The Three Types of People In Networking
Three Minute Read
Networking is Essential in Job Search
Anyone following me for some time knows how highly I value relationship-building during job search as an effective strategy for success. Call them networking meetings, informational interviews, or what I like to call curious conversations; all are part of establishing and strengthening personal connections.
Of course, you should be having these types of encounters whether or not you are searching for a job. But, unfortunately, many people only focus on this while in a job search. It has yet to become second nature in their daily lives.
The Three Types of People in Networking
Today's topic is the three personalities you'll come across in the process of networking. It's important to distinguish among those you hope will help you in your search since it impacts how you'll interact (or not.)
The person who says they want to help you and really does want to help. This type of person is job search gold! They are willing to invest time and social capital and help you with their wisdom and referrals. Those referrals may be to people who do what you'd like to do, work at companies you're interested in, or simply to other connector types who enjoy bringing people together.
They may work their magic in several ways: making email introductions, allowing you to use their name with people they suggest, or reaching out directly to people and mentioning you. All of these are terrific gestures. This type of person should be prized. You must ensure that you help improve their reputations, not damage them. Otherwise, they won't be making future referrals.
2. The person who says, matter of factly, that they can't help you. These people self-identify as non-networkers. For better or worse, they keep to themselves, do their jobs, and may live a pretty insular life. But, unfortunately, they are doing themselves a disservice. They may have gotten through life primarily on their technical skills. Or they may be retired and are disconnected from people in business. Whatever the reason, be thankful that they've chosen to let you know that your time is better spent elsewhere.
3. The person who SAYS they will help you but doesn't follow through. This is the most dangerous type of all. The best way to characterize them is someone who leads you on. They say they'll make introductions but don't. They are the most dangerous because you'll end up spending your time following up with them, but it will be fruitless. I always recommend a few tries to get someone to engage, so their inaction will have a compound effect on your productivity because you're going to try a few times before giving up.
TL;DR
Embrace people who say they want to help and DO help.
Don't waste your time on the people who say they won't be helpful.
Identify, as quickly as possible, the people who fall into the third, troublesome bucket of saying they'll help but don't follow through.
If you do this, you'll maximize the time spent in relationship-building during the search, and it will translate to more quality conversations.
Good luck in applying this principle, and I'm always interested in hearing how it works out for you. I reply to every email to neil@danzgergroup.com.
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