Careers and Employability Centre

The benefits of career networking

Networking definitions

Preparing to raise your profile – The ‘Elevator Pitch’ – The ’30 second CV’

How to identify possible contacts – Mind Mapping exercise – Making use of professional bodies

Four networking types – Practical exercise in building relationships with contacts

Using the ‘Information Interviewing’ approach

Careers Centre Networking Resources

It is the most effective way of getting realistic information & advice about career opportunities and jobs

It can lead to inspiration, helping you to take appropriate steps towards the career goal that you know is right for you

It can enable you to raise your profile amongst the community you want to join

70 – 80 % of all jobs are found through networking- It may be the ONLY way of finding work in jobs where graduate

training schemes are uncommon and/or entry into work is very competitive e.g.:

- Art & design, sport, media, charitable sector, environmental careers

“A power that comes from a spirit of giving and sharing”

“An organised way of creating links from people we know to people they know for a specific purpose”

“Giving, contributing to and supporting others without keeping score”

“Fostering self-help and the exchange of information”

“Ensuring the right to ask a favour without hooks”

Has a cooperative disposition

Is generally happy to ask others for help or guidance

Is interested in others – listens/learns about people carefully

Is regularly on the look-out for useful information from which others can also benefit

Has a well ordered and organised networking system

Takes a long-term perspective on relationships with others: Thinks more about what he/she can offer than about the return Is someone whom others really want to network with!

You should focus on building relationships

BUT

So that contacts can help you, you need to be able to explain briefly and clearly:

Who you are and what you’ve done – ‘30 second CV’

What help you are looking for at this stage – ‘elevator pitch’

- NOTE: In the early stages of networking we’d recommend asking for ‘help and advice’. Once you are clear about what you want to do and have become known to your network / contacts, you can start asking about work experience and job opportunities.

Think of 3 Unique Selling Points (USPs) which describe you and put them into a short paragraph that you could learn and reel off naturally when asked about yourself, e.g.:

(1) “I’m a second year Loughborough University Graphic Communication student with(2) a good working knowledge of Photoshop and other IT design packages and(3) a range of office and organisational skills gained through working in the family business”

NOW add a sentence which explains what you are looking for at this stage / event (e.g. at a Creative Industry networking event), e.g.

“I’m investigating a career in Advertising and I’m looking for advice on the range of opportunities available and what I need to add to my CV to get into this industry”

You have five minutes to put these statements together

Over the next TEN MINUTES move round the room, and practise delivering your 30 second CV/Elevator pitch to as many individuals as you can.

In each meeting: Briefly introduce yourselves Make sure you BOTH get a chance to deliver your statements Listen to what your partner is saying – you’ll need to use this

information to pick partners for other exercises, later in this workshop

In your first couple of meetings you’ll probably need to use your script. By the time you get to your last meeting you should be able to deliver your statements without looking at your notes – try to make your delivery relaxed and natural.

To identify existing contacts and develop new ones, think of all the networks you have belonged to:

– Your extended family – The schools, colleges, universities you have attended– Clubs, societies, organisations you have been a member of– Places that you have worked– Your partner’s or children's networks of friends– Internet-based social networking groups – Other networks?

All the above could give access to many contacts– Some will have formal networks– All individual contacts will have many contacts of their own

Dynamic method of recording information & ideas

– Mirrors the brain’s processes

Main themes radiate from central image as branches

– Branches divide into connected structure of sub-branches

– New ideas can be added in any direction

Colour & visual images used to aid memory & recall

Can compress large number of ideas into one page

Useful for brainstorming lists of contacts

Also very useful for planning documents

Pair up with someone else in the room, ideally who is investigating similar opportunities

Think of one or two career areas you want to research

Question your partner about their starting points for contacts e.g. family, clubs, jobs, groups they`re in

Produce a mind-map together (use a different colour each) showing your joint starting points in 10 minutes:

– It will be rough, without colours or diagrams– Note: people working outside your area of interest can have many contacts (e.g. the hairdresser in the example mind map)– Aim is to get 25 contacts/organisations to follow up– Prize to 1st group of two with 25 contacts!

