Career Networking - no quotes
Published on 18 Apr 2006 at 12:29 am |
2 Comments |
Trackback
Filed under The Cargo Cults of Business, Manifest Masquerade, Principal Acronyms Only, Business and Corporation Related, Networking Technology.
From time to time one discovers that a close friend and colleague of long standing harbors, in some aspect, a world view so outlandish as to make one check the calendar so see if April Fool’s Day has come again so soon. Thus it is with my esteemed co-blogger here at Cargo Cult, the lovely and talented Ringo.
He has posted, on 3 April, on the topic of career networking. For you busy professionals, Ringo sees it as a great evil which ought to be suppressed. The short version of my reply is: (a) it pays to network, and (b) it turns out others are happy when you do it, as they are doing it in return.
But I know my loyal readership hangs on my every word, so herewith a longer version, now that I have a fresh pint of stout and a suitable frame of mind.
Ringo references a typical web site advising on job search techniques. Said site offers six suggestions; to wit:
1. You meet people who might have insight into your job search.
2. You talk to people who know people who could help you out.
3. You chat it up with strangers at parties.
4. You cold-call people you’ve read about in the newspaper.
5. You write cordial letters to prominent community leaders.
6. You cultivate an arsenal of contacts.
Ringo, I, and much of the explored universe agree that item 2 is an entirely reasonable approach. We will say little more about it, except to note that one doesn’t really know which people are the people who know people who can help you until one has chatted them up a bit.
The United States is, depending one one’s point of view, either delightfully or annoyingly commercial. We talk business at the drop of a hat, to friend, acquaintance, and stranger alike. As in any culture, there are unwritten rules for when and how much to engage in such talk, but in general it is an accepted area for social discourse, perhaps second only to sports. It has not been my general experience that inquiries about a new acquaintance’s profession, the business climate, trade and industry news, etc are viewed with disfavor generally. It might be stretching it a bit to ask the grieving widow at a funeral if her late husband’s job has been filled yet. but happily this temptation rarely arises unless one works with very unlucky, and short-lived, people.
Ringo reserves his strongest objections for suggestion 6, the cultivation of an arsenal of contacts. One wonders why? Do we not hand out business cards, conveniently printed on moderately persistent long-term store substrate, and full of ways to reach us? Perhaps we wish to be reached.
There is, I believe, a common thread to all these suggestions. When we contact an individual regarding job possibilities, we implicitly promise to return the favor when the tables are turned. And indeed, the tables do turn.
So yes, if you are seeking employment, by all means network. You will of course have the presence of mind to maintain the highest levels of courtesy; just as importantly you will strive to make sure you deliver value for the person you’re contacting. Cold-calling an executive at a company which might hire you? Do your homework – what, specifically, do you have to offer that would be of interest to him? His organization has specific needs as well as general ones. He has personal ties and preferences. How can you help him?
Ringo goes on to suggest that people who would engage in social networking as a way of furthering employment goals tend to have these personality traits:
1. Aggressive
2. Insensitive to others
3. Perhaps over confident
4. Willing to cynically manipulate people
5. Insincere
6. Disrespectful of the work/home boundary
7. Perhaps unaware of the conventions of polite social interaction
8. Or, perhaps merely obsequious, needy, or desperate
Well.
Is it aggressive to call someone? Suggest a lunch meeting with a former colleague?
In America, at least, one can often (though not always) bring up business without being seen as rude, boorish, insensitive, etc. And I certainly hope it’s not “over-confident” to suggest that one might actually be able to offer a service of some economic value.
Cynical manipulation does not enter into it. The other person knows exactly what you’re doing, and why. Quite possibly they’re pleased to know that now someone owes them a favor, as (unknown to you) they are considering leaving their current position, or perhaps fear it will leave them.
The transaction need not be insincere. Most commercial transactions have a sort of default level of sincerity, we neither wish great evil nor overwhelming good on the other party, only that they are happy with the transaction. Is that not enough? This is employment, not marriage.
Items 6 and 7 are subsets of 2; there is no reason, in our culture, why this process cannot be engaged in politely. And if you are obsequious, needy, and desperate, you might wish to cast about, via networking, for a good shrink.
Ringo makes the excellent point that hiring managers should not hire based merely on friendship or social contact. Indeed, that is correct, but we are not talking about a hiring decision. Networking is about making sure our skills and abilities are known to prospective employers. And mailing resumes ain’t the only way to do that.
