BUILDING PERSONAL NETWORKS

THE BRAND YOU REVOLUTION SERIES

BUILDING PERSONAL NETWORKS

Quote

“At  least 60% - some report even higher statistics - of all jobs are found through networking”

ARTICLE

Do you know how to effectively search for a job?  Do you know how to discover and mine the hidden job market? Does your job search begin when you need to be employed or is it a continuous repetitive activity or philosophy? Do you know what others think of you, how they would describe you?  What is the ratio of the quality of your resume packaging, relative to the number of interviews you get invited for? How can  you leverage the things you’ve done in the past for what you want to do in the future?

The answer to these questions must begin with TWO things, building your network for where you are going (wherever that is!);  and raising the bar of your perceived value, through the development of real value (here you work relentlessly on who-you-must-become).

RAISING THE BAR OF YOUR PERCEIVED PERSONAL VALUE :

WHO-MUST-I BECOME

Taking a cue from an article I wrote several months ago, on the, concept of personal value -  “A job, according to Tom Jackson,  is an opportunity to solve a problem, and since there is no shortage of problems, there is no shortage of job opportunities (thus, as long as you are willing to be a solution provider to a problem, there will always be an array of jobs to choose from).

There is however, one limitation; you cannot offer what you do not have! Many job changers these days package their resumes like career obituaries, without any idea of the value they intend to bring to an organization on a daily basis. No wonder the response for most job applications is “silence”.

Your perceived value/ your scarcity value, for which organizations will willingly pay, does not develop overnight; it takes time, money and resilience. These resources MUST be invested in order to create an exceptional product – YOU.

The development process of Brand YOU will involve a   personal development plan, that requires the use of personal and well sought after organizational stretch assignments (assignments that require that you start something from scratch, or fix something that is failing, or assignments that greatly increase the scope of your responsibilities or highly visible projects). High challenging goals with high expectations and an equal chance of success and failure, developmental assignments , jobs or bosses’ feedback (positive/negative), mentoring by superiors and peers, personally sponsored training programs with reputable training consultancies such as Lagos Business School  etc.

Do not expect any company to hand you a development plan, accept responsibility for your own development – use your resources to fast track your development.

Begin to look for ways to exercise profit and loss responsibility (inside or outside your current job responsibilities), look for assignments with high responsibility, relationship building tasks; hone your presentation and communication skills through attending public and self-training programs etc

Use the above-mentioned developmental steps and experiences to build and then hone your point of difference and your scarcity value in the marketplace.

Research shows that:

§  People grow on the job when they have the right blend of developmental experiences early in their career, also

§  It is critical for executives to gain a wide variety of experience related more to moves across “problem domains”, as opposed to frequency of promotions.

A Harvard publication states that,” the essence of development is that diversity and adversity beat repetition every time. The more dramatic the change in skill demands, the more severe the personal problems, the more bottom-line pressure … the more opportunity there is for learning. Unappealing as that may seem, being shocked and pressured and having problems with other people teach the most. For future executives, comfortable circumstances are hardly the road to the top.”

The work environment has a way of orchestrating unplanned events arising out of market realities, to create unexpected opportunities disguised as problems. These problems/ opportunities may require that you stretch yourself (bridge the chasm between your resources and aspirations), in order to create innovative solutions that become working realities.

Friend, the bigger your personal and organizational challenges, the more you must grow, stretch and expand your mental capability and capacity to solve it. As you learn, grow, stretch and expand, you become the change you wish to become – and outgrow the scope of your current responsibilities; you bridge the gap between the perceived and the real.”

BUILDING YOUR NETWORK FOR WHERE YOU ARE GOING

Do you have people you have worked with in the past who can testify to the outstanding results you are capable of producing – your potential? People who feel strongly about the quality of your work and are comfortable marketing your personal brand equity (your performance, image and exposure); or people who you called in to assist in empowering others  through an extracurricular activity of your interest – more on this later.

Answering these questions entail embracing the networking philosophy; however most people see networking as a means to an end – getting a job, winning an account or attaining a position. Many do not know that networking is not contacting everyone you know when you are looking for a new job and asking them if they know of any job openings (because no one likes someone who comes around when they need something, and disappear when they don’t); networking actually begins long before you commence a job search – it is a philosophy and must become your lifestyle.

According the famous six degrees of separation principle, our personal contacts are valuable to the extent to which they help us reach, in as few connections as possible, the person(s)  who has/ have  the job  information/ link that we need. The challenge however is that, these networks are usually with people, who know little or nothing about our competence, character or even the level of our commitment;  people who we have LITTLE in common – THE  STRENGTH OF OUR WEAK TIES - I've been offered jobs on more than one occasion simply because an  acquaintance knew my background and skills.

Defined

Herminia Ibarra defined networking as, creating a fabric of personal contacts who will provide support, feedback, insight, resources and information. It entails the building of alliances; these contacts provide important referrals, information, and often developmental support such as coaching and mentoring.

Networking can also be defined as a constant process of giving (without the ulterior motive of expecting to receive) and receiving – of asking for and offering help. By putting people in contact with one another, by giving your time and expertise and sharing them freely.

David Jensen also defines Networking as the process of establishing links between people with the intent to promote communication for mutual benefit.

All these definitions put together show that Networking is not just a job seeking tool but a philosophy, a lifelong career development tool; a tool that demands that you must give first before expecting to receive, you must give to your social network support, feedback, insight, resources and information without any hidden intention to get anything in return – building your social capital for a time in the future when you will need it.

Let me give you an example, I started a Career Unit, well over 5 years ago, at Daystar Christian Centre, with one objective, to provide graduate job seekers and career changers with  information (through career workshops, seminars etc), and networking opportunities. I have coached hundreds of people, and held scores of group sessions, made hundreds of telephone calls and spent thousands of hours on behalf of people seeking one advisory help or the other.

All of these were administered freely without any charge. In return, we’ve been able to place several hundred persons in jobs; and I have been blessed with an unusual rolodex of key relevant professionals in many organizations – because of my passion for the employable state of the average Nigerian graduate  - so I can say authoritatively that networking works.

It is time for you to leave the domain of psychological manipulation

Welcome to the BRAND YOU Revolution!