In next few weeks – develop your own contacts mind map

There are many organisations with established networks

- They may offer careers information and advice

- By becoming a member you could get access to conferences & events

- They may have directories/databases of member organisations

Get to know the organisations in YOUR field through

- Recommendations and lists from your careers adviser

- Prospects occupational profiles – “Contacts & Resources” sections http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/occupations

- CEC web site “Classified Sites” section http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/resources/jobs/general-websites.html

(look at the right-hand menu list for links to websites for researching particular careers areas - many of the links here contain more than just vacancy information)

CONTACT DATABASE EXAMPLE 1 : Creative Leicestershire, creative companies - http://www.leicestershirecreatives.org.uk/

Alumni who are in careers that interest you are the best possible contacts

- They’re more likely to want to help than someone you’ve no link with

- They understand where you are coming from

The CEC has a database of Loughborough alumni contacts 4

- They have all said they are willing to give advice and information

- Some will offer work-shadowing &/or experience

- They cover most fields of work

- To find out how system works, go to: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/advice/mentoring/index.html

Your department/lecturers may also have alumni contacts

You might know graduates from the years above you on your course

i. Search for potential mentors in database by category or keyword

ii. Click on “Profile”

iv. E-mail the contact – best first step is to arrange telephone discussion

iii. Ask member of careers and employability centre staff for contact details

Social media tools are becoming increasingly important− But their use must be complemented by effective interpersonal skills

Learn to use the most effective Social Media tools well. − Twitter is a good way of establishing initial links − LinkedIn enables you to raise your profile further and look for work− Links to detailed online resources which will help you make effective

use of these and other tools are given at the end of this presentation

General tips about sending direct messages to people: – Focus on developing relationships before you ask for direct help– Next step is to ask for “information & advice”– Once you’ve established an online relationship you can start finding out about work-related opportunities

Find a partner you haven’t worked with before

Use the “making use of contacts” form as a prompt:http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/downloads/advice/networking/N2usingcontactsquestionnaire.pdf

Take it in turns to: – Find out if your partner used contacts in any of the three situations given (choosing a course, big purchase or job)– Find out how much help they got and from whom (record on the form)– In hindsight. Could they have used contacts more?

These are chats with people who do work that interests you – arrange them BEFORE you start your job search

They will help you to: Gather information about what careers involve Learn what kinds of opportunities exist in areas of interest Search jobs much more effectively Find out vital information to move your career forward Develop contacts with key people Build confidence and improve your interview skills Discover hidden jobs – many jobs are found this way

Begin with people you know – they are most likely to want to help

If your direct contacts can’t help directly but know someone who could: - ask if they could phone ahead and introduce you

People are more likely take calls if they are prepared for one and more likely to agree to a chat if they know why you’d like to see them.

SO:

Write or email in advance, explaining: - how you heard about them - what help/advice you are looking for - be brief ; your 30 second CV and appropriate elevator pitch is enough - attach your CV if you have one

Follow up with a call and try to arrange a short meeting

Prepare questions before the meeting + Think what YOU might OFFER them (your time, help, research etc.)

ALWAYS e-mail/write to contacts to thank them afterwards + Follow through on anything you have offered

Can you describe your typical day/week?

What kinds of problems do you deal with ?

What do you find most/least satisfying about your work ?

Where are opportunities advertised ?

Is there a typical career pattern for new professionals ?

Which parts of this field are expanding and likely to offer opportunities in the future ?

What are the typical entry-level jobs ?

What are the toughest challenges the profession is facing ?

Could you look over my work and offer suggestions ?

Can you suggest anyone I might be able to talk to ?

Are there opportunities for work shadowing or work-Experience?

