How Successful People Network

How successful people network

by Karin Singh 27/10/2017

How can it be that some people are so good at networking and actively use it in job hunting, while others would much rather hide behind the bush or their computer screen instead? In life, as well as in business, you will meet people who are more extroverts and others who are classified as introverts.

A lot has surely to do with your personality, but to some extent networking can be learnt. A career guidance counselor could give you some ideas on how you can improve in this area. Do also your own research. Find out what the best strategies are to succeed in creating, developing and maintaining relationships in an easy, quick, professional and (why not?) fun way. You have the power to make a change.

If you have the impression that getting some career counseling would help you to become more relaxed, approachable and social when interacting with others, give it a try!

My suggestions are these: read books about networking, watch educational videos about that topic, observe actively how others are networking on various occasions (in your personal as well as professional life), discuss with others how they do it, and last, but not least, go out there and use every opportunity to practice what you learnt. There is no better way to learn about networking, than to just do it. Find out by yourself what approach works well and what doesn’t work, and learn from your mistakes. Work on your own employee branding and challenge yourself by putting yourself out of your comfort zone.   

What do successful networkers have in common?

There are lots of common characteristics that great networkers have. Many people, but also a career coach might tell you that: they show genuine interest in each other, they care about others in moments when it matters, they add value, they give first without asking something in return, they help and support each other, they make recommendations and they provide useful advice when you need it. In a nutshell, they invest time in each other in a productive and meaningful way. Remember the saying ‘It’s not just what you know, but often WHO you know that really matters?’

The bigger your network is, the more people you will have in your circle that you can rely on. When it comes to employee branding, it’s always useful to have people in your network from very different backgrounds. I learnt from my own experience that if you have the right connections, you will find it easier to find a new client, to get some free advice, to find a solution to a problem you never thought of before, to buy first time the right product, or to find a job thanks to a great career coach.

How many people do you have in your network, or do you know about, who can be described as GREAT NETWORKERS? And how do some more well-known people take care of their network to succeed?

Well, the first name that comes to my mind is “Sam Hurley“. Why? Because he doesn’t just talk about networking (or “engaging” as it is called in the online marketing world) but really applies what he preaches. Always with consistency, promptness, humour, honesty, kindness and commitment. That’s what many of his Twitter followers (currently 159,000) appreciate in him. It’s no surprise that his Twitter profile reads “People connector”, “Social Influencer” and much more.

If you have a relevant question, he will answer it. If you need advice, your chances are high that you will get it. If you want to conduct an interview with him, he is happy to answer it. He is not the guy with the big ego, but the one who is down-to-earth and is good in connecting with others, without having to know them personally. He is known for using lots of GIFs and emoticons (apart from great content) on his social media accounts and loves to engage and interact with his audience in a more diverse, fun and creative way. The feedback he often receives from his supporters and fans are truly amazing but he himself is a master in writing great feedbacks too, from which I could learn a lot!

Another example is Keith Ferrazzi, the book author of “Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success”. His secret to success is to never stop keeping track of your dream connections. He used to rip out lists in magazines of important people (e.g. Top CEOs) that he wanted to surround himself with.

His strategy sounds quite easy: Once you attend your next conference, take notes of all the keynote speakers. If you are reading industry-specific magazines, write down the names of all those people that are featured, discussed or quoted in it. If someone won an award, take notes again! Try to connect with them, compliment them and engage.

Let’s talk about Reid Hoffman, the Co-Founder of LinkedIn. His networking credo lies in helping other people. To do this the right and effective way, he strongly believes that one has to know the other person’s priorities, interests, struggles and values. Then he suggests to provide the person a small gift. Not a physical present, but something that can easily be given. For example, advice, introductions to influential professionals, relevant information etc. Just ask yourself “What would I have that the other person doesn’t have?” and then just give it and be happy that you made a difference to someone in your own little ways. You never know where a kind gesture might lead in the future.

The next example is Ivan Misner, he is the book author of “Networking for Pros”. His approach is always to do a lot of research before meeting someone he wants to build a relationship with. He looks for something that the professional is truly interested in (eg. hobby, sports, a side project, a charity, etc.) and uses that information for some meaningful conversations.

