Job seekers the world over are familiar with the phrase: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. This has never been truer than today when you are one of hundreds of online applicants.

How do you gain the attention of hiring managers and decision makers when they don’t know you?

Employing a smart networking strategy is the key to achieving breakthrough and landing your next job.

So what is networking?

Networking is the exchange of useful information between people.

This helps you to understand the challenges of hiring organisations and demonstrate your value better in the application process. It also offers new perspectives on your job search and a longer list of organisations to target. 

In the process, you will be raising your profile amongst decision makers who, with a little luck, might refer you to someone in their network hiring.

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Be Strategic in Your Networking

Two common mistakes people make in networking is either to talk to anybody in a scattergun approach or to confine themselves to their pre existing networks.

Both of these are often time-consuming, ineffective and demoralising. The key to networking is to target organisations you are motivated to work for and those who are likely to be hiring.

With these two factors, you’re going to maximise your chances of making a fulfilling career move that happens sooner rather than later. Bear in mind that the sooner you want a job, the better it is to focus on those that are likely to be hiring.

40 is a challenging, yet manageable number of people to start with. Here is how you can get to that number.

1. Write down the companies that you most want to work for off the top of your head.

2. Search the job aggregator website www.indeed.co.uk to check whether they are hiring in your position as it tends to be more comprehensive than others. Add them to the list if they are.

   For large organisations it is enough to see that they are hiring for other roles to demonstrate that they are growing and it is more likely that there will be a job in the near future for the role that you seek.

3. Search directly for job openings to top up your list. Use the niche job boards in your industry first. Then use Indeed again, other aggregator sites, including Neuvoo and large job sites like Reed, total jobs, LinkedIn and Jobs Rapido.

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Target the Right People

So you have your short list of organisations. Now you need to find the right people to target through this step-by-step process.

Speak to hiring managers directly or people with your desired job title by following these steps:

1. Use LinkedIn - it is a powerful way to network with people you don’t know. Start by entering the desired job title in the search filter called ‘keyword’ and ‘organization’. If you're not getting what you're looking for then you can refine your search by function and years of experience by upgrading to LinkedIn Premium, which is usually a good investment.

2. Mention a mutual connection - it will always get a much higher response rate. The quickest way to do this is to use Email Hunter, a plug- in for your web browser to find email addresses from Linkedin and other sites.

3. Then add www.Discover.ly to your email account. By placing in their email address you can take a look at their profile on LinkedIn, Twitter and/or Facebook. From there you can identify any mutual friends or talking points.

4. You can also use LinkedIn to ask a connection to introduce you to their connection, but the whole process is quite cumbersome so I would recommend you just do that via regular email.

5. Finally, contact people by email. As it's time-consuming and difficult to get someone on the phone, email is the most effective way to get in contact with people. You'll also tend to get a higher response rate than by using LinkedIn messages.

   The key rule for any email sent is to make them care, be that by congratulating or showing excitement about something relevant and recent, and remind them of the interactions that you’ve already had. Then make it short and concise: normally three paragraphs and six to eight lines is about right.

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Do Your Homework

Value your contacts time and don’t ask questions you can find out through simple research on the Internet.

Things like the average salary, the list of responsibilities and daily activities can be found by looking at existing jobs in that area. You have to go beyond this. What is it that only this person can tell you about the organisation?

You'll come up with part of this information during your research around that person, and their role in the industry. You’ll also get better insights when you can show that you’re sincerely interested in who they are and what they do.

Follow them on social channels and participate in their conversations, be that with comments on their blogs or replies and retweets on Twitter. Add more value and stand out (in the right way) so that you get noticed where possible.

In this way you're not just researching these people, but you're actively engaging in their world as much as you can.

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Create an Agenda

Write down in advance the key things that you want to talk about. It's all too easy to get sidetracked - you end up leaving and knowing nothing more about what's important. That's where an agenda will keep you on track.

Of course, all of this takes effort and you'll have to make a judgement call about how important this contact is and how much time you want to give to this process.

Remember, doing it correctly could land you your dream job.

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Network in Person Where Possible

When there is the opportunity to do so, attend events and get to meet people personally.

1. Do your research and list the specific people that you aim to meet at the event.

2. Make sure you can recognise that person at the event and take picture from the Internet along on your phone if it will help to refresh your memory.

3. Have a couple of comments written down to trigger conversations.

4. Prepare three introductions about yourself - one to last a couple of seconds for a brief introduction, the next a few sentences when someone expresses more interest, and the last that can be longer for when you get into an extended conversation.

5. Have a few talking points that you have gleaned from your research about this person on topics related to them.

6. Take notes after your meeting so that you can work on the next steps.

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Conclusion

Most importantly – don’t get discouraged!

Building worthwhile relationships, in life as well as in networking, takes time and effort. With this attitude your efforts will be targeted and streamlined to achieve maximum effect and the success you deserve.

The most important part of networking isn’t meeting people—it’s following up, being helpful and staying in touch over the long term. When you approach networking with enthusiasm, respect for the other’s time and exude credibility, you’ll a better chance of a new contact and friend.

Networking is good manners. Wherever possible, ask if there's anything you can do for that person and focus on what you can offer to others. You never know when that help might be useful.

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