Networking in the New World Order (part 2)

By Jan Nussbaum
Assistant Director for Professional Development

In my previous blog piece, I talked about the networking strategies that I found most effective - a personal statement, reaching out, organizing and prioritizing a contact list, and becoming active in different groups. Once I started to employ these tactics, things began to happen.

Here are a few examples of how these networking techniques paid off:

Meet and Impress: I set up coffee or lunch dates with those on my contact list. I would always ask to meet for coffee or lunch at a convenient time and location for them. I sometimes found that if the person was not someone I knew, they were reluctant to meet with me in person, but did give me a few minutes over the phone. With that said, I was surprised by the number of people who did spend the time to meet with me in person, and the helpful advice that I received both over the phone or in person. I would not always walk away with a lead on a job, but I never met with anyone who didn’t provide me with useful information that I could add to my “database” of knowledge. I would always prepare for the coffee or lunch (or phone discussion) as I would for any interview - learning as much as I could about the person, their work and the company or firm. Preparation conveys that you are savvy enough to prepare for a real interview. It makes the person more inclined to refer you to someone they know, or consider you down the road for a job that arises at their firm or company.

Don’t assume that telephone meet and greets won’t be productive, or that important busy people that you don’t know won’t help you out. A not-so-close friend of mine knows the general counsel of a well known Fortune 50 company. He provided me her email, encouraging me to mention his name in my correspondence. Since the GC is located in another state, we talked on the phone. The GC not only gave me extremely useful advice regarding my search, but considered me to help out on a potential transaction where one of the parties was located here in the Bay Area.

Note that you should always follow up with a short thank you email, and from time-to-time keep your contacts briefly informed on how your job hunt is progressing. When you do land a job, let them know. Once people are willing to talk with you, they’ve become part of your network and enjoy learning how you are doing.

Attend Events: I would attend at least one event per week, sometimes two or three. This can be physically and psychologically exhausting, and does take time to see results. However, it is effective. (At the very least, you’ll meet lots of interesting people and get great job hunting and interview tips.) Importantly, it allowed me to expand my network of contacts and people to meet for coffee or lunch. At one Association of Corporate Counsel event, I met the general counsel of a company that I had submitted a job application to the month before. Since I had learned about the company in the process of submitting my application, he was impressed that I knew so much about his organization. Even though the position to which I applied had been filled, he offered to interview me for a contract attorney position.

At a British American Business Counsel event, I met a man who was looking for a marketing position. Since I used to do Advertising Law, I introduced him via email to several people that I know in the marketing industry. His partner in turn introduced me to several attorneys that he had worked with when selling start up companies. It pays off to be interested in other people’s job searches, not just your own.

Volunteer: Volunteering to help your organization is a great way to meet more people who will help you with your job search, impress people with your capabilities, and gain additional skills. One great example was my volunteering to put together the legal panels for the British American Business Council’s Transatlantic Conference on Innovation. I got to know a variety of in-house and law firm attorneys by working with them to put together the presentations. Through a series of events this allowed me to meet Susanne Aronowitz who subsequently interviewed me for my current position here at LCS.

As illustrated in both articles on Networking in the New World Order, all my efforts and patience paid off in landing me a job - one that is perfect for me! Happy networking.

[ For a fascinating look into how your networking success increases when you form “loose ties” with those you meet in a variety of different groups or universes, read Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg by Malcolm Gladwell, especially parts 5 and 6. Click here to read. ]