Apart from checking the local newspapers, browsing the Internet and keeping an eye on the bulletin boards for fresh job opportunities, effective networking or finding information about the latest vacancies from your warm contacts is also a very good job-seeking technique.
What is Networking?
In effective networking, you use your warm contacts to gain information about something or someone who can guide you. Your warm contacts are usually a mine of latest information about companies and vacant positions that you can’t find on job portals and employment sections. Even if they cannot give you any help with regard to specific jobs, they can at least refer you to people or companies who are in a better position to help you. This is what is commonly called effective networking.
Many people are not attracted to the concept of networking on the grounds that the information you get from people cannot really be relied on. Others are of the opinion that networking is even more difficult that just following the simple, straightforward leads in a newspaper, job portal, or bulletin board.
In reality, networking is quite easy. Meeting the right person will set you on the right track. Moreover, there is an added advantage–since your warm contacts are people belonging to the same profession as you, they are in a better position to provide you authentic information about unadvertised jobs and about their experiences of working in a particular company.
All of us network to a certain extent. Some of us are not aware that we are networking. The minute we spot an advertisement in the newspaper, we ask friends or relatives if they know someone who works in that company. Even if networking does not seem to be an attractive idea, it really helps a great deal when you are hunting for a job.
These are a few guidelines that can help you use networking effectively:
1. Assess Yourself
This is a step that should be followed before you call your warm contact. Your warm contact may want to know about your skills, abilities, expectations, career goals, experiences, interests, and so on. You should be absolutely clear with regard to these points and should also be able to communicate them clearly so that your warm contact gets the idea and will be in a position to assist you.
You can prepare a written script of what to say. In this way, you will be in a better position to communicate clearly with your warm contacts.
Expect your warm contact to ask you many questions about yourself and practise answering these questions, especially about your work history and your ability to function and grow in a particular company.
2. List Your Warm Contacts
Listing your warm contacts will help you select a few people whom you feel can best help you or might have authentic knowledge about the company and the job. These people could be colleagues, former employers, or those who are in the same profession as you. They can be relied upon to provide the authentic, latest information.
3. Talk to Your Warm Contacts
Tell your warm contacts that you are in need of a job, and ask them if they have heard of any vacancies in any company. It is advisable to communicate to them the exact nature of the job you are seeking.
Provide them your contact details so that they can inform you in case they come to know of something that might interest you. You should also give them a copy of your resume so that they can show it to the relevant people.
4. Request Your Warm Contact to Refer You to Someone
In case your warm contact can’t give you any information, ask him or her to refer you to one or two people who can assist and guide you. Request their contact details and also the time at which they might be available for a telephonic conversation.
5. Contact Referrals at Once
Don’t delay calling the people your warm contact has refered you to because he or she might have already contacted them and asked them to expect your call. It is always better to contact referrals some days after your conversation with your warm contact.
Introduce yourself to the referral and tell him or her who referred him or her to you and your relationship with that person. Be honest and straightforward when you request the information that you seek.
Effective networking is not really difficult. You may need some practise initially; but with time, you can get the most out of networking.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/networking-skills-5-ways-job-seekers-can-use-their-warm-contacts-702918.html