts is that they may be more
willing to work with you on future projects or tenders (as a partner) or more likely to take you on as a vendor. I’ve certainly brought on vendors from previous companies
I have worked with; focusing on those that provided great levels of service and
demonstrated value for money. You may be tempted to get into bed with a substandard or average vendor because they are a former colleague or contact (and/or
perhaps a friend). Clearly, this isn’t something I would recommend. If you are
going to engage with a company that you have used in the past make sure that any
contract arrangements are at arm’s length and that you can demonstrate that there
is commercial advantage to your business.
• Perks. This certainly should not be a prime reason for staying in touch with
someone, but you may find that a fringe benefit of a strong working relationship is
the existence of certain perks and benefits. Where possible make sure that this is a
two-way process. Perhaps one has a holiday cottage that they are happy for you to
use or you can offer some advice for a charity that they are involved with. Mutual
benefits could also include sharing investment advice and tips (but not insider
trading!), recommending places to travel etc. Sure, you have you own friends and
family, but a good network (perhaps without the emotional ties) can sometimes offer
you something a little different.
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