Navigating Your Network

As we begin, I want you to think back and reflect upon how you've obtained all of your past roles, since you began working and volunteering.

• When was it the easiest and most successful?

• What worked and what didn't?

Welcome to the training module on Navigating Your Network. It's great to have you.

I'm Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, director of Alumni Career and Professional Development at Holy Cross.

The word networking often carries a lot of baggage. People often assume that networking involves a lot of work. That it's uncomfortable. You might have your own associations with the word.

When I talk about networking, I really just mean talking to people and showing curiosity. Talking to people you know and talking to people that you don't know... yet. You do this pretty much every day of your life.

What turns talking into networking is when you talk to the kind of people who can help you accomplish your goals.

In this training you will look at all of your social networks as opportunities for professional connection.

Wherever you're starting from, is a great place to start. So if you're a natural networker, then turn it up a notch or direct in a particular way. If you're new to this, then start out small. One new person a week. One curious conversation a week.

As you begin to navigate your network in a purposeful way, you will begin to notice that conversations get easier and new connections come your way faster.

So move on to Action #1, and start by first understanding who's in your network, anyway?

Make a list of the people who you would like to connect with.

Who: specific people or types of people

Where do you find them?

When I think of networking, I break it into three different types, with three different purposes. There are likely many more, but I choose these three. The sections below will explain the difference between each type and provide examples of the sort of questions that you might ask in each scenario.

1. Informational networking

2. Industry-specific networking

3. Job or Company-specific networking

I outline each type in the sections below. Read through and determine which one is most relevant and useful to you right now. Then, develop a plan to help you get started.

In this type of networking, you have general conversations as someone looking to learn about a new role, field, industry. You acknowledge that you're just beginning your research in this area and ask your contact to give you an overview from their perspective. You might ask questions like:

1. • Role: What do you do? What does your day to day look like? What skills do you need to be successful in your line of work?

   • Field: What does it take to break into this field? What skills and experiences are valued in this field?

   • Industry: Would you consider this a stable industry? Where is it growing and evolving? Where is this this industry lagging behind others?

In this type of networking, you have a targeted conversation as someone knowledgeable about the industry. You have done some research on your own and are now looking to develop a deeper understanding of the industry by speaking with an insider. You might ask questions like:

1. • Role: How has your job changed in the past year? What goals are you working toward in the next 12 months?

   • Field: What new technologies and/or processes are becoming common in your field? How have the needs of your constituents changed in the past year? What are you doing to keep up with them?

   • Industry: What trends are you seeing across the industry right now? What companies are leading the way? What are they doing right?

In this type of networking, you have an influential conversation as someone who they will want to hire or refer for a position. You have done extensive research and know that you want to work there. You might ask questions like:

1. • Role: What are the pain points that you experience in your role right now? What would it take to alleviate them? What kind of skill set is missing on your team? What would it take for someone like me to break into a role like yours with my experience?

   • Field: I've read that a lot of your competitors are focused on XYZ. What is your team doing in that area? How is your team adapting to meet the new demands that ABC is putting on the marketplace?

   • Industry: I'm fascinated by the way that ACME CORPORATION is approaching XYZ trend in the marketplace. What do you think? How is your organization planning to evolve or compete? Is it worthwhile?

Now that you understand who's in your network and what types of networking there are, you can begin to devise a networking plan for yourself. This doesn't have to be complicated. It's an easy way to organize your thoughts so that you can streamline your networking efforts and maximize the amount of time spent in meaningful, productive conversations.

Outline your networking plan:

1. What type of networking do you need to do right now?

2. What research do you need to do in order to engage in a meaningful, productive conversation?

3. What questions do you want to ask and learn more about?

4. What people do you want to speak with?

We are very lucky, as Holy Cross alumni, to have a robust alumni network to tap into for support. In the following exercises, I show you a few different ways to search for and contact alumni. Each resource offers its own benefit, so I encourage you to take the time to learn how to access and utilize each one.

Have questions or trouble figuring them out? Then don't hesitate to follow-up with me in the Alumni Office. I would be happy to help you troubleshoot how to utilize each of these tools in order to expand and navigate your network.

Now that you know a few different ways to access the Holy Cross network, I want you to put them into practice.

Alumni Directory & Career Advisor Directory

1. Navigate to the Holy Cross Alumni website (holycross.edu/alumni)

2. Scroll down to the box called, "Online Resources."

3. You have 3 options:

   • Register for online access: great if you're brand new and have never accessed your alumni account.

   • Alumni Directory: great if you are looking for someone specific and want to find their contact information to follow-up or reconnect.

   • Career Advisor Directory: great if you are looking for career advice from people who you have never met before.

