A New Model for Your Job Search – Part 4: Relationships
We have seen how by focusing on keeping yourself Resilient and by creating a Resume that markets your accomplishments, you are creating the conditions for achieving a successful Result in your job search. Today, we will look at another critical Re in the equation: Relationships.
Received wisdom tells us that the secret to finding your next job is through networking. Research has shown that over 70% of new jobs can be traced back to a personal connection playing some role. But not everyone is skilled at networking, and for many people, it has a slightly negative connotation of being manipulative or “using” people in some way. You don’t have to be a timid introvert to dread going to networking meetings where you know nobody, and are expected to fluently rattle off your elevator speech. And for many people, it feels comfortable to scan job boards safely in front of the computer, in preference to going out and talking to people.
Networking, when done clumsily, can be tacky. How many times have you received an invitation to befriend someone you have barely met? How comfortable are you cold calling people you don’t know? How often have you seen someone glance at your nametag and then shift their gaze over your shoulder for the next conquest? And how do you feel when someone you haven’t heard from for ages suddenly asks you to squander your social capital on them, or misuses your carefully nurtured network?
So I prefer to think of Relationship Building as the preferred skill set to master, not only during a job search, but as part of your overall career management. It is easier to do than “networking”, since it is an innate skill that we all have to some degree, and it may feel more authentic and agreeable, since it is built on the principle of mutuality. You will be most effective at helping others to help you, if you are:
- very specific with your requests (do you want an opinion, advice or an introduction for a particular purpose?)
- mindful of others’ time
- generous with your own contacts and skills
- realistic about your expectations
- interested in the other person and sufficiently likeable that they will be motivated to help you
- willing to stay in touch over time, and not just when you are in need
A common mistake people make is to categorize their relationships into “work” and “non-work” and forget to draw upon the people who know them best, when they are seeking work opportunities. How much more effectively will you be described or promoted to prospective employers by people who know you and have a relationship with you, as opposed to someone you have linked with cursorily or whose business card you have collected?
Your ability to build and nurture Relationships is key, not only to a successful job search, but also, in most cases, to workplace success.
Fredia Woolf, Principal of Woolf Consulting, is a leadership and change management consultant. Fredia works with clients to build their capacity to manage career and organizational transitions, and to accelerate the accomplishment of positive results. She dreams about organizations with wise leaders and engaged people having a positive impact on the world – and in the meantime, blogs about careers, leadership challenges and workplace survival strategies. She can be reached at fwoolf@woolfconsulting.com.
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Last updated on December 17th, 2009 at 08:52 am
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