This month we’re talking all about networking. Despite all the screening tech, the fact that jobs are posted online and you can go to hundreds of different websites and job boards to apply to them, all the chatter about LinkedIn, AI, and all the viral job search hacks, the truth is that most jobs are found through networking. Research suggests that number could be up to 80%. A study by Greenhouse this year found that referrals represented 30% of all new hires, despite only making up about 5% of the original talent pool. Candidates with referrals had a 50% chance of making it past the initial resume review while candidates without referrals had about a 12% chance. Let that sink in. If you can find yourself a referral, your chances can go from about one in ten to one in two.
All it takes is to get that first interview. That is your opportunity to meet face to face, make a connection, and pursue the opportunity. Let’s help you get there. Are you ready?
The best kind of job search is a proactive one. Ideally, by the time a job opportunity comes across your LinkedIn feed or your email inbox, you’ve already done the work of building your network and finding inroads. But we all have lives and things to do outside of building our professional networks, so it doesn’t always work out that way. Here are three ideas to build your network this week, followed by three ways to find a referral or a connection for a job opportunity.
Build your network
(1) Ask three people you know to coffee every month.
Sit down this weekend and make a master list of people you know or are connected to who you could ask to have a coffee with you (this can be in person or virtual over zoom). This can be anyone who has a job you think is interesting, works in an industry you’re thinking about, made a career move you’re considering, whatever it is that piques your interest. These people can be peers, former mentors, colleagues, or even employees.
Here’s why this works: you aren’t asking them for a job. You’re just looking to learn more. Ask them about what it's like to work at their company, what a typical day to day looks like in their role, how they transitioned from one industry or function to another. Keep these sessions informational, just tell them that you want to catch up and learn more about their career journey. If you are job searching, you should absolutely let them know that you’re thinking about what comes next for you and just tapping into your network to see what’s out there. That way, if something pops up for them, whether that’s a job opportunity or a connection who might be aligned with your goals, they’ll think of you.
Whether you're actively job searching or not, keeping in touch with past connections should be a routine exercise for you. Nothing turns people off more than when someone only reaches out when they're looking for a job. When you make an effort to keep in touch with people, they'll be happy to help when you need something.
(2) Grow your LinkedIn muscles
If you’re looking for a job, you need to get out there on LinkedIn. We’ve got a whole blog (with a downloadable checklist) about updating your LinkedIn. Go check that out if it’s been a while. Once your profile is updated and optimized, you need to get used to engaging there. It is an unfortunate truth that LinkedIn prioritizes the profiles of people who engage most with LinkedIn. So if you’re job searching, get out there and like some posts, comment on articles, and make connections. Get in the habit of engaging. The more you do something, the easier it becomes. So message an old colleague to congratulate them on their new job or comment on a friend’s post about returning to work. If you’re in the habit of using LinkedIn regularly, it will be easier to press “send” when you’re asking for a connection for a job.
(3) Pay it forward
If you’ve been a long time Meytier follower, you might recognize this advice from our “five things to do this week to network” blog from a few years ago. It is still one of our top tips. Networking isn’t just about what others can do for you- a critical part of being a successful networker is being someone who helps others when they can. You can do more to help than you realize. Sharing a post from a job seeking friend, connecting two people you think could help one another, writing a reference for someone, even just reaching out to someone when you see a job you think they’d be great for. Never underestimate the power of paying it forward.
Okay so there is a job that looks perfect for you and you need a way to get past the job search black hole. Here’s what you do.
(1) Look for a connection at that company
Go to that company’s LinkedIn page, toggle to the “People” tab, and see who shows up first. Is there anyone you know? A friend, a former colleague, an acquaintance? If yes, reach out to that person. If not, look for second degree connections. Is someone you know connected to someone who works at this company? Ask them for an introduction. If you can’t find anyone, look for a common connection. This could be a fellow alumni from your college or university, or maybe someone who has worked at a company you used to work at. If you can’t find any connections, move onto step two. If you did find a connection, first, apply to the job. Second, send them a message like this:
"Hi (Name), it's been a while since we spoke/ I see you went to my University/ congrats on the new job. I'm exploring my next move right now and I saw a really interesting opportunity at Company. Do you know anyone in the (Product) group I could speak to to learn more?"
Best case scenario: they forward your message to someone who looks up your application and then reaches out to you. Worst case scenario: they don't answer.
(2) Message the recruiter or hiring manager
Listen, you have to shoot your shot. The chances of your resume moving from round one to round two isn’t great (as we said earlier... It’s about 12%). If it requires a little shameless outreach from you to push the resume forward, you need to try. Usually, LinkedIn job posts will have a recruiter or poster linked. If it does, reach out to that person. If it doesn’t, try to find the hiring manager. For many companies, this won’t be too hard. Most job descriptions will describe the team a job is a part of and who this job will report to. Find that person. When you reach out, keep it brief and respectful. Something like:
“Hi, (NAME)! I just applied for the XXX role at YYY company. Looks like a great opportunity to do some interesting work in (CAREER AREA). I'm really looking forward to hearing more about it.” Your hope with this is that you pique their interest enough to go find your resume. If you’re worried about annoying this person, we get it, it feels like a risk. That said, unless they've got a big banner on their profile that says “PLEASE DON’T REACH OUT FOR JOBS”, it is a risk we encourage you to take. The potential upside is that it pushes you further in the process and gets you that all-important first meeting. The potential downside is that it is just another job you don’t hear back on.
(3) Know who's hiring
Our final advice is to always make an effort to know who's hiring. What we mean by this: you should know where people are getting hired and by whom. Anytime a colleague leaves your team or an acquaintance in your industry starts a new job, ask them how they found it. They might have worked with an agency you've never heard of, or joined a company that is expanding heavily in your career area, or maybe a networking group helped them find that role. Regardless, it is good for you to know how people like you are finding new opportunities.
We encourage you to reach out to any agencies you hear of, whether it is an executive search agency (if you’re quite senior), or one of many companies like Meytier that helps others find great talent. When companies engage vendors like us, they’re outsourcing that initial resume review in exchange for a curated talent slate. That’s good news for candidates. You’re much less likely to receive an automated rejection from someone like this than from an overworked internal HR team. If you’re job searching, please reach out to us!
Thanks for reading our newsletter! We are thrilled to have you. For more mid-senior level job search advice and exclusive content and job opportunities delivered straight to your inbox, sign up HERE. Do you have a burning question you'd like us to address in an upcoming newsletter? We'll be adding an anonymous Q&A section for subscribers only. Send us your questions to content@meytier.com