St.Louis Business Journal
EFFECTIVE NETWORKING INVOLVES DEVELOPING LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS

By Anna Navarro

April 2006  

Author's note: Client stories in this column are based on actual situations fictionalized to protect privacy and told with permission.

Connecting effectively with people during a job hunt goes far beyond a one-shot networking meeting or a superficial conversation at a cocktail party or event. At its best it's the start of a long-term relationship that has benefits for both parties. But exactly how do you make that happen?

Vera's story is a good illustration. She was unhappy in her job as a family physician, but wasn't sure what she wanted to do next. We'd spent several months analyzing her needs and investigating a variety of options. She'd concluded she wanted to be a medical director in an insurance company.

She'd talked to several medical directors while investigating the field and had sent them all handwritten thank you notes after her initial meeting with them. Now she sent them e-mails telling them she'd decided to become a medical director as a result of their advice and input.

In her e-mails, she played back the specific things they'd said that were helpful to her. For example, she wrote George that his insights about the skills required to be a good medical director had been central to her decision making.

George e-mailed her back saying he thought she'd make a great medical director and offering to help her. She thanked him and asked if he'd be willing to give her feedback on her resume. He said he would.

When we finished the first draft of the resume, she sent it off to George and others for their reaction. Their comments helped us fine-tune the document. After incorporating their feedback, she sent them the new version, with a note thanking them for their input.

Then Vera started a new round of networking. Among the people she met with was Bill, a medical director George said was a savvy veteran.

After meeting with him she not only sent Bill a thank you note, she also thanked George in a brief e-mail telling him about her meeting with Bill and commenting that George had been right - Bill was a great person to talk to. She also said she'd like to continue to report to him on her progress, but she knew George was a busy person so she'd keep the e-mails brief and hoped he wouldn't feel obligated to reply unless he wanted to.

In the Fall, Vera, knowing George was Jewish, sent him a "Happy New Year" card.

A few weeks later she heard about an opening in an organization that was rumored to be having financial difficulties. She e-mailed George for his opinion. He told her they'd had problems in the past, but that he knew an internist there who said they had turned the corner, and were currently doing well financially. She thanked him for his input and told him she would apply for the job.

Vera made the short list for the position, but was beat out by an internal candidate. She e-mailed George telling him what happened and saying she was disappointed but had learned a lot in the interviewing process and was undaunted in her determination to keep looking.

Then one day Vera got an e-mail from George telling her about an opening. It wasn't in his organization, but he knew the recruiter who was doing the search, and said he'd put in a good word for her. That's how Vera first found out about the job she ultimately got as a medical director. She applied and kept George posted about her progress.

After she got hired, Vera continued to stay in contact with George. She took him to lunch after she got settled in her new job. Eventually she also got to know his wife and family. Over the years she's found ways to reciprocate his kindness.

George wasn't the only person with whom Vera developed a relationship during her search. She met with several dozen people in her quest for a position. Not all of them were as helpful as George, but she stayed in touch with each person who was receptive to her effort. As a result she entered the field with a cadre of supportive peers.

And she did this without ever once putting the people she approached for help on the spot for a job. Instead, she used her job hunt as an opportunity to intentionally develop excellent, mutually beneficial, long-term relationships.

Anna Navarro is the founder of Work Transitions, a nationwide career consulting firm that trains independent career strategists and consults with individual clients.

This column was originally published by the St. Louis Business Journal. The actual title of the column and date in which it appeared in the Business Journal may be slightly different from what appears on WorkTransitions.com.