Make Networking Natural

Many people come to career or resume coaches because they're overwhelmed and think they're making the correct decision to pay a professional to help them with their job search.
​Then we tell them to network.

I know how that can feel. Exhausting, overwhelming, and discouraging.
Many articles you'll read will tell you networking is hard work, but essential.
I agree with part of that ... let me tell you a story.
Last week I worked as a deputy returning officer for the provincial election. That experience alone is worth its own write-up, but let's just say I learned a LOT.
It was a loooong day. I was partnered with a polling clerk, who was a lovely grad student from Carleton University. We were visited from time-to-time by an area manager checking in to make sure everything was going well.
The student polling clerk, originally from Toronto, told us he liked Ottawa, and would like to stay and work here, so he might be interested in a government job.
Well, the area manager works for the government, I write resumes, and soon we were firing information at him which he was diligently scribbling down in a notebook.
At one point, he paused and said, "I guess this is what they call networking."
It was such a great reminder of what networking should be - it's really just a matter of being open about your goals, and sharing them with others. It's not about checklists, or expectations. It's based on what I've always found to be true, which is that people genuinely want to help other people.
In this case. the two moms in the room wanted to help this student with his job search.
I don't think he found our "networking" session difficult (I hope he didn't!) and we've now connected on LinkedIn so we can continue to share networks.

Steps to Natural Networking​

1. Show an interest in other people around you and ask genuine (not prying) questions.
2. Answer their questions about your plans and goals.
3. Make a connection - these days connecting on LinkedIn makes that very easy, or you can exchange email addresses.

That's really it - the above steps will mean they know your strengths and you know theirs, and if one of you thinks of an opportunity for the other, you know how to reach each other.
Ask, Answer, and Connect - it's not that hard!

Hopefully you feel a little more confident about networking, but I understand if you still feel overwhelmed about updating your resume or your LinkedIn profile..
That's what I'm here for! If you need assistance with LinkedIn, or your resume, you can visit my website or contact me.
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