4. Select the option that is right for you, and follow the steps to log-in.

5. Once you are logged in, you can access either of the alumni directories listed above, the Alumni Business Directory and access Alumni Job postings.

I often hear people say that they joined LinkedIn years ago, but don't know what to do with their account. Think of it as a research tool and take some time exploring the different ways to find alumni and other professional contacts.

LinkedIn

1. Log-in to your LinkedIn account.

2. You have 3 options for searching for and connecting with Holy Cross alumni in LinkedIn:

   • People Search: Navigate to the top gray search bar next to the blue LinkedIn symbol. Click your mouse into the search field, leave it blank and click "enter." This will open a page with 9 different search filters. Select "People." From here, click "All filters." Scroll down to the "School" field and select "College of the Holy Cross." Add any other filters that interest you. Click the blue "Show results" button at the bottom when you are done.

   • School Page: Navigate to the top gray search bar next to the blue LinkedIn symbol. Search "College of the Holy Cross" and select the "School" page (linkedin.com/school/college-of-the-holy-cross). Once on the Holy Cross School page, navigate to the menu in the middle of the page and select, "Alumni." From here, you can search alumni using all of the different filters they provide. The search results automatically appear in the space below. Scroll down to see more.

   • LinkedIn Groups: Navigate to the top gray search bar next to the blue LinkedIn symbol. Search "College of the Holy Cross Alumni" and select the "Group" (linkedin.com/groups/40885/). Once you join, you can search and message with the 10,000+ members of the group. You can also post messages, events and job openings to the group news feed. (I use the news feed to regularly promote open jobs that are posted by fellow alumni!)

Your elevator pitch is a 30-90 second summary of who you are, what you're looking to do, and why the contact should care. In essence, your elevator pitch is a clear, succinct story of who you are as a professional right now.

It's rare that you would ever actually deliver a full-blown elevator pitch all at once. Instead, your elevator pitch is a useful tool to help you keep your story straight as you send networking emails and meet new people.

People are hard-wired to pay attention to and remember stories. The clearer you can make your story, the better the chance that it's understand and remembered by the people you meet. The more people who remember your story, the better the likelihood that your story will spread, and you'll be put in touch with someone who can help you accomplish your goals.

And hey, if you ever find yourself in an elevator with person hiring for your dream job, then you'll be ready for that, too.

Even though it’s only 30-90 seconds long, it’s important to spend a lot of time reflecting and refining your elevator pitch so that you capture everything that you need to say in that short period of time.

Reflect:

1. Who are you? Introduce yourself and think about who you are in the context of what you want to do professionally.

2. What makes you unique? What skills do you bring to the table? What value will you add to the organization? Think about your past experience and education to identify your unique skills and perspectives.

3. What is your job target? What are you looking to do? Depending on how open you are, you might want to alter your target based on your audience.

4. Why are you interested in this field/industry/company/type of work? What makes this work stand out from others?

5. Why are you the best fit for the job? Sell yourself!

Write:

Now that you've brainstormed each element of the Elevator Pitch, it's time to put it all together into one concise, memorable story.

Tips:

• Synthesize each section above into one sentence, then edit them into a story.

• Keep it simple-- you have to be able to memorize this and recite it at a moment's notice

• Engage the listener to continue the conversation after your pitch is over.

• Diversify-- prepare a few different versions for different uses, i.e. in person, over email, etc.

Ok. You've identified who's in your network, figured out how to make new connections, and now you're ready to act. You're ready to reach out and introduce yourself. What do you do?

I find that this is where people tend to get stuck. If you're not a naturally outgoing person, then reaching out to people who you don't know can feel very uncomfortable. Even if you are an outgoing person, asking for help or advice in this way can feel foreign.

If this sounds at all like you, then I am here to offer you some relief. Reaching out to make new connections is not as difficult or time-consuming as you might think. The exercises below will help you craft quick, succinct messages that you can begin sending out to new connections today.

They will also help you prepare for the inevitable time when someone replies, "yes!" and offers to set up a networking call.

Remember, networking is just asking curious questions of someone of your choosing. That's it. If you're genuinely interested in learning more about who they are and what they do, then it will come naturally to you and be a worthwhile conversation. Explore the exercises below and start reaching out.

Look at the Networking Plan that you built for yourself in Action #2.

Identify a few people that you would like to reconnect with, or connect with for the first time.

Use these guidelines to craft a networking message:

1. Reconnect:

   • You know this person! Reach out and pick up where you last left off. You know whether this person prefers a text, email, phone call, social media message, etc. Don't overthink or overcomplicate things. Reconnect first, then get down to business.

