The greatest mistake in career networking
The greatest mistake in networking for a career move is to focus on job openings rather than interviewing to find help and advice and get brand exposure (for yourself). Networking is not about ‘getting a foot in the door’ – or even getting a referral to someone else who might have a job for you.
Why is this a mistake?
- Your contacts may have information on one or more of your targets, but are unlikely to have information on current openings,
- You’ll run out of contacts quickly, because your contacts won’t want their contacts to be exposed to job requests,
- You’ll close doors with your own contacts, that would otherwise remain open,
- You’ll become demoralized and either:
- Push even harder for a job and close even more doors, or
- Conclude that the networking strategy ‘doesn’t work for you’ and revert to a less confronting (but also vastly less productive) strategy.
This is a game of skill.
Do you need to develop these skills?
If you have the will but not the skill, talk with us at EPR. It’s very learnable, and very effective. With the support that we can provide, you’ll soon be on your way to a far more satisfying future.
