Marketing You Pt. 3

Natural Networking

At This Point, You Should Have:

☑ A chosen job title, thoroughly researched (plus two backups).

☑ A list of five Tier 2 companies you're interested in applying to, also thoroughly researched.

Say John and Amy are on their first date after meeting on Match.com. At the end of the date, John turns to Amy and says, "This was fun. Shall we enter a long-term relationship?" Silly, right? But most job interviews are the same: Two near-strangers meet for an hour, then decide if they want to enter a serious relationship. Whenever you "cold interview" like this, it's hard because the interaction itself is forced and awkward from the start.

There's a better way. What if, by the interview, you and your employer were practically "friends first?" Ramit calls this the Multi-Touch Strategy and it relies on Natural Networking.

Most People

Cold application

Cold interview

Pray for job offer

You

Reach out to a mutual contact

Get introduced to the company

Chat with them over coffee

Warm application

Warm interview

Odds of job offer are dramatically higher

If you connect on a personal level, you're no longer competing with other candidates — you're automatically above them. Why? Because of psychology: We all like people we know. We all want to "de-risk" big decisions. (Even hiring managers.)

Getting Started with Natural Networking

You've picked a target job role and a few companies. You've done your homework. But there's only so much you can do from your room. You still have lots of questions, like: Is this what I really want? Can I actually get this job? What should I do next? How can you find out? Again, by testing. Here's what that looks like:

Find five experts in your field.
Email them and for either a coffee meeting or a phone call.
Show up and ask good questions.
Follow up and build real relationships.

Finding Experts

Classic networking advice that makes me want to die: "Talk to everybody!" This works sometimes, but I can show you a better way. I want you to talk to an expert: someone who has experience doing what you want to do.

This can mean:

They have / had your Dream Job
They work / worked at your Dream Company
They're some kind of authority in your industry

Do you know any of these people? Chances are you do, and if not, you can easily find them.

LINKEDIN SEARCH TIP

For those looking to work at a company located far away, do a LinkedIn people search for the company name, then filter by your current location. You'll find people who have previously worked there but now live in your area. May only be a few, but you'll have some potential in-person contacts!

Emailing Experts

Once you find your experts...

- Reach out and ask for 15 minutes of their time. (You can find word for word scripts in the additional readings and in the attached files.)
  - - Be specific and don't be chatty. At first, use 5 sentences max if possible. Be enthusiastic! It makes a difference.
- Meeting in person is ideal, but a phone call is fine too.
- Send the email Monday or Tuesday and ask to meet later in the week.
  - - Give any excuse to meet: "I'll be in town Friday" is a social trigger.

Showing Up & Asking Good Questions

Informal meetings are for you to test your ideas and gain new insights. They are NOT to get hooked up with a job. Never ask for one here. They're also not to talk about yourself, so kindly shut up and listen. Right now you're just gathering information.

You have a lot of questions, but they all really boil down to two:

Would I like this job?
Can I get this job? If so, you can move forward. If not, you need to stop, step back and adjust either your target job role or your target companies.

Planning Your Questions Before You Arrive

Try to answer each question yourself before you actually ask it. This weeds out dumb or useless questions that you can easily answer on your own. Plus, it's just considerate. Don't make the busy person do more work than you! (That doesn't make them want to keep in touch.)

Good Questions: For "Would I like this job?"

"As someone who's been in the fundraising industry for 2 years, what has been the the biggest surprise to you?"
"It seems like consultants either get promoted quickly, or leave to work for one of your industry clients. Is that usually the case or are there other common paths?"

Good Questions: For "Can I get this job (and how can I maximize my chances)?"

"It looks like this job requires some ad software experience. Can I learn that on my own, or not at all?"
"You've worked with a lot of game designers in your career. Besides raw talent, what's the #1 thing you look for in a designer?"

Following Up & Building Relationships

At this point, you've already networked far more effectively than most people. Even if others are able to get this far, here's where they drop the ball: They never follow up. Most people just take advice and disappear forever. And of course, the expert soon forgets about them.

