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When Your Network Speaks, Does Opportunity Listen?

January 16, 2009 | Author: Promise Phelon | Filed under: The Networking Habit

by Promise Phelon

Our study on the habits of elite networkers has struck a chord: bloggers, graduate schools, career coaches, recruiters and job-seekers are telling us that they’re finding it newsworthy and useful. A big thanks to everyone who has blogged, commented or contacted us about it!

It’s exciting to be sharing the report, which was so important to us and our partner, Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.

I’ve watched the online dialogue about the study. There is fascination about the fact that elite networkers see measurable results in their earnings. One of the other key points is that most of the professionals we surveyed recognize that the size of a network is not the main factor in determining value. They’re absolutely right!

But, do we know how to apply that belief in practise?

Let me ask you three questions:

  • Do you accept connections simply because they’re requested?
  • Do you know how to tell someone that you’re not comfortable referring them to a manager, a peer or someone senior in your network?
  • Do you know how to determine whether someone in your network is an effective “reference” for your next opportunity?

In a down economy, hiring managers, companies and investors are ALL risk-averse. They want proven or low-risk opportunities. Secondly, getting better opportunities depends on the willingness of our network to advocate for us. There may not be a lot of money changing hands these days, but the currency of trust is in high demand.

So, back to the “quality vs. quantity” question: The larger your network, the more challenging it is to create powerful advocates. If you spend four hours a week actively networking, that’s a few hundred hours a year. If you have 500 people in your network, you’re left with just a few minutes to understand, be understood and make a lasting impression.

Here’s why that’s an issue:

1. People outside, and inside, our networks assume that if someone is a connection, they are close. So, who in your network is speaking for you and shouldn’t be? Recently, I was looking for a community manager and I found six people in my network who “knew” community managers. I approached each person and, in 5 out of 6 cases, they were acquaintances. Either they were not close enough to give a reference or they knew the person from a “past life”. These were net-neutral connections and didn’t encourage me to learn more about the potential candidate. If your network is weak and dated, opportunities will never reach you.

2. People who don’t know you will not offer opportunities that are well-suited to you. How much time do you waste getting weak introductions or late responses to your communiqués? Your network’s value should be measured in its ability to help you find, deliver and close opportunities. If your network has dated or inappropriate information, how will it bring you what you want? Strong ties — mutually beneficial and “referrable” relationships — will bring those bang-on opportunities. The opportunity holders in your network will be happy to help you because they know you will reciprocate.

3. Emphasizing network size doesn’t leave time for you to focus on the 10 to 20 percent of your network that will help you reach your career goal. When I was raising money for UpMo.com, I followed the model of one of my colleagues who found all of his investors through his small and rather new network. His credentials didn’t stand alone, so he worked his network — regular meetings, inter-network connections, and constantly educating his fellow travelers on what he could do. Without any cold calls or blind intros, he secured about $250,000 for his startup. What is your next career step? Who are the 10 or 12 people who understand, have insight into or connections in that space? How much time are you investing in those relationships?

So, as you’re evolving your relationships toward your next career goals, know that there is power in focus and tightening certain ties while allowing others to be secondary. Without that in-person focus, mutually-beneficial relationships don’t happen. The risk is that your network is less qualified to represent or help you.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 and is filed under The Networking Habit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

xygoxen

3 people have left comments

Time to prune the old LinkedIn Network…

Neha wrote on January 23, 2009 - 4:15 pm | Visit Link

You’re absolutely right. It’s time to figure out what relationships are essential to your career goals, how to find and nurture them, and how to create mutual benefits.

promise phelon wrote on January 23, 2009 - 5:45 pm | Visit Link

Hmmm…this is thought provoking. I have previously expanded my network to many folks, potentially to meet others (even if everyone wasn’t a reference). Now I get what you are saying! I have been a LinkedIN user for ~6 years and you are right, there are a few key people that really assist in true upward mobility!

Reviewing this shows me the stats are really about 5% of my network?!

- sl

Sarah wrote on January 25, 2009 - 9:01 pm | Visit Link

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