Jennifer is thinking about changing companies in the next year. She wanted to expand her external network, but wasn’t sure where to begin. We started with the basics first. I asked her, “Who are the people that you want to meet with? Certain levels, industries, companies, titles?” Sometimes it helps to narrow down and focus when it feels too overwhelming for people.
She answered, “I am a Director now and I would like to meet with more VPs so I can learn what it took for them to get to their level and what a day in their life looks like.” I replied, “Great, this type of discussion would be known as an informational interview. It gives you a chance to get to know them, but you can also share more about yourself and what you want. Do you care what industry that they work in or company that they work for?” She said, “I would like to meet with people in the pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and technology industries. I don’t care about specific companies.”
I said, “Okay, so you want to talk to VPs who work for any company in the pharma, CPG, or tech industries, correct?” Jennifer replied, “Yes.” Now for the harder questions. “Do you know any people in your external network who fit into those categories and would be willing to meet with you?” She took a few minutes to think about it and opened her LinkedIn connections list. There were fifteen people that fit the criteria she was looking for. I asked, “Would you be willing to reach out to each one directly to see if they would be open to meet with you?” The look on her face said it all. “I don’t know what to say to them. I am sure they are busy and don’t have time to meet with me,” she answered.
This is very common. She doesn’t move forward because she has created a story that they are too busy or wouldn’t have time for her, which keeps her from trying. I shared this article with her, from Andrew Seaman, You should be requesting informational interviews. Here’s how. He interviewed Rosie McCarthy, who shared her insights from her experience as a former recruiter and now a coach to millennials. Rosie included some great ways to approach people to ask for an interview and seven questions to use in the interview.
Jennifer looked over the article and realized that it didn’t seem so scary to do this after all. I asked her the question that was at the root of her fear, “What will happen if they tell you no that they won’t meet with you?” She thought about it before replying, “I will thank them for responding to me and suggest that maybe we can find some time in the future to reconnect. I will move on to the next person and see if they will say yes.” I responded, “How does that feel compared to when we started the conversation?” She smiled and said, “You know now that we have talked about what could happen, it doesn’t seem so hard to do. I don’t want to get a no from them, but I can see that it isn’t about me personally. There could be a hundred reasons for them to say no and I will just keep going to the next person on my list.”
Jennifer took her list of potential contacts and started to reach out that day. She was so excited when she called me the next day to let me know that she already had three people who had accepted her request by the next day. Isn’t that amazing? If you feel like you aren’t making progress, then look at the story you may be telling yourself. Is it true? The only way you don’t move forward and get results is if you don’t try!
Do you struggle with networking and want to improve? If you want my help, here is the link to set up a time with me: 30-minute conversation