rebeccakirkwood19 / careers-leveraging-your-network

Leveraging Your Network

An important part of any job search, regardless of where you live, is leveraging your existing network. According to an ABC report, 80% of jobs are landed through networking. Even more, a 2014 Jobvite study reported that 64% of recruiters found the “highest quality” candidates came from referrals.

For these reasons and others, leveraging your network is important. Below we’ll cover two ways to do this: through those you already know (first-degree connections) and people who know people you know (second-degree connections).

People You Already Know

The best way to start leveraging your network is by reaching out to people you already know. When doing so, it’s typically best to start off asking for a conversation. Then, depending on the closeness of the relationship, you can follow-up with an ask about connections (for an introduction) or possible opportunities.

People you know include:

• Friends
• Family members
• Former classmates
• Former colleagues
• People you have met recently at meetups, events, job fairs, dinner parties, etc.

You can reach out to each person individually—on the phone or through email—and see if they know of any opportunities for developers or companies looking to hire. You can also use one of the best research tools out there, LinkedIn, to see where your connections are working, and in what positions.

LinkedIn is a goldmine for this kind of research. It allows you to scan your connections and see what they’re up to. When you do this, you should be looking out for those who work, or have worked, at companies you want to work for. You can also keep an eye out for people who are holding positions you would like to have—now or in the future. (E.g. “Software Engineer” or “Full-Stack Developer”.)

The stronger your relationship is with the person you’d like to reach out to, the easier it is to ask about opportunities (and the more direct you can be about asking for a connection to a potential job/referral). This is why networking and relationship-building is something you should be doing continuously, even when you’re not actively searching for a job.

Nonetheless, one of the best ways to see if your connection can refer you to a position at their company is by asking if their company has an employee referral program. If so, they’d most likely be pleased to refer you—because if you end up getting the position, they’ll get a bonus just for referring you. So it’s a win-win! Be sure only to bring this up with people you know well, otherwise it may make a person you don’t know that well (or at all) feel uncomfortable.

In an upcoming lesson we will go into more detail about opening the line of communication. However, when reaching out to existing connections, you should try to add value to them before requesting a favor, like referring you for a job at their company. Otherwise, you may come off as annoying or self-serving, leaving the person to think, "Do I have time for this?" or "Why should I help this person?" You want to be likable and provide value. It’s hard to like a person who keeps asking for favors without giving anything in return!

People Who Know People You Know

Aside from getting a referral to your connection’s company, another effective technique is getting an introduction to someone in their network, a second-degree connection. This could be one of their friends, family, classmates, coworkers, or former colleagues.

Again, LinkedIn is an excellent tool for finding these second-degree connections.

As you can see above, when you visit a company page on LinkedIn it will show who you know that works at that company. It will also show any second-degree connections you have that work at the company. So, even if you don’t have a direct contact at the company, you can still use second-degree connections as a way in. The way to do this is by asking your first-degree connection for an introduction.

Important note: LinkedIn has a feature that prompts to you “Ask for an introduction” via LinkedIn’s platform. Do not use this feature -- message the person directly through LinkedIn’s messaging feature where you can write a custom message or just email them. The “Ask for an introduction” feature is too impersonal to likely get you what you want.

But before requesting an introduction to a connection's connection, it is best to have some kind of current relationship with that person.

If the connection is someone you haven’t spoken to since college, ten years ago, asking them for an introduction may not be effective. (“Hey Sally! We haven’t spoken in ten years. But could you introduce me to Bob Smith? I see on LinkedIn he works at Facebook. Hope life has been going well for you since that Accounting course. Thanks!”)

Yeah...that’s probably not going to work! (Again, this is why nurturing your network is something you should be doing all the time.)

Aside from having a relationship with the person you’ll be asking for an introduction, it’s also ideal if you’ve provided them with something valuable in recent times. (Not when you helped him/her with their accounting homework, ten years ago.)

Providing value comes in many shapes and forms. It could be sharing a blog post they wrote, being a beta tester for their new startup, offering advice in one way or another, or offering to give them an introduction to someone in your network.

How to Ask for an Intro from Someone You Know

When asking for an introduction, always be respectful of your connection’s time. This means you should keep the email short.

The message you send should look something like this:

Hi [name],

I hope you’ve been doing well. As you know, I’ve been looking for a new job as a software developer. I noticed that you are connected to [target name] and was hoping you could introduce us if you feel comfortable doing so.

[Add the reason why you want an intro: “I am interested in [company name], and I see they work there.” Or, “I noticed [target name] works as a software engineer, and I was hoping to glean some insights about their day-to-day.”]

I understand you may have a lot going on, so I’d be happy to write a short blurb if you think that might be helpful? I so appreciate your time.

Thanks,

[Your name]

Conclusion

Leveraging your first and second-degree network is one of the most effective ways to land a new job. It is far more efficient than applying to positions online, without any kind of inside contact or referral. This is because people (hiring managers and recruiters) trust people they already know, and thus their employee recommendations.

Remember: cultivating a strong professional network is a long-term game. Even when you’re not actively looking for a new opportunity, you should still be building new connections as well as nurturing existing ones.