NETWORKING TIPS

How to Get Any Job with Any Major!

Strategies to Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams
Why Art Majors Can Go to Wall Street & Business Majors Can Go into Art
What You Need to Do to Be Employable, Whatever Your Major
How to Beat 1000-to-1 Odds to Reach Your Goals

By Donald Asher
Author of Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesnt, and Why, How to Get Any Job with Any Major, Graduate
Admissions Essays: How to Write Your Way into the Graduate Program of Your Choice and From College to
Career: Entry-Level Resumes for Any Major from Accounting to Zoology; education columnist for MSN
Encarta, career columnist for USAirways Magazine, contributing writer for the Wall Street Journals
CollegeJournal.com and CareerJournal.com, as well as monster.coms college edition, monstertrak.com, and
the award winning portals, wetfeet.com and jobstar.org.

Asher Associates
255 Elm St / PO Box 270
Gerlach, NV 89412
(415) 543-7130
[email protected]

The Truth about Networking

Networking is about information, not power.

Networking means talking to people
An adult American knows 600 people.
The networking game
Ask the next 50 people you meet,

Who do you know who would know

anything about ________________?

The Big Four

Family
Friends
Alumni
Faculty
Always start with your mom

People Who Want to Help You

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.

Every alumna or alumnus of your school

Every former employer
Every branch, subsidiary, parent, and affiliate of every former employer
Every former co-worker
Every competitor to every former employer
Every supplier or vendor to every former employer
Every customer or client of every former employer
Every venture or business partner to every former employer
Every consultant (person or group) to your former employer
Every famous person in your targeted industry
Every writer at every newspaper or journal that covers your field
Every friend you ever had
Every friend your friends ever had
Every spouse your friends ever had
Every parent or close relative your friends ever had
Every acquaintance, however fleeting, you ever had
Your parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles,
Every friend your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., ever had
Every employer or business associate of any kind of your parents, etc.
All the alumni of all your other alma maters
Every professor or teacher you ever had, or who ever worked anywhere you went to school
Every career center officer and career counselor at every school you ever attended
Every teacher or professor of your kids, siblings, friends, parents, etc.
Every leader and member of your church, synagogue, or temple
Every leader and member of every social, academic, or professional club you know of
Every neighbor you ever had
Every doctor you ever had
Every accountant and financial advisor you ever had
Every attorney and every insurance agent you ever had
Every hair dresser or barber you ever had
Every dry cleaner you ever had
Every masseuse or masseur you ever had
Every personal trainer you ever had
Every coach and member of every sports team you were ever on
Every gym manager or membership director youve ever met (or known of)
Every real estate broker you ever had
Every auto mechanic you ever had
Every veterinarian you ever had
Every yenta you ever had
Every wedding planner or photographer you ever had
Every funeral director known by anyone you know
Every doorman or doorwoman in every building in the financial district
Every clerk in every corner store
Every cabdriver of every cab you ride in while looking for work
Every bartender at every club you shouldnt be hanging out in anyway
Everybody you know by first name from A.A.
Every psychic you ever consulted, or thought you consulted
Every drill sergeant or fellow soldier or sailor you served with
Everybody you ever helped out in this life
Start over and talk to them all again

Research, then 
Write or Email, then 
Follow up with a Call or Tickle
But
Dont ask for a job!

Your Goal:
Advice, ideas, leads and referrals

The Right Way to Use the Internet in a

Job Search
1. Use the Internet for research and to generate ideas, and it
will speed up your search. Google any idea you have to
get leads, from corporate ethics to sports medicine in
Ohio to internships with sea turtles. This will provide
you with a mash of raw leads (newspaper articles, blogs,
web sites, both legit and non-legit). Follow up on what
you find.
2. Use the Internet like a telephone, to talk to people, and it
will speed up your search. You can talk to more people,
faster, including people youve never met, and including
famous and powerful people youre afraid of, by using
email.
3. Use the Internet to research companies you are interested
in, to (a) get names of people at the company to email,
write and call, and (b) to research the company prior to
any interviews (especially important). At the very least,
know what a company says about itself by searching all
its public web sites, and also search news services and
Google the company name to see what others say about it.
4. Be aware that less than 20% of jobs are ever listed on
company hiring sites or with job boards, and those that
are listed draw hundreds, if not thousands, of qualified
applicants.

