Marketing Career Zone

Despite being the No 1 way to find a new job or make a career change, networking, for some people, has a bit of a nasty ring to it.  Somehow it smacks of something false or contrived, of using other people to achieve your own ends.  Those who have jobs in marketing, however, should understand better than most that if there is no sincerity in the claims that are made to the world at large, if brands do not live up to the promises that they make, they will fall by the wayside.  Precisely the same principle applies to professional networking.

Networking is about creating new opportunities through real, long-term relationships.  It requires mutual trust and respect, patience and, above all, the willingness to give to others.  Its huge payoff comes in the fact that once these relationships are established, they do not just present a one-off opportunity such as if you were applying for an advertised vacancy, but have the potential to offer ongoing and often unexpected opportunities.

Those who approach networking with an extended hand and a ‘What can you do for me?’ attitude are doomed to certain failure.  The brand image that they create for themselves is that of a ‘taker’, rather than of somebody with whom a mutually beneficial relationship can be built.  It is important, therefore, that you always give first to your contacts and that your prime consideration remains their needs.  If that sounds somewhat counter-intuitive and you are left wondering what is the point, then rest assured that anything you give will come back to you many times over.

Knowing what to give to their contacts is a challenge to many who are new to networking, and it helps to consider what you yourself would want from others, as well as to remember that what you give does not have to be something immense.  Advice and support are, of course, always valuable to other job hunters and your own professional and life experiences are things which could benefit others enormously.  How did you achieve a particular goal?  Where did you go for certain information?  How did you get round a specific problem?  Your insights could save them much time and wasted effort.

Information is of course a huge gift to others.  Listen carefully to what your contacts are trying to achieve and actively seek out news reports or articles which might help them, as well as passing on any reliable information which comes to you through the grapevine.  Offering your own contacts and introductions to relevant others could help to provide your fellow networkers with faster routes towards their objectives, and of course direct referrals for known vacancies are the holy grail.  Just remember that whatever is done in the spirit of giving will come back to you.

One extremely important aspect of entering networking relationships with the right attitude is ensuring that your networking activities begin before you need them.  If you wait until you need a new job in marketing, there is a much greater chance that you will approach your activities and your contacts with a sense of desperation, which many will find off-putting.  If you haven’t already done so, start building your network now so that it is already in place when you are looking to move on.