The last tip for successful networking: show your genuine interest in others. For example, find articles about topics other people care about and send it to them. They will always remember! However, if you feel you need some career advice to improve your networking skills, get in touch with those that you can find on Talentese!

How to Write a Great CV

How to write a great CV

by Karin Singh 17/10/2017

How to write a great CV, I mean one that lands you straight away a job interview, is not something that many schools teach you. Job candidates tackle this challenge in different ways: getting books on CV writing, looking for good resume templates online, or approaching a career professional who helps them to promote themselves more effectively, in order to secure a job interview.

Bear in mind that every line in a CV should be relevant. This is particularly important if you have a long work history and you know that two pages for your CV is your limit. There are three different types of CVs: functional, chronological and a combination of both. Depending on your situation, you choose the most appropriate format, usually it’s the functional CV which is the most common and which lists your last job at the top.

What makes a great CV? These are the key parts that you should include in it.

# 1 – Your personal details. Don’t waste your first line of your CV by writing RESUME or CV, it’s already obvious what it is. Start straight with your name and in the second line mention your full address, email and phone number (if it all fits).

# 2 – Your career profile. This is a summary in which you can briefly summarize your key skills and experiences. Many job candidates mention also their career ambitions in this section, because they find this in so called “good resume templates”, which I personally consider as wrong. Why? Because it focuses on YOUR GOALS only and does not add any VALUE to the company. Think about it!

# 3 – Your work experiences – In this section you need to mention all your job titles, the companies’ names, the dates of your employment and your key responsibilities that you had in various companies. Bear in mind if you are very senior, that focus just on the last 10 years maximum.

Believe it or not, but when I’m reviewing job seekers CVs the first thing I’m looking for are ACHIEVEMENTS. That gives me the first impression on how professional and up-to-date a candidate is. Unfortunately, the number of people who are aware of the importance of mentioning achievements in their CVs is still small. Many still believe that an impressive CV means listing a lot of job responsibilities and tasks. But let’s be honest… how impressive is that really? Does it say something about how well someone performed their tasks? Absolutely not!

Thus, the only way to impress a Hiring Manager is to mention quantifiable results by showing the impact you had on the company’s success. Not inflated ones, but REAL ones. For example,

‘reduced costs by 25 %’ or ‘accelerated processes by 18 %’ or ‘won award for excellent customer service’.

You can formulate your achievements by looking at the beneficial result and what you did that made this happen. For example, ‘Improved customers experience and saved management time (beneficial result) by introducing an effective complaints escalation procedure (what you did)’.

Sadly, many statistics show that job seekers (desperately hoping to get a job interview) are lying in their CVs. Does it pay off? No, it backfires!

So, after listing your key responsibilities list your key achievements. It makes a huge difference! Recruiters love ACHIEVERS!  And be honest, please!

# 4 – Skills – List all the relevant skills and also the level of your proficiency. For example:

– Language skills: French: Fluent (written and spoken)

– IT skills: Microsoft Office: Word (advanced), Excel (intermediate), PowerPoint (basic)

– Soft Skills: Effective negotiation skills, impeccable communication skills, etc.  

# 5 – Education – Here focus on those educational certifications that really matter, e.g. a University Degree. If you wrote an interesting dissertation on a topic that might be highly relevant to the job you are applying to, don’t hold back, mention it! If you have additional industry-specific qualifications, add them as well. It all matters. Think ME – the brand.

# 6 – Interests – Mention your interests only if they are relevant to that particular job (e.g. if you have a blog and you apply for a Content Management job). If your interests are completely irrelevant, use that space in a different way to promote your skills and experiences instead.

# 7 – Other information – In this part you can add other information that you consider as relevant (eg. driving licence, your social media accounts, charity work, etc.)

It might seem obvious, however, many job seekers still get it wrong: by making grammar mistakes or typos, using different colours, not respecting any margins, not having a proper layout and showing some inconsistency in the presentation, not using proper headings, exceeding the 2 pages or focusing on irrelevant information. Don’t sabotage your own CV by making this kind of mistakes.

Follow this tips, don’t rely on good resume templates and ask people for their feedback and see whether there are any parts that need to be improved. Consider your CV as the only selling tool you have. Would you not want to make it a masterpiece?

by Karin Singh 17/10/2017