How to Work a Network

Published March 7, 2010

What do countless business cards and hundreds of LinkedIn connections add up to? Not a professional network, necessarily.

Business cards aren’t like baseball cards – there’s no value in merely collecting them. The same holds true for social network connections.

Developing a list of contacts into a community that provides leads, referrals and opportunities for advancement takes time and effort.

“Most people are too superficial in their networking efforts,” job search coach Duncan Mathison, author of “Unlock the Hidden Job Market” (FT Press, 2009), says.

That’s a shame, Mathison adds, since it takes just four steps to develop a relationship that’s almost certain to yield a return on investment.

After meeting prospective networking contacts, ask if it’s OK to keep in touch with them. Then, follow through within 48 hours with a brief note thanking them for their time and any insights they might have offered. When they provide you with leads, send a brief progress report within 72 hours indicating you’re acting on their advice. That way, if you can’t reach someone, “They naturally will give a little nudge” on your behalf, Mathison says. If you report that you have an appointment, the contact might put in a good word for you in advance.

The fourth and final step is to send a “close-the-loop thank-you,” Mathison says.

“If a meeting results in an actual job, go a little extra with flowers or a box of chocolates.” Such updates signal appreciation and “almost guarantee that any time an opportunity comes up they will reach out to you,” he says.

The first step – asking to stay in touch – obviously requires follow-through on your part. “Remember, it’s not who you know but when you know them. Keep in good contact with those in your network to stay top-of-mind,” Christine Bolzan, Graduate Career Coaching, Topsfield, Mass., says. Make professional and consistent use of your social media status, mark the “like” flag on other people’s Facebook entries and acknowledge birthdays and accomplishments, she recommends.

Keep communications focused. “You’re building a base of individuals with distinct interests, tastes and personalities and you have to treat them as such,” Bill Moller, business development director, TC Public Relations, Chicago, says.

After exchanging cards and parting ways with a new contact, write something distinctive about that person on the back of the card (collects vintage snow globes, hikes the French Alps, volunteers for a no-kill cat shelter) along with any career concerns or goals that came up in conversation. Then, set up Google Alerts to track the individual’s name, personal and professional interests and his or her industry so you can relay any tidbits and trends that you spot. “Stay in front of them not with a barrage of articles but a constant drip-drip of the occasional choice story, especially when your company’s services can be an implied solution or benefit,” Moller says.

Reach out to and help each of your contacts without expecting an immediate return. You have to give in order to get. “You might not feel the reciprocal effects for a while, but eventually, the network will pay you back and become a referral engine that works even when you don’t,” career coach Marsha Egan, The Egan Group, Reading, Pa., says.

One of the best ways to maximize the power of your network is to introduce your contacts to one another, “strategically helping them find ways to support each other,” career counselor Katy Piotrowski, Career Solutions Group, Fort Collins, Colo., says.

Invite two people to lunch, for example, “and spend the first five minutes introducing each person, emphasizing their specialties and successes. Then, launch a discussion on mutual-support opportunities. Down the line, they’ll return the favor by introducing you to their connections.”

- Written By Dawn Klingensmith