Networking Leads from Unexpected Places

A female acquaintance of mine recently called me after having her job eliminated. She had been with her organization for over ten years and had not looked for a job in that period of time. With an eclectic background, this individual, whom I will call "Amy" was at a loss as to where to begin.

When she asked my advice, I told her to begin talking with everyone she knew. With formal business associates, invite them for coffee or just fill them in on the phone regarding your job search. Use your business contacts to build other business contacts. Follow up, follow up, and follow up. But it turns out that the most important advice I gave her was this, "you never know where a job will come from and you never know who will know of something... let everyone know you are looking and what you are looking for."

Amy took my advice to heart. In a casual conversation at her daughter's softball game she mentioned her recent job elimination to the catcher's mother. That conversation led to another which ultimately led to a newly created position in a very well established company and the next logical step in her career path.

Amy's story happens every day. It happens for those who learn to embrace their career, their business or their hobbies not in isolation, but as experiences to share with others. Women are good at sharing. We are known for our ability to share information, ideas, caring and support to others. Unfortunately, the flip side of this is that many of us are uncomfortable "taking". Too often we feel like we asking for a favor, putting someone out or maybe wasting their valuable time with our issues. Nothing could be further from the truth. In actual fact, when we share information with even casual acquaintances, there if often a benefit that accrues to the recipient of that information.

An excellent illustration of this occurred to "Mary". Mary is a management consultant. She works with small to mid-sized organizations that are going through major change initiatives, helping management smooth the way for successful implementation. "Susan", the wife of Mary's landscape designer is the director of development for a local charity. The charity has doubled in size over the last three years, is growing out of its current space and is beginning to implement a new information technology system. Susan knew they needed help... otherwise there was a risk of poor performance and corresponding decline in donations. Her husband mentioned that he thought Mary helped companies with "management change stuff" based on some casual conversations he'd had with Mary while redesigning her back yard. Susan called Mary, Mary met with the organization and was ultimately retained to organize and facilitate a change process that met with great acceptance by all affected parties.

Everyday there are opportunities to "network" to get your story out there. Whether you are looking for that next step in your career, building a business, leading a charitable effort or trying to find a really good housekeeper, casual conversations can often lead to the solution you are looking for.

One of my favorite networking stories is of a young woman, fresh out of law school who desperately wanted to pursue a career in Human Resources. Interview after interview, she was told that she was "over qualified" and at the same time, she did not have enough experience. She shared her frustration with her father, the consummate networker, who mentioned her situation casually to an acquaintance at a Rotary Club meeting. Had she known her father was so casually sharing her plight she would have been mortified. As fate (and the power of networking) would have it, she happened to apply for a Human Resources position at a local department store (for which she did not have enough experience). To her delight, she was called in for an interview and ultimately landed, not that position but another, more suited to her "fresh out of school" status.

Why was she selected for an interview? Because her father's Rotary acquaintance saw her application and thought she should have the opportunity to talk to the company. This was the break I needed to begin what became an extremely gratifying career.

Thanks Dad, for teaching me the true value of networking.

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