Years ago, Oprah Winfrey aired a facinating show about ordinary women of average means who were married to extremely wealthy millionaires. When Oprah asked one of the women how she met her millionaire husband, she explained that when she made up her mind to marry a wealthy man, she decided to launch her own personal campaign to find and hook her millionaire. She began by finding the cheapest studio apartment she could afford in a high income neighborhood; she worked on improving herself by acting and dressing the part of a wealthy socialite, and then found out where the local millionaires hung out. Surprisingly, during her research she discovered that most of the wealthy men in her area were Episcopalian, so she joined the church, got involved, and eventually married the wealthy man of her dreams.
What this woman was doing was extremely effective networking.
Job seekers can use the same strategies to find key people within organizations who have the power to hire them.
Here's how:
1) Make a list of the top ten companies you want to work for.
2) Identify individuals within those companies that it would be beneficial for you to get to know; those who can hire you or help you to get your foot in the door at the company.
3) Search for them on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
4) Follow them and become familiar with their activity. You can join the online groups they belong to, respond to their Twitter feeds, introduce yourself to their groups and demonstrate your expertise by posting helpful and interesting comments.
5) Eventually, reach out to them to see if they can help you to find an opening in their company.
Obviously, don't stalk them - just work on establishing a relationship with them - you never know where it will eventually lead.
Networking is a process that doesn't happen overnight, and one in which most people never think of until they need to find a job. That is truly a mistake. Networking can be an extremely rewarding experience and should be a lifelong process that is mutually beneficial to both parties.
For ideas on how to be a great networker, one of the best books I have ever read on the subject is "Never Eat Alone: and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, by Keith Ferrazzi.I highly recommend you read it!
