REMEMBER FOLLOW-UP AND FEEDBACK
Effective networkers know the importance of follow-up and feedback both during the job search and once they accept a job offer. They recognize that follow-up and feedback are essential ingredients in the process of maintaining and further expanding their networks.
When you receive a referral from one of your networking contacts, be sure to follow-up the referral with a telephone call. Chances are your contact has already talked to the referral and informed him or her about your interests and indicated that you would contact them soon. Both individuals are expecting you to call. If you fail to follow-up on referral efforts, your contacts may quickly dismiss you as someone who is wasting their time and who is also inconsiderate.
When you receive a referral you should do two things:
- Contact the referral by telephone to arrange a meeting or conduct the informational interview over the phone. Mention in your opening statement that "Mr. X suggested that I contact you concerning my interest in careers in xxxx." In many, but not all, cases your contact will have called this person ahead of time to inform him of your impending call.
- After conducting an informational interview with a referral, contact the source of the referral to thank him for his useful contact You need to do this in order to emphasize the fact that you indeed did follow-up on the referral and to re- emphasize your continuing interest in receiving additional referrals. This is also a good time to provide your contact with feedback on your job search progress. