Networking: How to contact people you don’t know very well

Here are some rules to help in making telephone contact with people that you learn about from one of your contacts or by doing your research on-line. All you know about them is information that was passed on to you or they posted on Linkedin or that you learned about using Google search:

1. Let them know the reason for your call: “I am researching your company…” I got your name from..., do you know him/her?
2. Be respectful of the organization: “I admire your company and the work you do…” I have done similar work myself when I worked at …..
3. Keep the first call short; no more than 10 minutes: “Can you talk right now or can I call you back. I need just 10 minutes.” If they are busy find out when you can call back.
4. Ask for help in understanding what it is like to work at the organization. It is an easy question and personal. Most people will respond to a request for help.
5. Ask the person how they got their job. What was the hiring process like and do they like working for the company.
6. Now it is time to ask about the company. Take your questions about the company that you developed in your research. Is the company growing? And what areas seem to be providing the most growth?
7. Ask about other companies that you should add to your target list.. If the person knows someone at these new target organizations. If so, ask for the name, phone and email; also ask if you can mention that you were referred by this person.
8. When you have completed your 10 minutes (do not go over), ask if you can stay in touch from time to time as your research continues. If they say yes, send them a Linkedin invitation to join your network. Change the standard Linkedin message to a thank you note and ask if it is ok to stay in touch as you make progress.
9. Put in a note in your calendar to call back in 3 weeks. Make sure that you share the information learned in your research when you call back. This makes the relationship mutually beneficial.

One of the things to stay away from on the first call is a job interview or asking about job openings. This puts the other person on the spot and gets in the way of developing some rapport. As a rule you want to postpone any job interviews until after you get to know the person and the organization. The first call is too soon, schedule job interviews for later when you have time to research the position and determine if it is appropriate for you. If you interview for a job too soon, it typically ends the conversation and eliminates any hope of developing a relationship with the person. The whole goal of developing a networking contact is to gain a relationship with a person that is willing to help you with your job search. Once they know you and what you are looking for, they can look far into their whole network.

Some job seekers may feel that this is a shallow and self serving exercise, but it is not, especially if you are serious about the target company and the industry as a whole. These people that you are inviting to become networking partners have the potential to be long term colleagues. So this exercise is not frivolous and can extend your networking reach far beyond family, friends and former colleagues.