Career Tip 25: Strengthen Your Web – Gathering Networking Information

A common question is, “How do I keep a networking conversation going? Inevitably, things go silent, and I do not know what to say.” The Job Dog understands that networking can be stressful. A common reaction to such stress is to talk too much. When networking, your job is not so much to talk. Your job is to ask questions and then to listen.

Networking is this simple:

• You have friends, co-workers, and relatives.
• Most want to help.
• It is not their job to come to you with information.
• It is your job to ask them questions that get them talking.
• You should develop good questions before you speak with your contacts.

Let’s make networking a whole lot easier. Here’s how.

• How long do you think it will take to find another job?
• Do you know of any jobs at your company?
• Are you aware of jobs at other companies?
• Can you think of a person I should contact?

Although good questions, these are closed-ended questions. Closed-ended questions lead to abbreviated thought, a yes/no answer, or some quick fact. Problem is, you do not want brief responses. You want thoughtful attention to your questions.

Revise your questions to an open-ended version of the same thought. Open-ended questions get a person thinking. Here are improved versions of each of these key questions.

• Did you experience challenges when you changed jobs in the past?
  • Better: What challenges do you think I will experience in my search?
  • Better: What advice can you give me to improve my competitiveness?
  • Better: What else do you think I could do to improve my job search?
• Does your company internally post jobs before they become public?
  • Better: What job postings do you anticipate in upcoming months?
  • Better: Considering the candidates being hired, is there any common thread or factor that seems to be working in their favor?
  • Better: May I use you as a reference if I find a job posted at your company? (Note: this is a productive, closed-ended question.)
• Which of your company’s suppliers or customers seem to be growing the fastest?
  • Better: What is causing growth within your industry? What are the emerging trends?
  • Better: Is there someone at those companies I could contact for networking? (Again, a productive, closed-ended question.)
• Within your network, who do you think might be open to talk to me?
  • Follow-up: May I use your name when I contact them? (Again, a productive, closed-ended question.)
  • Follow-up: I would like to know what to research; how could I best prepare for a conversation with him/her?

These questions are outstanding conversation starters. They generate deeper thought and more dialogue that is productive. They also shift most of the conversation from you to the other person.

Until using open-ended questions becomes natural, simply come to networking meetings prepared with a few of these questions. Clients routinely ask if it is okay to have a list of questions in front of them during a networking meeting. The answer is yes. People will be impressed to see you are prepared.