Working Strategies: Making your networking more productive

Regular readers of this column may recall that I’m not a big fan of the word “networking,” despite its ubiquitous appearance in conversations about job search. To be clear, it’s not the concept I dislike, but the nearly impossible weight this one small process is expected to bear. As a job seeker, you can’t turn around without someone declaring: “Network! It’s the only way to get a job!”

The implication is that you will naturally get job offers if you talk to enough people — as if all conversations were equal in value and you just needed enough of them in order to claim your prize.

Hence, my reluctance to use the word “networking” when describing job search strategies, for fear of triggering someone’s automatic response: “I tried that and it didn’t work.” Where possible, I just avoid the term and find other ways to discuss best practices for this essential process. Read More…