You have questions about your career, right? I mean, I’m guessing that’s how you landed on a blog written by a career advisor. This is always hard to articulate to people, but let me try. You are unique and special and wonderful and there is no one in this world exactly like you.
Despite that, your career concerns, fears and questions are probably not unique. I’ve heard a million and one career stories, but the worries that thread through them are the same, no matter who presents the story, what age they are, what type of work they do, or what industry they are in.
Lemme give you a couple of examples. Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of articles and posts around the question, how do I stand out in the job search?
- It’s so competitive out there, how do I stand out?
- Every post I see on LinkedIn already has more than a hundred applicants, how do I stand out?
- Everybody is graduating right now and all applying to the same places, how do I stand out?
In my day-to-day work, I field a lot of other job- and career-related questions too, like these:
- How do I choose the right program after high school?
- Where can I find out about how AI is going to affect this career/job/field?
- If my son got x credential, where would he work? What could he do with it?
- Do people make enough in y career to meet the high cost of living?
- Don’t I need a Master’s degree to do that?
Your questions might be like these, or they might be totally different, but I bet I know the answer. It’s networking. How do I know that? Because the answer is almost always networking.
Does the word ‘networking’ make your knees shake?
You wouldn’t be alone if it does. Back in my career centre days, we debated for hours over what to call our networking workshop for students, because the word gives people the collywobbles. But in the end, we kept the name, because networking is called networking and calling it something else didn’t make logical sense.
Most people picture networking like walking into a chamber-of-commerce-type event where people are bunched in groups and already seem to know each other. They’re all talking shop using fancy lingo, and you’re trying to figure out how to break into these tight-knit circles and sound half-intelligent while cramming free pastries in your mouth. If you’re part of GenZ, your parents might think of networking as cold-calling businesses out of the Yellow Pages to ask about job opportunities, or mailing out resumes and cover letters to inquire about open postings. (Yes, really.)
What is networking, exactly? It’s meeting people and building relationships. That’s it. If you became friends with someone in kindergarten over your shared love of throwing sand, you know how to network. Just…maybe don’t throw sand anymore.
Once you recognize that it’s all about meeting people and building relationships, your opportunities for networking really open up. Opportunities to networker were always available through many means, like playing in a rec slow-pitch league, joining a community theatre group or volunteering at a local school or soup kitchen.
Today, it can also involve DMing people on TikTok or Instagram, commenting on LinkedIn posts, or sending your professors an email a month after graduation to thank them again for giving you the opportunity to learn and work toward that credential you busted your ass for. But those are all just tools to reach people. The real secret sauce is in your approach.
The keys to getting it right
At the core of good networking are two things. The first is an attitude of service and curiosity. Approaching any new person with an air of wanting to help and curiosity about what they do, why and how they got there goes an incredibly long way. The one thing that trips so many people up is wondering what to ask, or worrying about sounding stupid, but don’t let those fears stop you. If you are a student or a new grad, your strength here is just that: you’re new. You’re in a position where you want to learn everything and soak up what you can. There are plenty of us old folks out here who are just itching to be asked for our expertise and experience. (What other perks are there of hitting middle age??) I have one of those jobs that people think is super interesting, and I have never turned down anyone who wanted to talk about how to become a career coach, advisor or counsellor.
The second key? Start with who you know and work your way out from there. Make a list of all the people you know and group them: friends, family, neighbours, classmates, coworkers, etc. Then for each group, figure out 3 or 4 questions you could ask them about their education or career.
In the actual conversation, you’re going to approach it like this: “I’ve been thinking a lot about my career options and I wondered if I could ask you a few questions about some of the career choices you’ve made so far.” They already know you, so there’s a great chance they’ll say yes. Then, you ask your questions. Then, you’re going to tack on one last question. Ready? It’s this: “who else would you suggest I talk to about this?” Now you’re getting connected to people who are warm leads, but strangers. And because you have a person in common, they’ll also be more likely to say yes to a conversation.
Grow it from there
Even the most introverted person can do this successfully. It doesn’t take long to start talking to strangers like they’re old buddies. Real hiring is built on relationships, not resumes. If you try this, please shoot me a message at devon@careerified.ca and let me know how it’s going!
And if you have no idea what questions to ask, I’m more than happy to help. Go ahead and book a free consultation here!