How to make connections that lead to opportunities you might never have found
Welcome to the latest edition of the Job Guy Newsletter. Each month, I share observations from the world of careers, practical ideas you can apply immediately, and insights from my recent blog. As always, feel free to comment or suggest topics you would find useful.
In this month's blog, Stop Asking for Favors. Start Being One., I discussed why conventional networking makes so many professionals uncomfortable. Asking people to keep an eye out for job openings puts them in the awkward position of having to find something for us, usually without knowing what they're supposed to be looking for.
The alternative is to help people understand where our skills might solve problems. But that raises a practical question: who should we be talking with, and what should we hope to accomplish?
Start With the Need, Not the Name
When I work with clients on networking, our first conversation isn't about whom they know. It's about why an employer might need someone with their capabilities in the first place.
We consider the business problems they've successfully addressed, the results they've created, and the circumstances that might lead another organization to need those same capabilities. Sometimes those circumstances involve problems. Sometimes they involve opportunities such as expansion, new products, or changing customer expectations.
This matters because a list of target companies and hiring managers can be surprisingly limiting. It directs attention toward people who might have authority to hire, rather than people who understand where demand is developing.
Once we understand the kinds of situations that could create demand, we can think much more broadly about who might encounter them.
A consultant may know which clients are struggling with implementation. A supplier may see which customers are expanding. Someone in customer success may know where retention problems are developing. None of these people necessarily has an opening to discuss, but each may have valuable knowledge about conditions that create opportunities.
The goal isn't to identify everyone who might hire you. It's to identify people who understand where your capabilities could become valuable.
The Strength of Weak Ties
Most people begin networking with those they know best. That's understandable, and it's where I encourage my clients to start. Familiar contacts are easier to approach, and early conversations provide an opportunity to become comfortable discussing a possible career direction.
But our closest contacts aren't necessarily the people who can expose us to the widest range of opportunities.
Research has demonstrated the importance of what sociologists call weak ties, people outside our immediate circles who have access to different relationships and information.
A large study involving more than 20 million LinkedIn users, published in Science in 2022, found that weaker connections can be particularly useful in helping people change jobs. The effect varied by industry and by how strong those connections were, but the broader lesson is useful: people we know less well may have access to opportunities we would never hear about through our closest relationships.
LinkedIn makes it relatively easy to identify these connections. I encourage clients to look for people in their target market who are connected to professionals they already know. This allows them to begin with a familiar contact who can offer useful insight and, as the relationship develops, potentially introduce them to others with relevant experience.
It's a much more comfortable way to expand a network than sending invitations to strangers. And because we've already identified people whose perspectives would be valuable, we're not asking our contacts to figure out whom we should meet.
Prepare for a Networking Meeting
A successful networking meeting begins with a clear understanding of why you're talking with that particular person. The objective isn't to discover whether they know of an opening. It's to benefit from their knowledge of the market you're exploring.
That means doing some preparation. Learn about the person's professional background, the organizations they've worked for, and the industries they understand. Think about why their perspective could help you evaluate your career direction.
You should also be prepared to explain what you're considering and why. The conversation needs a starting point. Someone can't offer much insight into the relevance of your experience if they don't understand what you hope to accomplish.
The discussion should help you understand whether your skills are a credible match for the work you're considering, what additional capabilities might be needed, and what business circumstances create demand for people with that background. It can also help you identify other types of professionals who might offer useful perspectives.
Above all, respect the purpose of the meeting. If you've asked someone for advice about an industry, don't turn the conversation into a request for job leads or introductions. That's a bait and switch, and it's an excellent way to make someone regret agreeing to meet with you.
The follow-up matters, too. A thoughtful thank-you note should reinforce what you learned and acknowledge advice you intend to act on. If appropriate, it's also an opportunity to ask about an introduction to someone whose perspective would help you continue exploring.
Done properly, networking meetings help you make better career decisions while building relationships with people who understand what you can contribute.
A Conversation That Changed a Career
I worked with a client who had built her career in hospitality, selling conference space and managing customer relationships. She wanted to explore sales opportunities at technology companies but wasn't sure how her experience would translate.
We examined where her skills might be valuable and identified a vice president of sales at a Fortune 500 technology company who was a friend of a friend. She arranged a networking meeting with him.
He explained that his salespeople worked primarily with engineers. To succeed on his team, they needed a detailed understanding of the technology they were selling. My client didn't have that background.
That was useful information. She had learned something important about a potential career direction and a skills gap she would need to consider. But the VP also came away understanding her sales experience, her ability to develop customer relationships, and her interest in working for a technology company.
A week or two later, he contacted her. A colleague was developing a sales initiative aimed at business users of the company's technology rather than engineers. These customers weren't particularly interested in the technical details of how the systems worked. They wanted to understand how the technology could help them do their jobs.
Suddenly, the capabilities that hadn't qualified her for the VP's team were exactly what his colleague needed.
He made the connection, she got the job, and five years later she's still there.
Had she approached him simply asking about openings, the conversation might have ended with a polite no. Instead, he understood what she could contribute and recognized an opportunity to help his colleague.
He wasn't just doing my client a favor. He was bringing a potentially valuable candidate to someone who needed one.
Tip of the Month: Don't Let the Thank-You Be the End
A networking meeting shouldn't end when you hang up the phone or leave the coffee shop. What you do afterward can be just as important as the conversation itself.
Send a thoughtful thank-you note that reflects what you actually learned, not a generic message that could have been sent to anyone. If the person recommended that you investigate a particular industry, develop a skill, or change how you present your experience, let them know what you intend to do about it.
Better yet, follow up when you've done it. If their advice prompted you to revise your résumé, for example, you might send them the revised version and explain how their perspective helped. That's a legitimate reason to reconnect, and it demonstrates that their time was well spent.
If you've identified someone in their network whose perspective would be valuable, your thank-you note may also be a good opportunity to ask whether they'd be comfortable making an introduction. You're giving them time to consider a specific request rather than putting them on the spot during your meeting.
The goal isn't to keep finding excuses to contact people. It's to give them a reason to remember you, respect your professionalism, and feel good about helping when an appropriate opportunity arises.