These are just suggestions - think up your own questions

Find a partner – preferably someone you’ve never spoken to before

Start by chatting for a couple of minutes so that each of you can identify an activity the other person has been involved with e.g.:

- A job they have done - A committee role they have held - A strong interest that they have practised - A club they’ve been involved with for some time

Take it in turns to ask detailed questions about this activity e.g.:- How did they get started?- What are the aspects of doing it that they enjoy most?- Are there any negative aspects?- What tips would they give to anyone thinking of taking up this activity?

Work Shadowing – the ideal immediate goal Unpaid work observation of a day or two:

– Enables you to see whether the job is what you want without committing to lengthy work experience

– Easy to arrange at information interviews– Can lead to work experience (paid/unpaid) if you want it

Advantages over work experience– You can observe work at a much higher level– Much easier for an employer to arrange

– no cost or training, little supervision, much shorter

– You can look at many more job roles in a short period of time– Allows more time for more information interviewing / networking

Careers & Employability Centre (CEC) Web-based Resources (click on the links):

Introductory page

Networking resources page – practical exercises to support networking

Detailed presentation from our full Networking Workshop - Find out about future CEC networking workshops through Careers Online

Networking section of “journey to Work” video – watch real students network > Scroll down “Videos” page to “Journey to Work“ section > Select “Networking” film clip from the “seven employability” topics

Researchers Guide to NetworkingVitae guide to Networking - gives a detailed guide to networking in academic communities

Really useful book: “Networking Pocketbook”: Jon Warner, Management Pocketbooks.

- Details Available at: http://www.pocketbook.co.uk

(type “Networking” into “Book Search” box)

Careers & Employability Centre (CEC) Web-based Resources on using social media:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/advice/social-media/index.html

Detailed guide to social media in networking/job-huntingFrom Student to Salary with Social Media

One-page guide to maximising your LinkedIn profile:9 steps for getting the most out of LinkedIn

Researchers Guide to Online Networking:The Vitae guide to effective online networking

- Aimed at Postgraduate researchers - A little out of date (doesn’t mention Twitter) but gives good advice about “Netiquette” and developing relationships in academic communities

• The ‘Arts Diary’ provides an excellent, practical guide to networking in creative careers whilst listing all the national annual events to look out for. Use it electronically to click on links to pages about events:

http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~adjjw/ArtsDiary.pdf

• PDF Lists of careers resources for specific School of the Arts groups – these lists of links are designed to take students from specific School of the Arts programmes to online/downloadable resources relevant to their career planning needs. A master PDF, giving links to all lists can be downloaded from: http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~adjjw/SchoolofArtscareersresourcesmasterlist.pdf

• PDF Lists of careers resources for English & Drama students: http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~adjjw/usefulcareerswebsitesforenglishanddramastudents.pdf

Set Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound objectives, e.g.:

1.“I will follow up all the resources mentioned in this talk”

2.“I will attend the next available CEC networking workshop”

3.“I’ll arrange and carry out at least 5 information interviews and 3 work-shadowing visits before the start of the next Autumn/Spring Semester”

4.After each work-shadow, I’ll analyse what I’ve learnt and build that into my plan of action for the next semester

Avoid e-mailing people until you know them or have an introduction - It’s junk mail!

Start networking with people you know – it’s easier!

Sit next to strangers at events - not people you know

Be ready to network at all times - keep your 30 second CV and an appropriate elevator pitch in your head

Build two-way relationships: be helpful to others even if there is no immediate or direct benefit to you; think what YOU can OFFER them

Use contacts to find contacts + know other sources

Use an Information Interview strategy as your main approach to using contacts formally – follow this by arranging work shadowing

In the early stages of networking, ask for “help and advice” NOT for work placements and jobs – think RESEARCH not JOB SEARCH

ALWAYS e-mail/write to thank contacts for help - Stay in touch regularly and systematically

Be persistent in following up and following through suggestions

Set SMART objectives for your networking campaign

Become a blip on everyone’s radar!