TARGET FIRM NETWORKING

 

 

 

Creating an action plan, your Personal Market Plan during career transition, will reap rewards during your implementation campaign.  Success in market plan implementation, your job search campaign,  takes the randomness out of job search.  Your focus comes in two ways:

  • Ever expanding your personal contact network to seek information and identify actual job leads, gaining additional referrals with every contact.

  • Identifying a TARGET FIRM LIST of organizations that could use your services, benefit from your skills and experience... and that are geographically desirable.

Using a "shotgun approach," or papering the world with your resume will simply scatter your time and energy.  Rather, focus your networking efforts to increase your productivity.

A well conceived Personal Market Plan helps you to manage your time to get the best results for your efforts.  Networking through personal contacts is the first method/ pathway directed toward seeking your next right work... for the rest of your career.  Integrating your two networking "channels," personal contacts and target firms creates a powerful job search tool that will serve you well within your total career. In the marketing metaphor, the five methods would be your "distribution channels."

  1. Networking through personal contacts

  2. Conducting face-to-face informational meetings

  3. Creatively contacting companies directly

  4. The Internet, representing published openings

  5. Third-party recruitment firms and individuals

Networking for word-of-mouth advice and referrals is a technique that has been used for hundreds of years. It is a powerful way to expand your career options by developing relationships and alliances with other professionals. Building a network is a vital part of today’s strategic career development. Each planned contact can lead to others if you ask the right questions and explore the possibilities. Its important that you view networking is a two-way street—sometimes with you, the information seeker, being able to provide information to the same person from whom you are seeking it—and at other times being a source of information to other people.

In order to get information from others, we must be a good source of information. All it takes is being willing to share information, ideas and resources. To put it another way, "What goes around, comes around."

YOUR TARGET FIRM LIST

This list of targeted companies will expand as your campaign expands. At this point, you will want to use your network list to "penetrate" these target companies. This is accomplished by establishing "bridges" into the company as follows:

  • Complete your target list of companies and people you want to meet. Target companies can come from your current, prior or a new industry of interest.
  • If the company is public, get their annual and 10-Q and/or 10-K reports. The company will furnish this, if requested. Find out who they use as auditors, bankers, advertising agency, attorneys and other professionals.
  • If the company is private, ask them directly by phone who they use or question local businesses in their area (bankers, Chamber of Commerce and suppliers) until you find someone who knows people in the company.
  • Watch newspapers and trade magazines for news and information as to what your target company is doing and with whom. Visit their website.
  • Your first networking contacts will lead you to other business contacts who can get you started networking in your target companies.

THE BRIDGE CAMPAIGN: Target Firm Networking

We all have heard the old adage, "It’s who you know, not what you know" that is most important. To a certain degree that is true when thinking of your job search. You are more likely to get a meeting with your target person if you have been "bridged" into the company. Your "bridge" campaign needs to include all of the following:

Identify, via research, target company

CCG Candidates have a web-based tool available to them called CareerAdvantage.  Setting their own criteria, they can identify geographically desirable companies.  Your research might also cover...

    • Obtain management list
    • Secure financial information
    • Know your strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the target

Identify target executive within the target company
    • This generally is a functional manager who has the authority to hire
    • Generally he/she is not human resources

Identify via networking an individual "bridge" who knows target company/executive
    • Business contacts should be explored
    • Social/family contacts may prove worthwhile

Telephone contact your "bridge" and:
    • Confirm or develop target executive name
    • Have your resume hand delivered if possible to the target executive

The bridge letter

    • Personalized to target executive
    • Your referral ("bridge") identified in the first sentence, first paragraph
    • Identify knowledge of the company
    • Ask for a meeting
    • Attach your resume

Telephone follow-up
    • 2 – 3 days after your mailing
    • Use "referral" and "correspondence" to clear the secretary (i.e., "Is Tom in? Joe Doaks, a mutual friend, suggested I contact him. I’m following up on our correspondence.")
    • Identify company knowledge and your experience
    • Ask for a short meeting, perhaps a cup of coffee

Meeting with target executive
    • Soft sell
    • Identify company knowledge and your potential contribution
    • Ask for a job if one should develop
    • Ask for additional referrals

Thank you note

    • Send the following day
    • Identify your contributions
    • Ask to be considered

Telephone follow-up
    • Every 10 – 14 days
    • Be friendly/persistent—not a pest

 
 

 

Personal Contacts | Information Network | Target Firms | Internet | Recruitment Firms