NETWORKING GUIDE

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The Career Centers Networking Guide

Approximately 70% of all jobs are found through networking! Most career counseling professionals estimate that at least 50% of the jobs that are filled are never advertised; so how do people find out about these opportunities? Current employees will often tell their networking associates when a position is opening and/or help those associates get interviews. With this in mind, you can see how valuable this step is in your job search. Networking, in reality, is relationship building. The basics include:

Build a contact management database of who you know Email contacts to prepare them for your request for a conversation Phone within 72 hours of requesting said meeting Conduct meeting/informational interview Send thank you note Follow up one month later to update the contact on your progress

What is Networking?
All facets of your life can be helped by a strong networking base; just think about how many times in your life you have asked others for assistance. Think of times that do not relate to the job search. Could you recommend a good restaurant? Could you refer me to your lawyer/insurance agent/broker/mechanic/plumber/etc.? I need a favor. I remember you said you knew I could use some help with The outcomes of all these scenarios would be greatly enhanced with a solid core of networking contacts. The people who can recommend a good place to eat, a friend in a certain professional field, or someone who can help you get tickets to the big gamethese people are your networking contacts. The act of networking can have a bad connotation because there are people in the world who do not network correctly. Networking has been associated with phrases such as: schmoozing and working the room. The Career Center would like for you to think of networking in a different light that can be summarized in two words: Building Relationships. In its truest form, networking is when people meet to exchange ideas, information, and contacts. It can take place in a formal networking meeting, an office, an airplane, bar, holiday partyanywhere two people are talking and building a relationship. The topic of conversation is irrelevant as long as people are building a rapport, a level of trust, or a bond with each other. Networking is not always about finding a job, although many people use it as such. As a college student, you could use networking to explore a variety of careers, research a potential major or class offering, or gather information if you are moving to a new city. Networking is also very powerful when used to research companies and industries, to prepare for job interviews, and to gain an inside knowledge of possible job openings at a company. Networking should not been seen as a one-way street where you do all the asking and your contacts provide all the help and resources. You should be open to, and offer to, repay the kindness that has been extended to you by your contacts if they should ever need your assistance. A networking contact may ask you to speak to his high school child as to why you chose Notre Dame, or a future Notre Dame student may ask you to assist her in exploring a career. Right now, you may not think you have much to offer your networking contacts, but you do and you will in the future.

Why Should You Learn to Network?

In this technology-driven age, networking has become even more valuable in distinguishing yourself from other applicants. It is not unusual for a recruiter to place a job announcement on an internet job site and within days have hundreds of resumes from that single posting. Do you want your resume to end up in that pile of paper or would you rather have someone personally endorse your application? Consider the following: A referral generates 80% more results than a cold call. Approximately 70% of all jobs are found through networking. Most people have at least 250 contacts. Most career counseling professionals estimate that at least 50% of the jobs that are filled are never advertised; no newspaper or internet ad, no placement on a company website, no professional recruiter or headhunter, no career fair. So how do people find out about these opportunities? Current employees of the company often tell their networking associates when a position is opening and/or help those associates get interviews. All this occurs before the company will spend hundreds, or thousands, of dollars to advertise the opening. Consider it from the employers perspective. If you were a president of a company and had several trusted employees, would you rather spend thousands of dollars advertising a job, sift through hundreds of resumes, conduct several interviews, and then hire someone and hope that person is a good employee; or would you rather interview some candidates referred to you by your trusted, hardworking employees who put their good reputations on the line for their referrals? For businesses, it is a no-brainer: save money by not advertising, save time by not reviewing hundreds of resumes, hire an applicant that has the recommendation of a trusted employee, and make the current employee happy to have another friend working at the company. Since you are currently a student, consider this example. Your professor tells you that 50% of the final is on material you have never seen and will never see unless you attend a review session. Would you attend the review session? Of course, you would. Fifty percent of the jobs that are filled in America are never publicly advertised, and by networking, you can find out about them. Are you going to network?

Preparation for Your First Outreach

Before you get started, you need to prepare by taking care of some basics. Resume: Have your resume reviewed by a career counselor so that you are ready to pass it along if one of your contacts should request it. You want to make a positive impression and having a clean, tailored resume can help convey the message that you are serious about this networking interaction.

Networking Letter: It is also advisable to have a networking letter looked over by a career counselor to determine the message you are sending. Are you being too passive or pushy because of your word choice? Are you asking for too much or being overly vague in your letter? Is the letter sending the professional image you want? We have included a sample letter at the end of this guide for you to use when creating your networking correspondence.

Know what you want.

Your conversations with contacts will be more fulfilling for both you and your contact it you have done some research about the following:

Industries Research: Position Before contacting anyone for networking purposes, be sure Career goals to conduct research on the person, the company, industry, job, city, etc. If you are going to be asking questions about the company where the contact person works, you should have done some basic research on the organization. This research will also help you formulate questions to ask the networking contact. A sampling of basic networking questions to help you get started is included at the end of this guide.

How To Network
The following steps will help you start off on the right foot. 1. 2. 3. 4. Send a letter or e-mail to prepare the networking contact. Follow up within 72 hours with a phone call requesting a meeting or phone conversation. Conduct your meeting/informational interview. Send a thank you note. One month later, send a follow up e-mail, letter, or phone call to networking contacts with whom you have had a positive experience. The conversation is simply to update the networking contact of your progress. This step is often forgotten, but it will produce the best results.

Building Your Contacts

Many students will say, I dont know anyone with whom to network. Nothing could be further from the truth; remember that most people have 250+ contacts. Start with the people you already have a relationship with and who know you well. Family, friends, neighbors, parents of your friends, professors, etc. write the names of all the people you know well. This should be the first group to approach for networking because you have an existing relationship with these people and they are usually willing to help. Now think of everyone you have ever worked with or you can gain many industry contacts and job leads. Remember, these people are in the field in which you want to work so they are key contacts to maintain.

Finally, reach out to people with whom you have something in common. Notre Dame alumni are great people with whom to network because you have Notre Dame in common. Fellow church members may be willing to have a conversation because they recognize you from the ten oclock service. People you meet at a conference share an interest with you. Networking with these groups requires more effort because you have to first build a relationship with these people, but these groups can be a very diverse and powerful resource to use in your career exploration and job search. Informational Interview: Informational interviews are one aspect of networking in which you, the interviewer, are asking for information, not a job. The knowledge gained from an informational interview can help you determine which courses and qualifications are necessary for specific career paths, the types of job or companies best suited for you, etc. Informational interviewing can also aid your job search. Discover jobs that are not publicly advertised. Expand your knowledge of the job market in the field you want to explore. Learn about how to make yourself a more qualified candidate. Build support for your job search. CareerSearch: This powerful database can help students locate employers by size, location, and industry. Contact names are also provided. This site is particularly helpful for students seeking contacts with organizations in their hometowns. CareerSearch can be accessed in The Career Centers Online Library. CareerShift: CareerShift allows you to search for contacts from millions of companies. You can search for contacts by industry, location, or keyword. TIP: under the contacts tab, search for a company and then click Find contacts at this company to get a list of contact names. You can also type in Notre Dame in the School Attended box and view a profile on Notre Dame alums working at this company. It will usually include a picture, email, job title and news articles in which the employee is mentioned. CareerShift can be accessed in The Career Centers Online Library. Go IRISH: Go IRISH is an excellent resource for locating Career Center contacts. Select the Employers tab and enter the name of the organization you are targeting into the keyword search. If the organization is in the Go IRISH system, it will come up in the search. Select the tab listing the organizations name. If there is a contact on file, it will be revealed in the lower right hand corner. This search mechanism allows students to locate contacts even if there are no current jobs or internships posted to the system. Thirty-Second Message: You are in an elevator and happen to strike up a conversation with the person standing next to you; can you give a thirty-second speech that will let that person know who you are, what you do, and where your career interests lie? Often people can and want to help you, but they will not know how unless you communicate this information to them. By developing a thirty-second message you will make a good impression and increase the likelihood of making a new contact. 6

A good thirty-second message includes: 1. Relevant background information: education and experience 2. Summary of your career interests 3. A question or request for assistance for the other person Ex: I will receive my degree from Notre Dame this May where I have been majoring in Political Science with a focus on voting trends of various constituencies. I was able to apply that information through an internship this past year with the New Jersey Democratic Party. The internship allowed me to research key issues in various counties for the upcoming elections. I would like to use this experience by working on a larger campaign for a senator or congressperson. In order to break into this field, I have been conducting informational interviews and speaking to anyone who has knowledge of working for a campaign. Could you recommend anyone that I may speak with in order to gain a better understanding of the process of being hired onto a campaign?

Networking with Notre Dame Alumni

Notre Dames alumni are some of the most loyal alumni in the world. Connecting with alumni provides students with an excellent network of contacts. Finding alumni that work in a particular industry, at a particular company, or in a particular geographic region can all be helpful. Irish Online Alumni Networking System Notre Dame seniors and graduate students can have full directory access to Irish Online, the Notre Dame alumni database, by creating their own accounts at https://alumni.nd.edu. First-year, sophomore, and junior students should contact the Alumni Association at (574) 631-6000 to inquire about access to the database. Linked In http://linkedin.com LinkedIn is a professional networking site of more than 30 million experienced professionals. As a student, you can create a profile and join the Notre Dame Alumni Network to instantly be connected with thousands of Notre Dame alumni. Alumni Clubs The clubs connect you with people in the specific geographic region you are seeking. Club websites allow students to seek out upcoming events that provide the opportunity to network with alumni some sites even allow you to upload your resume and others even have job and internship postings. You can also try to connect with the young alumni representative of the club.

Maintaining Contacts
Contact Management System: How are you going to keep track of the people with whom you are networking? Whether you use Access, Excel, a three-ring binder, or note cards, be sure to have thought about how you would like to keep track of this information. Name, contact information, company, note section, follow-up action, and the date of your last contact with that person are necessary entries for your management system. Some may choose to be more detailed and include additional information.

Networking Success for the Job Search

Although networking can be the most powerful tool in your job search, it does require some key ingredients to yield the most effective results. Some important points to remember include: 1. Make at least four contacts a week during the semester. Remember that looking for a job is like taking another class, so set time aside each week to conduct your search. 2. Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals for yourself. The job search can be demoralizing if you do not recognize the small steps you are towards your goal. 3. Expect to call each contact at least three times to truly establish a networking relationship. Networking is not a one-time conversation and thank you notes should be included after contact is made. 4. Keep notes on all conversations and correspondence in order to stay organized. 5. With follow-up calls, be prepared to ask for assistance in different areas by continuing to do research on other target companies. 6. Keep your contacts fresh; even those you do not think can assist you. An e-mail every month or so keeps your name on their brain. 7. Follow through quickly on the leads provided by your contacts. Be sure you have completed all you were asked to do by a contact before you contact them again for additional assistance. Remember to express your continued appreciation for their assistance. 8. Share good news along the way. Let networking contacts know of positive outcomes as they occur. If they referred you to someone who was helpful, let them know. The more interactions you have with people, the more they will be willing to assist you. 9. Be sure to thank each network member when you accept your position - and extend an offer of help to them should they ever need it.

Networking Resources
Initial Contact Networking Letter Be concise.
223 East La Salle South Bend, IN 46617 April 8, 2004 Ms. Jennifer Hundahl, Partner Dewey and Howe Brokerage, LLP 1400 Broad Street New York, NY 10004 Dear Ms. Hundahl: Dr. Clifton Carr, professor of economics at Notre Dame, suggested that I contact you. He thought that, as an alumna in the banking industry, you would be in an excellent position to assist me with my career exploration. As an economics student, I am exploring potential career paths and am interested in the Private Equity field. I would like to hear your impressions of the field and discuss future trends for the industry. Additionally, I would also like to ask for your advice on breaking into the equities field as I know it is competitive. I will call your office next week to see if we could arrange a brief meeting at your convenience. Thank you for considering my request. Sincerely, Jack Reagan

Make a connection between you and the readere.g., alumnus of your school, mutual acquaintance, etc. State your purpose without pressuring the reader. Explain your situation briefly. Request a meeting at a mutually convenient time, and indicate that you will call to make arrangements.

Sample Questions for Networking 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) What is a typical day/year like for you? What can I expect in _____ position in this industry? What skills does one need to master to succeed in _______? How did you break into this field? Why did you choose _______ as a career? What would you recommend someone in my position do in order to become an attractive applicant? 7) What are the trends you see developing? 8) What is the future of _________? 9) What are some of your highs and lows with this position? 10) What was harder than you expected in this field? 11) Is this field in a recession/hiring? 9

12) What do you see as the hiring expectations for this field in the future (3-6 months)? 13) If you were in my position, who else would you recommend that I speak with about _____? 14) Do you mind that I mention to _______ that you gave me his/her name or would you prefer to contact them before I do? Sample Follow-Up Correspondence Mr. Jones: I would like to thank you again for meeting with me the morning of the 25th. Your advice was very helpful and I have contacted Ms. Amy Smith as you suggested. In addition to that contact, since our meeting I have actively pursued job openings with ABC Inc., XYZ Ltd., and the 123 Co. From time to time, I would like to drop you a quick note to keep you updated on my progress. Thank you again for your time and insights. Go Irish! John Johnson

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Sample Contact Management Sheet

Group FAMILY Contact Name Contact Information Date Relationship Follow-up Action Notes

FRIENDS

CO-WORKERS (Present and Past)

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

PERSONAL GROUPS (Church, civic groups, tennis league)

ALUMNI

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS

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