2. Warm connection:

   • Someone who you know knows this person! Reach out to your mutual connection and reconnect with them (see the bullet above!). Then, ask how they know your desired connection.

   • Let your connection know why you are interested in speaking with this new person, and then ask if they would be willing to make an introduction for you. If they're able to help, then the hard work has been done for you. If they're not able to help, then see the bullet below.

3. Cold connection:

   • You don't know anyone who knows this person. Too bad! But thankfully not the end of the road. We make cold connections all the time. (If you're like me, then you make cold connections every time you say hi to a stranger or strike up a conversation at the supermarket check-out line).

   • When you are looking to make a cold connection through email or LinkedIn, the key is to keep your message straightforward and short, and to ask for something that everyone can freely give, i.e. advice.

   • If you can, try to find a point of mutual connection. It could be that you're both HC alumni, both went to the same event, both work in the same industry, both follow the same experts, etc. Finding a point of mutual connection will "warm up" the connection by showing the person that you're a likeminded professional who they should know. Tip! Look through their LinkedIn profile to identify points of mutual connections.

   • For your subject line (if there is one), include information that will showcase the mutual connection and explain why you're reaching out. People don't always open their emails, so I like to be as explicit as possible in the subject line. For example, you might say: "Holy Cross Introduction: 2007 Alumna in Higher Ed."

   • For your message, keep it short and sweet. Don't include your biography or resume. Remember the elevator pitch that you developed in Action #5? Turn it into a brief email message. Explain who you are (mutual connection), how you found their contact information/profile, and why you're interested in connecting (advice). Then, ask if they have 20-minutes in the next few weeks to talk. That's it! You want to make sure that the recipient can read the message on their phone and respond with, "Absolutely! When would you like to talk?"

Congratulations! Someone has said yes and it's time to prepare for a networking conversation. What do you do? The outline below will help you get started and develop a plan for conducting your networking conversation.

Advanced Preparation:

1. What type of conversation are you having? Informational, Industry-specific, Job or Company-specific?

2. What experience does this person have? Do your research! Look at their LinkedIn page, company website, personal website, etc.

3. What questions do you want to ask? Over-prepare. The more questions that you have, the easier it will be for you to overcome any awkward pauses that might come up. (We're human, we all have awkward pauses sometimes.)

Leading a Networking Conversation:

As the person who has asked for this meeting, it will be your job to come prepared and lead the meeting. Once again, look back at the elevator pitch that you developed in Action #5. Look at the networking message that you wrote to "Cold Connections" in Action #6. The flow of a networking conversation is very similar.

1. Build rapport: Who are you? Establish the point(s) of mutual connection.

2. Ask your questions: What advice do you need in order to help you move forward and pursue your goals?

3. Show gratitude: Say thank you and offer to help them. We're all talented professionals with networks of our own. You never know when you might be able to return the favor.

This concludes the training module on Navigating Your Network. I hope that you feel energized and inspired to reconnect with old colleagues and friends, and discover new ones.

Holy Cross teaches us to be people for and with others. That mission is ever the more clear when connecting and networking with fellow Holy Cross grads.

I hope that you enjoy going down memory lane with old friends, meeting new people, and discovering like-minded connections that will help you along your journey of career satisfaction and success. I look forward to staying in touch!

Keep yourself moving forward toward accomplishing what you desire in work and life.

• What is the smallest first step that you can take toward accomplishing your goals?

• Identify 3 things that you will do in the next 2 weeks to work toward your professional goal.

Hopefully this training has sparked new ideas and gotten the wheels turning on your career search. What new questions are on your mind?

Please email alumnicareers@holycross.edu and include "Navigating Your Network Q&A Forum" in the subject line. A reply will be emailed back to you, and the Q&A will be featured anonymously in this forum to benefit future learners.

Maura Sweeney is a career development professional with 14+ years of experience connecting people with meaningful opportunities. As the Director of Alumni Career & Professional Development at the College of the Holy Cross, Maura’s mission is to create space to help alumni discover meaningful lives. She provides direct career advising to alumni, and employs in-person and virtual programs to engage alumni at scale. She creates opportunities for alumni to advance their careers by connecting with the Holy Cross Network through professional groups, events and networking resources. Prior to joining the Alumni Relations Office, Maura spent 10 years working in roles that spanned student advising, employer engagement and recruiting. She earned her bachelor’s degree in French from the College of the Holy Cross in 2007, and her Master of Education degree in Adult and Organizational Learning from Northeastern University in 2010. She became a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach in 2021. She is on the board of the Alumni Career Services Network, an active member of the Career Counselors Consortium NE, and a volunteer for her town's PTO. She lives in the Boston Metro West area with her family.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maurahsweeney/