The Elevator Speech

Aka The 30 Second Introduction
I am a college student majoring in psychology. I am interested in sports administration.
I am on several campus committees devoted to promoting and producing sporting events,
both intercollegiate and intramural. My ultimate goal would be to land in sports
marketing and sponsorship sales, but I am also interested in other areas. I got your name
from the career center office, and I wonder if you would have a moment to speak with me
about the sports business.

Tell (a) who you are, (b) why youre calling, and (c) what you want. Be straightforward, be
direct, and remember to push hard for referrals. Broken down, here is the skeleton of a typical
script for a thirty-second introduction:
Hello, __________________________.

My name is ________________________.

I was

referred to you by ____________________________________. Im interested in learning more

about ___________________________. I wonder if you would have a moment to share with me
any advice, ideas, leads and referrals.
Construct your own thirty-second introduction right now. Remember to convey who you are,
why you are calling or emailing, and what you want:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

I wonder if you would have a moment to share with me any advice, ideas,
leads and referrals.
Read it aloud and revise it until you can make it sound natural.

Informational Interviewing
1. Please tell me about your background. How did you get started in
the field?
2. What kind of preparation is typical to get into this field? Is it
required, or just the typical approach?
3. What was the biggest surprise or challenge when you went into
this field or career?
4. What is your typical day or week like?
5. What do you like most about your job? What do you like least?
6. What is a typical career path for someone in this field? What
ensures continued advancement?
7. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
8. Please explain the typical hiring process.
9. What skills are needed in this field?
10. Who else should I contact for further information? What other
companies would you recommend?
11. What advice do you have for me?
12. May I keep in touch with you?

Informational Interviewing
(Continued)

How to convert an informational interview

into an application interview
When you are conducting informational interviews, you will stumble
across promising openings for internships and permanent positions. If
you want to apply for one of these openings, you must apply for a
change in status.
As a good informational interviewee, you are a polite novice seeking
access to insider information. As an applicant, you are a confident
provider of needed skills, seeking an appropriate fit or match. These are
very different conditions. Also, managers who provide access to you on
the basis of providing information are doing you a favor. They may
resent it greatly if you suddenly start applying for an open position.
So, apply for a change in status by saying this:

That sounds like a very interesting opportunity.

How would I go about formally applying for that
position?
Then, follow their instructions precisely.

Sample Enthusiastic Internship Query Letter

date
name
title
company
street
city, state zip
Dear Ms. Name:
Before any of us know it, it will be summer, and no doubt your company will want to
have some talented interns around to do needed administrative, organizational, and
analytical work, to produce special projects that permanent staff dont have time to
pursue, and to provide a pool of talent from which to pick promising new hires later.
Id love to be one of those interns. As a student, Im gaining leadership and business
skills but, more importantly, especially for your business, I already have a very solid
background in most office functions. My skills do include an ability to communicate
well with both technical and nontechnical staff, and the ability to support mission-critical
assignments, and successful experience with diverse, multicultural teams.
Since my interest is to transition to a marketing or product/brand management role upon
leaving completing my undergraduate degree, it is critical for me to get a marketing
internship this summer. I am hoping that you will see my quantitative skills, my work
ethic and strong sense of personal discipline, and my enthusiasm, as assets of potential
value to you.
I am available 24/7 for travel or assignment wherever you may want me this coming
summer. My recommendations are quite favorable (very strong).
Please let me know this: When do you select your summer interns? Who is your
internship recruiter, and what is her/his email address? Id very much appreciate your
guidance, and will follow through exactly as you advise me. Heres the best way to reach
me: [email protected].
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,

I. Wanna Getgoing
Resume enclosed; please let me know if youd like an e-version.

The Railroad Track Letter

For those people who ignore your repeated attempts to connect. Send by email, or short
note or card, or both. After sending this, put the contact on your calendar for every ten
days, and remind them in those calls or emails, Mr. Jones, this is Jan Smith, contacting
you again to see if youve heard about anyone thinking about a new product push. If
youve heard something, give me a call, and as before, if you havent heard anything, feel
free to just disregard this message. Ill be in touch again in ten days. My number is .
Thanks so much. Then do it religiously, every ten days, until you have a solid job offer.

