Networking to find a job is like yard work or exercise:
If you really want to avoid it, any excuse will do.
Here are some of the best excuses you can use to avoid networking for a job.
- “I’m too shy to network.“
- “I’m too busy to network,
- “I really don’t need any help.“
It works best if you rotate the excuses around and try not to use the same ones with each of your friends.
But if you’re its taking too long to get a job, and you are bored with watching too much TV, here are some ideas about how to stop using these excuses.
Excuse #1: “I’m too shy to network.“
Solution: Welcome to the club – (even me) most other people are exactly the same!
“It’s a myth that you have to be an extrovert to network.
It’s not about personality at all. Networking is simply a skill,” says Donna Fisher, author of “Power Networking: 59 Secrets for Personal & Professional Success.”
One answer is to focus your attention on others and how you can help them, because doing so automatically makes you less self-conscious.
“Once you realize that others feel awkward, too, you’re going to feel more natural, network better and gather valuable information,” says Fisher, who confesses to being somewhat shy herself.
Many people don’t know that I am quite shy. I always sit at the back of a room or gravitate to people I know.
At some point, I realize “oops – this will be a waste of time unless I do something.”.
Yes, you can start a good conversation.
The least stressful way is to let the other person talk about themselves. Fisher suggests these openings the next time you find yourself at a networking function:
- “How did you get involved with the ____ Club?”
- “Can you tell me a little bit about this organization?”
- “What made you decide to go into your line of work?”
Action item: Memorize these three lines. Go somewhere right away and test them out. You can even try it inline at McDonalds. Yes – its a fast food line up can help you get over your shyness and practice your lines.
Its true!
Excuse #2: “I’m too busy to network.“
Solution: Rethink what “busy” really means.
You don’t have a job. What are you doing with your time? No more commute, no more working. You have the time to do anything with the right motivation.
Imagine I put a gun to your head and said, “Network tonight, or else,” I bet you would skip dinner, head to the local Rotary Club and be networking like a senator.
You can find the motivation — and time — to network when you realize that your life is at stake here. Literally.
Because time is life. And if you have no job, or dislike your current work from 9-5 every day, those unhappy hours of your life are gone forever.
If you take your time, think about what it would be like to live on credit cards for a while.
Many folks lose motivation to network because they feel pressured to find the perfect job lead today or meet 50 people tonight.
But you don’t need to move mountains every day to network effectively.
According to the book, “1,001 Ways to Market Your Services,” by Rick Crandall, a Stanford study found that “small increases in the size of your network can double your odds of success. If your existing networking is not producing much in the way of referrals, try to add 10% in high-quality contacts. They can double your results.”
If you know 250 people by name, a 10% increase in your network would mean 25 new contacts. Regardless of your number, the key is to take small steps.
Meeting just one new person a day will put 30 new names in your network this month, and will likely double your number of active job leads. Are you too busy for that?
Use your LinkedIn network. Call just 5 people today. Use some of the lines from excuse number 1 as an icebreaker.
Excuse #3: “I really don’t need to network.“
Solution: Why struggle when others succeed so easily?
According to Donna Fisher, the “Lone Ranger Mentality” can hamper your networking and your job search. Call it an occupational hazard of growing up in America. “It can be automatic to think, ‘I’ll figure this out on my own,’ instead of ‘Who do I know who’s already done this and can help me get it done faster?’” says Fisher.
You may think you can go it alone, but why? You can gain access to years of knowledge and shave weeks off your job search simply by asking the people you know for help.
Keep this in mind: Everyone keeps score. If you borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbor, they will remember. If you call your brother at 3 am to ask for jumper cables, he will remember.
If you ask networking contacts for job leads, they will remember. So be sure to pay them back by giving freely of your time, knowledge and talents in return.
As regular readers of this site know – LinkedIn is the way to network that fast and easy. But, its not the only way.
For my Curves business, I walk up and down the streets near the club putting yellow flyers on cars.
(Yellow is the colour of tickets in Toronto – they get noticed!)
Everyday, I meet people and tell them about the club. Not all become members, but, I get known as the Curves’ Guy.
They talk about the club, and that brings new members.
Let people talk about you, and bring you a new job.
—
This job hunting post was adapted from content provided to by my good friends Kevin Donlin and David Perry, co-creators of the Guerrilla Job Search System.
Kevin and David have been interviewed by CNN, New York Times, Fortune magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor about their method to finding a job.
Get a free audio from Kevin and David on how to get your job search into high gear
Keyword Related posts:
