Networking - Quality vs. Quantity

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We just had over 70 people attend one of our job seekers' networking events during which I observed candidates “working the room”, but doing so with no real objective or purpose. Unfortunately, I see this happen more often than not and feel that it is representative of one of the biggest mistakes people make in regard to their networking activities; feeling compelled to meet everyone in the room/at the event.

This is not a good strategy for a number of reasons, but mainly because a candidate may meet “everyone”, but he/she comes away having a lot of conversations of little value. The main purpose of any networking event is to get to know a few other people well enough to have them consider referring the individual to a decision maker within a targeted employer. Or, at a minimum, to feel comfortable enough to agree to a one-on-one follow up meeting.

Thus, if you attend a networking event with 20 people or 70, set your sights on having quality conversations with 3 – 5 of the attendees. Then plan on meeting and having similar conversations at the next event with another three – five people. Now you are beginning to build a strong network of potential referral sources.

Ultimately, the goal of such conversations is to communicate your “story”, which is basically your value proposition (what value you would bring to a prospective employer). Networking is a powerful channel for communicating your personal brand, and the answer to that all-important question, “Why would a hiring manager look like a genius for bringing you into his or her team/organization?”

Networking is a basically a form of marketing. Marketers are paid to create demand for a product or service. They do this by pitching the benefits (value to the prospective client) rather than the features (e.g., “This vehicle is the only mini-van to have received the JD Power 5-Star Safety rating for five straight years” relates to a benefit for the consumer vs. “This vehicle has a CD player, Bluetooth, and aluminum wheels”, which are features).

Candidates need to create demand for their “product or service”, which is essentially the value/skills/talent they will bring to the team and communicate such in a powerful and effective manner that will engage the prospective employer or persons who will refer them to decision makers in targeted organizations.

Here are some tips on how to make your networking activities more meaningful:

Customize your “pitch”/value proposition to fit the specific needs of the targeted employer. Just like consumers, each employer has their own set of preferences/criteria for what is needed before a decision to purchase/hire is made. Good sales people ask a lot of questions of the prospective customer and develop their focused pitch based upon those answers. Candidates need to do extensive research on the prospective organization, hiring manager and persons with whom they will be networking so that their message is engaging and establishes them as uniquely qualified for the opportunity. Remember, you do not need to “be all things to all people”. What is very relevant to one hiring manager may be totally irrelevant to another looking to fill the same type of/titled position (VP’s in two different, competing companies can have significantly different perspectives on what an “ideal” Project Manager candidate looks like).

Be different, be smarter, and be better than the "other candidates in the room”. This is easy, right? No, but less difficult than you might think. Today’s technologies allow candidates unprecedented access to powerful communication channels such as social media, personal website/blog, ability to “blast” emails to specific databases or recipients, etc. Use of such technologies should be an essential part of your strategic networking strategy.

For example, no need to have hundreds or thousands of connections in LinkedIn – just those people with whom you are really going to network…people who can introduce/connect you to sought after decision makers. Likewise, no need to join dozens of LinkedIn groups for which you would not be posting discussions or commenting on the posted discussions of other members…just industry-related groups in which you can continue to expand your network and demonstrate your unique industry/product knowledge (publishing gives you instant credibility – especially if you post good, solid discussions/comments on a regular basis). LinkedIn allows members to post articles on their profile (published as part of what they call the “LinkedIn Pulse”), which is essentially a blog with a built-in readership (i.e., all of your connections are notified any time you publish a post). One of the great aspects of this is that your connections can easily share your post with others who may be outside the sphere of your network and may be seeking someone just like you to work for them! Yes, this is an investment of your time, but the ROI can be significant!

In networking, it is NOT “all about you”. You’ll find you have a much more willing/interested audience if you begin your discussion/make as the core topic of your blog, LinkedIn post or group discussion how YOU can help them. People pretty much always are more willing to listen to you if they feel you are more interested in them than yourself. Think about the advertising you see on a daily basis. Regardless of the product or service being sold, predominantly the communicated message is “we put the customer first” or “this is going to be great for you, because…”, which ultimately makes the reader/listener more receptive to the pitch. Effective networkers use the same approach. Think about it…when you first meet someone, do you really want to listen to him/her go on and on about themselves or ask about you?

I attended a baseball game a while back and noticed the person next to me kept getting up from his seat after each ½ inning and seemed to be throwing something. After a few innings of catching this out of the corner of my eye, I had to see what was actually going on. So, an inning ends and this guy stands up and tosses a bunch of paper over the railing that fell into the crowd in the section below us. I asked him what he was throwing and he told me, “my business cards”. I asked him why and he replied, “I’m networking” (I’m not making this up!).

This “salesman” seemed to feel that if he threw enough business cards into the stands, some great prospect would call him. I advised him that he was more likely to receive a call from someone’s attorney – for hitting them in the eye with one of his tossed cards – than he was to get a call from a prospective client (I don’t think he believed me). Would you consider doing business with or hiring someone who threw his/her business card into your $9 beer or nachos at a sporting event?

So, work on your message and be willing to put in the time necessary to customize it to respective audiences. Your ultimate networking success will not come from shaking every hand in the room, telling someone at a networking event about everything you’ve ever accomplished or throwing business cards into an unsuspecting crowd, but communicating a well-crafted, focused value statement that positions you as a potential ideal candidate.