The Eight Networking Tricks of Rainmakers

1. Inroads: is a great resource for networking with otherabout 35 requests that I made over the phone or in
professionals within your in-dustry. You can makeperson. I was paid more when I graduated from high
connections with thousands of individuals that you canschool then my teachers and the same as my college
ask for advice from and network with. Most peopleprofessors when I gradu-ated from college and both
who join the website want to move forward with theirof these jobs came from conducting informational
careers or they would not take the time to tryinterviews. They work.
networking online. Use this website to find4. Resume buffing: Your resume is an extension of
professionals within a company you want to work at,your-self. Until a company has gotten to know you
identify potential new employees, and propose newwell, it is you on paper. While most reports and
partnerships. is free and backed by a leadingdocuments should not be passed on to others without
technology venture capitalist firm, Sequoia Capital. Togoing through five drafts, resumes should be reviewed
join my network, send me an email at20 times before, being forwarded to a potential
2. Easy Email Access Many people are hard to reach.employer. It should not exceed one page in length, so
This is not an accident. They are often busy or wouldthe time to review it each time should not be too bad.
simply receive too many sales pitches or spam emailsIf you have never done this before pass your resume
if they are contact information was open to the wholearound to a few close professionals that you trust and
world. 95% of all email addresses within establishedhave them help you. Make sure that your resume is
corporations use standard email formatting. Forunique, action word packed, and professional, stating
exam-ple if you worked at Widgets, Inc., your emailreal accom-plishments and testimonials from past
address might be and your co-workers emailsupervisors, peers, or professors. What could you do
addresses might read and Every personal emailto improve your real skill sets while improving your
ad-dress within the company is probably formatted soresume? Toastmasters? Publications? Networking?
they read Remember, email addresses are not theAssociation Memberships? Ask what hiring managers
same across companies, just usually within a singlecare about and work on acquiring those experiences.
company. This turns your quest of contacting your5.Persistence: The importance of persistence in
targeted professional into a much easier game. Visitnetwork-ing cannot be overstated. Start making it your
their "About Us" "Contact Us" or "Customer Service"goal to have lunch, coffee, or an informational interview
web pages online. One of these areas usually includesover the phone at least once a week within a
somebody's personal email address, which will revealprofessional in your industry. Some people will answer
the formatting across the entire company. If you doon your first phone call and give you any information
not have any luck finding an email address try sendingyou need, while others will take months to track down.
a short note to their customer service department andNever take any of their responses personally. My
wait for a response that will usually come directly fromfather always said "no response means nothing." Try
an individual with a standard email address.to understand their point of view and learn from the
Although most people wont mind you doing this, orsituation for your next networking initiative. While
even ask how you got their email address, you shouldnetworking, you will run into all types of people and
be cognizant that some people might react negativelylearn how to read each unique individual and adjust
to being "bothered" by someone they do not know.your approach accordingly. If you leave a voicemail on
Many people have told me that they admire that kindMonday, follow up with an email, and wait 4-6 business
of intelli-gence and tenacity in trying to get things done.days before leaving a second one. If you network
Keep your message very brief and to the point, andenough, you will gain a very sensi-tive feel for how
keep it as professional as possible. This tactic will helpmuch persistence is helpful without be-ing so pushy
you gain access to people that others would give upthat others do not want to take the time to help you.
on after checking a website or trying to call a few6.Website: Create a website that describes your
times. The point of emailing someone that has notexperi-ence, education, and any relevant professional
provided you with their contact information is not topublica-tions. I have found it very useful to have my
pester or sell the contact on something they have notresume downloadable directly from the website in
shown interest in. This tool should be used to networkMicrosoft Word format. This enables you to be
and suggest a meeting for coffee or discussion of an"Googled" and lets you give people your web address
idea over the phone that might benefit both parties.over the phone or on a business card. For an example
3.Informational interviews: Informational interviews areof this type of a website visit
meetings usually initiated by a professional looking to7.Presentations: Your ability to effectively communicate
learn more about an industry, company, or potential setideas, create PowerPoint presentations, and give
of positions. It is a meeting where the goal is tospeeches will greatly help build your personal image
edu-cate someone and establish a relationship.and career. No matter how early or far you are in
Infor-mational interviews can be a great way to getyour career, it can be built stronger by improving your
your foot in the door at a new organization or learnspeaking skills. Join a local toastmasters club, or start
about poten-tial positions that are not open to thespeaking at local schools and associations. The best
public. Many in-formational interviews lead to companypart about presenting information is that it turns you
tours, resume forwarding, and employment offerings.into a source of value and brings people to you.
While being careful not to mistake this informational8. Publish: Publishing articles, books, newsletters,
interview for a formal interview, creating a strongcolumns, and websites are other ways you can
rapport with your contact and really selling yourself canbecome a valuable resource to others. If you don't
create an inside "champion" of your skills and abilities. Ithink you can write well enough to publish anything
have conducted over 30 informational interviews and Iprofessionally, start writing your first piece today and
have only been turned down about 5 times out ofhave a friend or peer at work help you edit the work.