This has been my week of epiphanies.
Epiphany No. 1: network with networkers.
Now that may seem obvious - but it wasn't as obvious to me as you'd think.
When I tell people that "I'm doing a lot of networking," they tend to think of me at some event with a bunch of other business types, coffee or cocktail in hand, making small talk and swapping business cards, chatting some more and then scattering to mine whatever prospects we've found.
In truth, I don't particularly like these kinds of events. While I enjoy meeting new people, this approach really isn't very efficient when you're networking for a job. Who you'll end up chatting with is bit of a crapshoot. M&A lawyers, venture capitalists or R&D tax credit experts might be great contacts, but they're at least one degree of separation from my target - chief executive officers in the technology industry.
My preferred approach is networking one on one. It's the best way to achieve a meaningful and frank exchange of ideas and information. And such encounters allow me to get in front of the tech CEOs, without distractions and with enough time to present my story.
But securing such meetings is the big challenge. Last time I was in job search, I scored mixed success. Typically, it's a labour-intensive affair that's not a lot of fun - working the phones, leaving voicemails, firing off e-mails, follow-up calls . . . Generally, it's also a crapshoot whether they'll get back to you promptly, if at all.
But this week's epiphany has taught me a lesson in how to do it smarter if I want to raise those odds.
After distracting myself with my recruiter marketing blitz, I settled down to some cold calling. On my long list of targets were some contacts I'd made through a couple of technology networking associations. I figured I'd leave some voicemails, hope they'd have some referrals for me and cross my fingers that I'd hear back from them within days.
To my surprise, I didn't have much of a wait. Within a couple of hours, two people responded. And they were willing to quickly arrange face-to-face meetings.
Later that day, I put in calls to a couple of CEOs I'd met briefly at an industry association event. I managed to catch one live on my first call - and he immediately agreed to meet, even suggesting a date and time. That was also fairly abnormal. People are generally much more circumspect and want more information before committing to a meeting.
What was it about these three that made the task of getting in front of them so incredibly painless?
On reflection, I realized it's because they're all networking-savvy. By joining an industry association, they were already demonstrating that they understood the value of networking, so when I asked for a meeting, it was second nature to say yes to my request.
So that was epiphany No. 1 - focus on networking with networkers, who I'll find through appropriate industry associations.
Epiphany No. 2 came out of another networking call a few days later. In this case, however, it wasn't the ease of arranging a meeting that was remarkable. It was because I got soundly criticized.
I had put a call in to an excellent tech-focused executive recruiter I know, who invited me to drop by his office for a chat.
Unlike most networking contracts, however, he did what most Canadians typically don't do: He critiqued my pitch. I was sitting with him detailing my background, identifying where and why I was focusing my search, when he asked me to stop. He explained that I needed to work harder at articulating how I can add the greatest value, rather than telling people what I've done and where I'm most comfortable.
"If you're going to talk about the past," he said, "explain the state of the company when you arrived, and how much better it was after your input or intervention.
"You should lay it all out in terms people can easily understand," he added. "Spoon-feed them, so they can get a clear picture of what you can do for them."
Rocket science? Not really, but it was an epiphany, nevertheless.
I realized that, until now, I've expected people to hear all about where I've worked and what I've done and then, magically, translate this information into an understanding of what I can do for them.
After he pointed this out to me, it really didn't take a lot of effort to translate my career achievements into "What I can do for you" statements, focused on their needs and my corresponding skills.
I've now started to explain how I can "reposition the way you market and sell your products to improve market penetration," or "build, grow or revitalize your sales channel and alliance activities," or "streamline the definition, delivery and launch of new products to minimize revenue ramp-up times."
And it's all supported by specific achievements from my experience. It's made a big difference to the way I present myself. I've changed my 30-second elevator pitch as well as my follow-up e-mails sent to potential networking contacts after my first voicemail. And it's given me a great angle for the mailing I'm preparing to send to tech CEOs.
I now have a solid list of "things I can do for you," split out into four key categories: product planning/delivery; lead generation; marketing communications; and channel/alliance development.
As a Canadian (or half-Canadian in my case), I tend to be somewhat self-effacing and perhaps a little too modest at times. I don't like to blow my own horn too much. However, I've come to realize that, as a job searcher, I need to free myself from these constraints and be bolder about my abilities and accomplishments. Translating my experiences into impact statements that show the value I can bring to an organization has given me the tools to achieve this.
Armed with these new weapons, I can achieve a level of confident self-promotion that will make me stand out from the crowd and increase my chances of securing my next job. At least that's what I'm hoping . . .
Sean O'Donovan lives in Unionville, Ont. He will write regular reports chronicling his job search in Globe Careers.
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