Networking Operator Error
By Kevin Donlin | July 3rd, 2008
I had to reply to this comment on an article I wrote for the Star Tribune on networking.
The comment was this:
Networking — Have tried it for 40 years and in that time only one success. Sounds great…works poorly
My reply (elongated here):
You say you’ve tried networking for 40 years and it works poorly. Question: If you brushed your teeth for 40 years and still got cavities, would you say tooth brushing worked poorly, or might there be a chance you were doing it wrong?
If you shifted your car into “P” on the highway, thinking it was Passing Gear, and the bottom dropped out of your transmission, would you say the car worked poorly, or could it be a case of operator error?
Most people love to blame outside events and circumstances for their setbacks. Childish people, that is.
Because saying that a proven idea like networking (or dental hygiene, or safe driving) doesn’t work, simply because it didn’t work for YOU, dooms you to a state of arrested development, where you will repeat your mistakes over and over.
What do you think? Am I right? Wrong?
Before you answer, below are some mini case studies of success. Which of these networking ideas could you use?
“A supervisor from a prior position heard through the grapevine I was looking and gave me me a call to discuss his opening. I initially turned him down, but he referred me to multiple opportunities at his clients - really great guy! When these referrals didn’t work out, we talked again about his opening and it was a fit for both of us.” — Jeni Dakin
“I was at an IT party when a friend of mine introduced me to a friend of his. His friend submitted my resume to the hiring manager, who I had indirectly worked with before. I did not even interview - the hiring manager is friends with a few managers I worked for previously. The hiring manager just said, ‘Do you want the job?’” — Rachel Bicknell
“I was attending a College club (Object Oriented Programming) and met my future boss there. He was giving a presentation, we talked after it, and he asked if I want to work with him. I wanted.” — Roland Hesz
“A co-worker with whom I’d stayed in close contact when she left our company called me to say there was an opening in her new company. She introduced me to the hiring manager.” — Tina McMechen
“I was at a trade show and saw MVCI had a booth, started a conversation with the woman asking her about the company etc, she referred me to the company website. I saw the company had openings and applied online. I got a reply within 24 hours. The rest took some time but was hired as a result.” — Sally Hirshfield
Do you have a networking success story to share?
Please add yours as a comment below. With your permission, I’ll interview you for my job-search column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune!
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