You are going to build a real, long-term relationship with the people you contact. How? By closing the loop and adding value back to them.

💠 Closing The Loop 💠

Before you even have the meeting, plan 3 separate follow-ups that are specific, like you should know you always need to be by now:

Thank You (same day): "Hi Dory, Just wanted to thank you again for meeting with me earlier. I'm definitely going to get in touch with Marlin like you recommended. I'll keep you in the loop, and of course, please let me know if there's anything I can do to repay the favor! - Nemo"
Add Value (2 weeks later): "Hey Dory, Saw this article in the Wall Street Journal and it reminded me of what you said about productivity tests! No response needed, just thought you might find it interesting. -Nemo"
Close the Loop (2-3 weeks later): "Hi Dory, Wanted to give you an update: I did end up talking to Marlin, and you were right — Acme is definitely a fit for me. I'm reaching out to a friend there to learn all I can about Acme before I apply. If there's anyone else you think I should speak to, please let me know. Thanks again! I'll let you know how it goes. -Nemo"

Why this works: Experts are used to giving advice to losers that never do anything. When you 1. actually take their advice and 2. keep them informed, they automatically peg you as a winner and you move to the top of their mind.

TOOLS

There are paid options and free options that will allow you to schedule email for sending later, google your platform of choice (gmail, outlook, apple mail) etc. to find your best choice. Or just use a paper calendar to plan this out.

If you use Gmail you can try Yesware, an app that let's you schedule emails and create email templates. You can send 100 emails a month for free: http://www.yesware.com/plans-and-pricing

"Seeing this makes me realize almost immediately why my networking efforts have failed in the past. I simply didn’t follow up and if I did it was in the wrong way." - Chris

Step 6: Contact 5 Experts & Close the Loop

Find five experts to reach out to using the LinkedIn method shown earlier. [30 minutes]
Draft a clear, concise email and reach out to them for a coffee meeting or phone call. [30 minutes]
Do your homework ahead of time. When you show up, ask your 5 most important questions, then shut up and listen. [1 hour per expert]
Follow up every 3-4 weeks using the Closing the Loop technique.

TIME PLANNING

This step will likely take you around 6 hours. I know, it sounds like a lot, but this is important and can change your life (if you let it) and will change your job searches in the future for the better.

Natural Networking Strategy Summary

Many people think emailing strangers is weird, "creepy," or just doesn't work. Decide for yourself. Ramit's student Annie sent him these numbers back in 2013:

Cold contacts, Executive Assistant: Sent: 33, Replied: 9, Response rate: 27%
Cold contacts, VIP Host: Sent: 21, Replied: 12, Response rate: 57%

Most people come off poorly in their emails, so, of course they don't get results. But when you act like a top performer — and prepare better than anyone else — everything changes.

Most people think networking = sleazy. But there's a game being played around them they don't realize.
Natural Networking is about being genuine, asking for help, and being willing to help in return.
Act like a top performer: Writing good emails, asking smart questions and following up are all classic Competence Triggers.
People will want to help you if you can show them you're smart and you're a doer. Winners want to work with winners.

Networking as part of the Bigger Picture

This is all part of the idea-testing process. Remember that! If after talking to experts you decide that YES, you love your target job role and companies, then great! Continue to the next step. If you discover that you don't, no problem: If it's not the right role for you, go back to Step 1. If it's not the right employer, refer back to Step 2.

Remember: You're not just doing this for the short-term. You're building real relationships. That's one of the smartest things you can do for your career, and also one of the most fulfilling.

Acknowledgements

This post quotes directly and sources liberally (with approval of course) from Ramit Sethi's Find Your Dream Job [online course] (Modules 1-2 specifically). Ramit has graciously allowed us to source up to 1/3 of his paid materials for our students, in exchange for this mention and for helping you to succeed. His materials have been chosen for sourcing because he uses a process of testing, delivers his material using real talk, and bases his work on either testing or proven science (despite not having a PhD himself, he is Stanford educated and he's mentored by many brilliant and University affiliated individuals whose work he translates into his courses).

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