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Is Fear of Networking Paralyzing Job Searches?
January 11, 2010
By Tom Dezell
This statement sums up how many of us feel about looking for a job. The most common frustrations cited are the constant rejection experienced, as well as the length of time a job search takes.
These frustrations too often lead people to delay a job search until their situation hits rock bottom. Many engage in a search prolonged by a strategy of sending thousands of resumes and applications across the Internet. Mysteriously, they continue with this strategy even after reading the statistics on how networking continuously proves to be the most effective method of finding a new job. I have worked in career services for more than twenty-five years and watched job seekers ranging from convicted felons to C-level executives prolong a job search due reluctance to network. Most often this involves fear.
Reaching out to people outside of one's normal comfort zone is difficult under normal circumstances. Combine this with the insecurities one feels while looking for a job, especially while unemployed, and it becomes easy to see why people avoid the process. Unfortunately, the Internet now has more than 100,000 career-related sites. Spending 50-plus hours per week on these sites can provide the nervous networker with the false impression they're conducting an effective job search.
Assuming networking fills a minimum of 50 percent of all jobs, it stands to reason a comparable percentage of your job search time should involve networking. If you realize your numbers don't begin to approach this, you need to identify your self-talk about networking that holds you back. Do these sound familiar? Embarrassment that you're out of work. Understandable, but before you place a "loser" label on yourself, think about this. Somewhere among the 10.2 percent unemployed in our country, I imagine some close friends, colleagues, or family members have suffered similar fate. Think of how you perceive their situations. Do you think less of them because of this? Do you call them losers? If not, why do you assume others will interpret your situation negatively? Reluctant to reach out to former colleagues you haven't spoken to in a while, fearing your effort will appear superficial when you have a need?
Networking is not about asking for a job. Networking is about exchanging information for the benefit of both parties. When you focus the contact on seeking the colleague's expertise, the contact becomes more comfortable. Also, consider that when you were employed, if an issue came up that you believed a particular former colleague's expertise could prove beneficial, would you have hesitated to reach out? I challenge job seekers to try ten calls to former colleagues they have a level of discomfort about calling, then report back the results.
Most report the experience as beneficial since they find most of the contacts are glad to hear from them. They often discover some who also had a recent job search and gain from sharing their experiences.
Leaving a company doesn't change your professional identity. You don't stop being a systems analyst, teacher, attorney, or whatever profession you work in when employed. As company tenures shorten, we can learn from those in careers revolving around projects rather than companies. For example, actors between films or stage productions don't introduce themselves as "unemployed actors." While those statements deal with particular fears, other reluctant networkers rationalize fear with misconceptions about the process. These most commonly involve assuming people have nothing to offer. When trying to network into a particular company, some job seekers hesitate to call someone they know working there but in a different field or department. What they fail to realize is existing employees can provide valuable information regarding hiring policies and can ask about needs in the department of interest.
Consider how many companies offer cash awards to employees that refer hired candidates. These programs have no stipulation the referral must apply to the same department. How can the shy or introverted networker improve? First, realize the process won't happen overnight then commit yourself to reaching out more through these three practical steps. Make at least two contacts per day that are a little beyond your comfort zone. As you develop lists of possible contacts, rank them according to how comfortable you feel contacting them.
Start with the smallest level of discomfort and work your way through the list. Follow this and, in a few weeks, a call that made you slightly nervous will be easy. Never assume a "no." Let a conversation with an individual determine whether they can help you or not. Yes, your neighbor may work in a totally different field than you. However, their sibling might be a great contact. You will never find this out unless you ask. Focus the contacts on obtaining and exchanging information.
Indicate you seek new career opportunities and want to get the individual's perspective. If all you ask about is openings where the contact works, that's all the information you will receive. If you ask for information about the field or profession in general, you get the contacts full expertise. If you share your knowledge and expertise effectively, you also will find out about openings at their company.
Finally, avoid the last mistake nervous networkers make. Since they disdain networking, once they secure a position, they shut down the process. Keep in mind that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average tenure with a company now is 4.2 years. Divide that into how long you see the rest of your career lasting. This should give you an idea of how many more times you might need to conduct a job search. It's much easier to tap an existing network than to rebuild one again.
Tom Dezell is career advisor, trainer, author, and certified professional resume writer at the Maryland Professional Outplacement Assistance Center.
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