We live in a fast-changing world. It’s often the case that people don’t know what sorts of options and solutions are available to meet their needs; sometimes even needs they didn’t really know they had. Have you never discovered a product or service that, upon first seeing it, thought perfect to address some aspect of your life that you hadn’t really thought about addressing? You, and your skills, might be just the solution for someone who doesn’t even quite know how to describe his problem yet, let alone formulate his requirements. Do him a favor – let him know (politely) that you exist!
Copyright 2006 Oliver Heaviside
-- Oliver| Computer Recyclers |
|---|
| Pre-Owned Macintosh Computers, Parts, & Service |
|
Clearance iMac G4s & G5s 10% off on all PPC imacs in stock during February. |
April 28th, 2006 at 9:10 am
Oliver,
Yes, calling people you don’t know to ask for favors is aggressive. Suggesting a lunch meeting with a former colleague varies. Would you do so even if you knew they were unemployed and powerless to contribute to your financial gain? If the answer is yes, then there’s nothing wrong with it… unless the answer is “yes, you never know when some schmuck might hit the lottery or get promoted to CEO.” (In which case it’s not so much aggressive as cynical.)
I would also dispute the point that the other person knows exactly what one is doing (when networking) and is “doing it too”. To the extent that may be true, I say let the “consenting adults” principal rule, but it seems to me it calls for disclosure. Perhaps one could say, “I’m feigning a social interest in you for business purposes; if you’d like to reciprocate by pretending to tolerate me for potential financial gain, please do.”
In regards to your remark about sincerity, I think you’ve become confused in a way which is somewhat ironic for this venue. Sincerity doesn’t depend upon whether you wish someone well or ill. The crux of it is lack of pretense or affectation. One could sincerely “wish [someone] great evil.”
Here’s the bottom line: In so far as I know, there is no final arbiter for rudeness, nor for the kind of world we all want to live in. That means I can’t prove my assertion that career networking is rude. I also can’t prove that the social and business environment to which it leads is undesirable. I can, and have, and might again, point out and illustrate how rude and undesirable it is to me.
I say calling people one doesn’t know, pestering people at social functions to sell them something or ask for a job, pretending a personal interest in people in order to advance one’s career, and begging favors at every turn is rude. When that crosses the barrier between work/business and home/social life, the rudeness is extreme. I don’t want a world that works that way, but clearly some people do.
From my point of view networking, line (queue) cutting, and telemarketing are of a piece and more or less equally rude. However, when it comes to sheer damage to quality of life I’ll take the line cutters and the telemarketers every time, they do less damage.
Ringo
ps. Oh, in regard to using networking for hiring decisions, that dog won’t hunt. If you bias the applicant pool you bias the outcome. –r
April 28th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
I’ll be brief. Calling people you don’t knwo to ask for favors _may_ be aggressive; it would depend on the circumstance. However, I didn’t suggest that. I did suggest doing up one’s homework and being in a position to offer something of value to the person you’re calling. Surely you have some skill or talent that the person you’re calling, or his organization, can use? If not, that might be something to work on.
It’s interesting tha you presume an unemployed person is powerless to contribute to my financial gain. Quite the contrary. While there can be some rivalry, I know from my own experience and that of others that there’s much to be gained by both parties in trading leads, tips, ideas, resources, etc. You have info which may not be useful to you but is to him, and vice versa. Why not share?
Broadly speaking, one has “friends” - people one knows well and chooses to spend time with; “acquaintances” - people you know but aren’t especially close to (perhaps a neighbor); and “business associates” who may be colleageus, co-workers, vendors, customers, or any of the legion of folks we encounter in our work lives.
I would agree that pestering acquaintances is an area that requires the most thought and care as to social appropriateness. As for friends, if one’s friends won’t help you in a job search, get new friends.
This leaves business associates. By definition, these are the folks with whom we buy, sell, exchange, and trade. When a sales person calls you - or you call him - the presumption of business intent is assumed. Suppose you leave your job, or it leaves you, and you call a former vendor. Would he be upset that you called? It’s unlikely. He has every reason to assist you in your job search. Not only does it give him the enormous emotional satisfaction of helping a fellow human being in his hour of need (which we shall assume is his primary motivation) but he is aware that you are unlikely to buy any more product until you are once again employed.
Ringo, you need not engage in social networking as part of your next job search. It isn’t required by law. If you dislike it, by all means don’t do it. But don’t presume that other who do engage in it are insufferable rude or busy annoying each other. It’s possible they’re engaging in a collective exercise in mutual co-operation and benefit.
As for your view of hiring via networking, I agree that it biases the pool. Thus, when I call friends and ask who’s _really, really_ good at the skill I need. I bias the pool toward RR good people. I can live with this. Furthermore, it’s often the case that the best people are currently employed and not necessarily looking. One doesn’t find them without networking.
Cheers!
Oliver