Inc. Magazine
Networking isn’t the magic fix many job seekers hope it is. While it’s often touted as the best route, it’s not always effective, especially when connections are fleeting or hard to work. It’s exhausting, awkward, and often feels like begging, making it a tough strategy, particularly after months of searching.
Stop Telling Job Seekers That Networking Will Get Them a Job
Author: Joe Procopio
“Yo. You need to stop telling me to network my way to a job.”
OK then.
That demand was huffed at me by “Tom,” a former colleague who was coming up on a full year of being out of work. And, I guess, he was tired of hearing that advice.
He immediately apologized. “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” he said. “It’s just that … my network sucks.”
I totally get that.
By the way, so does yours. Let’s talk about it.
I Truly Believe In Networking
I’ve preached the holy virtues of networking in several recent posts about the quagmire that is hiring these days. And I truly believe it. And I’m always doing it. I’m actually going to hit up my network as soon as I’m done writing this.
But just because networking is the best option doesn’t mean it’s a great option. And just telling someone that networking is the best option doesn’t fulfill the obligation of giving a job seeker good advice.
It’s like this. One of the things I always tell the startup founders I advise is that if they want to grow and succeed in a sustainable way, their highest priority is to go out and get their own customers.
This is the best option. It’s so much better than “build a brand” or “raise a bunch of money” or “go freemium” or “eat your own dog food” or whatever passing fad someone nodded their head at after watching Silicon Valley and The Social Network too close together.
But just saying that and then walking away, that’s even less useful than not saying it at all. And offering the job-seeker vague networking advice along the lines of “focus on your value” is actually insulting.
So yeah, go find people, meet people, bother people, get them to talk to you, get them to trust you, get them to… do what?
Your Network Doesn’t Suck, Or Does It?
Tom is in technology, and has been for his entire career.
Years and years ago, once Tom got too expensive and topped out on the opportunity ladder at “Senior Principal Lead Developer VIII” or whatever, Tom did what most coders do and embarked on his second technology career—that of manager, sales engineer, project/product lead, hot dog vendor—it doesn’t matter which one.
What matters is that Tom has a large network. His second technology career eventually earned him quite a collection of acquaintances at all kinds of companies across all kinds of industries. You want an intro to a decision maker at Microsoft, Salesforce, Harvard, Adobe, or Ford? Tom’s your guy.
So why does Tom’s network… suck?
Well, because he’s got it half right. Networks, despite conventional wisdom, are no more of a miracle cure for finding a job than making your resume “ATS-friendly.”
Tom’s network sucks for a number of reasons, most of which you probably didn’t know were universal to all networks.
Including probably yours.
Most People Don’t Have a Real Network
Thought experiment: Go ask everyone you know to give you $10,000.
How many of them would come through?
I can name four. Which is probably four more than most people. But I know where a lot of bodies are buried.
I’m kidding. I’m old and I have amazing friends.
I recently got into a… disagreement with a reader over the topic of networking. He said every job he’s ever gotten has been through networking. Me too, except my first. But we’re outliers.
Most people don’t collect connections and colleagues and acquaintances like trading cards. And when they do…
Most Networks Are Fleeting
The people I know who would give me $10,000 (and I’m assuming here, I’m pretty sure about two of them), are not the same people who could help me land a job that I would love and be good at. Or even one I could do.
Same thing with Tom.
We drilled down into his networking efforts and I believe they reflect most people’s networking efforts.
He reached out immediately after losing his job, first to his close friends and solid associates privately, then to everyone in his network individually, then to everyone in his reach publicly.
When you add up the time for responses, emails, phone calls, video meetings, coffees, beers, follow-ups, and wild goose chases, this took months. Just for the first wave.
And of course, while he was doing this, he was extending his network and adding new connections. He made connections with new people while searching for jobs, applying for jobs, intros to friends of friends of friends, and so on. It is exhausting and a year goes by quickly.
Oh, I’m like his wingman and have been for the entire year.
Do I suck? Sure feels like it.
The Opposite of the Snowball Effect
Maybe it’s a snowball rolling uphill. On a warm day.
Your network is going to be most effective immediately and then the signal decays quickly over time. Why? People get busy, fighting for their own career survival, especially when jobs are scarce. You are not the only one contacting them, asking them for help, asking them to “keep their ears open.”
And let’s face it, over your entire career, how many times have you heard, “Hey, Bob, I’ve got this great job opening that I just can’t seem to fill. Have you talked to anyone in the last few days that you would guarantee to be absolutely perfect for it? Even if I only have 30 seconds to tell you who I need and what I’m offering?”
I just convinced you, right?
I haven’t even got to the hardest part yet.
Most Job Seekers Recoil at “Working Their Network”
You can’t just have a network, you’ve got to work it.
This means bugging them, even when you’re sure they’re tired of hearing from you. This means coming up with new excuses to reach out and new small talk to make the conversation not feel so transactional, because you’d hate it if they thought that. This means asking for favors, being a burden, and awkward moments.
It sucks. People in sales are great at this, some of them anyway. Everyone else is terrible at it. Including Tom. Including me.
Because when you tell someone to network, you know what you’re really telling them?
Go beg your friends for help.
I know. This isn’t what you’re saying. This isn’t what networking really is. And when you have a job and you want a new job, networking can be fun. When you first find yourself without a job but with some wind in your sails, networking makes sense.
But when you’ve been out of work for more than a few months, you snap at your friend when he suggests you try it again.
I’ll keep digging into the hiring quagmire and other issues in the tech industry and the future of work. Now would be a good time to join my email list and get a heads up when I’m published.
Credits: TCA, LLC.