Dear Mr. Jones:

Ive been trying to reach you by phone for a week or two now, and we just havent been
able to connect. What I want to talk to you about is this: Youre very knowledgeable in
the field. You know a lot of people and a lot of people know you. Ive refined my job
search to a very specific type of opportunity, and I want to know if youll keep your ears
open on my behalf about that opportunity.
Heres what Im going to propose: If youve heard something that I might benefit from
knowing, please take a moment and take or return my contact. But, if you havent heard
anything that will be useful to me, please feel free to not return the contact. That way, I
wont be uncomfortable dropping you a message every ten days or so, as my search
continues, and Im hoping that you will agree that this is a minimally invasive way for
you to be of potential benefit to two parties, both me and someone out there who is going
to want what I bring to the table.
Heres the type of opportunity Im after: [BE VERY, VERY SPECIFIC, e.g., I want to
be a public affairs assistant or some kind of program delivery manager for a public
agency, a governmental or legislative agency, or a corporation in some way active on
behalf of education or the public welfare. Im willing to relocate anywhere, including
internationally, to lead such a launch. This is just an example; write your own version;
see the career counselors in the career services office for help with wording.]
So, as you go about your normal business, if you hear about anyone considering such a
push, give me a heads up and Ill take it from there.
If this is okay, then just keep me in mind. If this is not ok, just get on the phone anytime
and tell me its not working out for you.
And of course, if there is anything I can help you with, now or in the future, please dont
hesitate to ask.
My greatest appreciation,

U. Wanna Job

Enthusiastic Thank You Note

Date
Name of contact
Title
Company
Address
City, state, zip
Dear Dr. Johanson:
It was a great pleasure to meet with you yesterday and learn more about your global
operations. You will remember me as the student with interests in pursuing a consulting
career, and with a mix of IT and general business skills.
You painted a clear picture of the company, and I am more interested than ever in making
a contribution this summer. I will follow up on your offer to stay in touch, so you can
count on me to let you know on an ongoing basis if I am still available.
Please, as soon as you want to continue this discussion, or as soon as you think it is
appropriate for me to meet others in your company, call me. I will be very responsive,
24/7, at [email protected] or 212-555-1101.
Again, thank you for considering me, and I am encouraged by your positive attitude!
Sincerely,

Christian Madrone

Getting past Gatekeepers

1.

Cite a referral: Dr. Johnson from M.I.T. suggested I give her a call.
Of course, this has to be true.

2.

Mail any kind of letter, card or note informing your targeted decisionmaker that you will call. Then you can tell the gatekeeper, Yes, shes
expecting my call. The best line for the letter is: I will call you on
Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. You can count on me to be prompt. I look
forward to our conversation. It doesnt matter if you say what the call
is about.

3.

Call once a day until one of you dies.

4.

Call at 7:40 a.m., 10:05 a.m., 12:20 p.m., 2:05 p.m., or 5:25 p.m.

5.

Level with the gatekeeper: You know, Bill, Ive been trying to reach
your boss for ten weeks now, and he just wont call me back. What
should I do?

6.

Dial around: 555-1201, 555-1202, 555-1203to get to someone at the

company that can transfer you!

Voicemail
Fully automated: Make yourself a pot of coffee, sit down with the newspaper,
and hit redial
Human link: Call once before lunch and once after lunch, and say this:
Hello. This is Donald Asher. Im sorry to have missed you. My
number is 543-7130, but theres no need to ring me back. Ill be calling
again.

Overcoming Objections
1.

Were not hiring.

Thats okay. Im not applying for a job with you anyway. I am

interested in your advice.
Thats okay. Im not in any hurry. I just wanted you to know what I
have to offer in case something opens up later.
Thats okay. I just wanted to know if you would take a look at my
rsum and give me any advice, ideas, leads or referrals that come to
mind.
Thats okay. Perhaps you can think of someone else who might be
interested right now in what I have to offer. Your referral could be
appreciated by both of us.

2.

Im too busy.

Thisll only take a moment.

Yeah. I heard you guys were pretty successful right now.
[then, STOP, no matter how long the silence]
Id be happy to meet you early, late, during lunch, even after work.
Whats best for you?
Whats a better time for me to reach you?
3.

Send me your rsum.

Well let me tell you whats on it. Im the one who

Whats your fax number? Ill fax it and call you right back.
Ill bring it to the meeting. Whats a good time for you?
4.

Im not the person you should be

talking to.

But Im not applying for a job. I got your name from _____. She
said you were quite knowledgeable about this field. I just want to
know if you would have a moment to share with me any advice,
ideas, leads and referrals.
Actually, Im going to be applying through official channels, as
well, but I wondered if you could give me a little inside information.
Who should I be talking to? I appreciate the referral.