Networking is a sure shot way to find a dream job, however, the art of networking is not everyone’s cup of tea and many do it incorrectly. I am sharing here a real-time experience of a functional head (Gayle Rigione) and am sharing it written from her angle:
“Ginny emailed me a week ago. Her subject line was, “I think I love cupcakes more than you.” She got five points in my book right off the bat. See, on my blog’s “About” page, I talk about my cupcake addiction. So she clearly knew who I was and had read my blog, wrote a personal email to me (she didn’t copy and paste), and added a fun touch instead of trying too hard to be overly professional.
Ginny said that she, too, was an American who had recently moved to New Zealand and was trying to getting into digital marketing/social media. She knew I was busy, but would I horribly mind meeting up to tell her a bit about my job and what I do?
Her email was short. Just four or five sentences. Another five bonus points.
Because her email was so charming, I said yes. Plus, it’s rare you meet other Americans in New Zealand, so it was really a treat for me!
She got another five points by being flexible with her schedule. I said I was busy and could only meet Friday afternoon. I chose a cafe right next door to my office and she didn’t complain about having to come to me. Instead, she researched the location, arrived early and offered to buy my coffee.
Then, she simply blew me away with her charm. She asked questions, talked about her experience and I told her a bit about my day-to-day activities. She was a professional without being stuffy and was clearly looking for a job, but never shoved her resume in my face or demanded an interview. She was clearly and genuinely interested with my industry, career and listened to what I had to say. Add five points.
She didn’t keep me for more than an hour. She respected my time. THEN, she ended by giving me a little gift. She brought me a cute notebook with a cupcake on the cover. Plus, one million points.
The next day I woke up to an email from her thanking me for my time and TELLING ME EXACTLY HOW I HELPED. She puffed up my ego and made me feel good about myself without brown-nosing. “
Will Gayle forget Ginny if she ever comes across an opportunity for her, hell no, Ginny has obviously impressed and caught the attention of the person she wanted to network with for the dream job.
I agree with Gayle when she says that more often than not, people network like this:
Cold emails that get sent to anyone and everyone, that I am looking for a job, I personally get tons of these.
Generally, people expecting others to have hours of time to devote to help someone they’ve never even met.
Pushing through their resume before you even get to know them or have a decent conversation.
Forget to personalise the experience and be blatant outright that they need help.
What kind of networker are you? Be like Ginny, you’ll be just fine and hit the bulls-eye whether it’s an email you are writing to a functional head or a recruiter or a message to connect on LinkedIn, showing that you are clearly and genuinely interested with their industry, career, and listening to what they have to say, shows your genuineness and that you are not darting in the dark.
✍️ Connect with me to get your Résumé, Cover Letter and LinkedIn professionally made and/or avail career coaching.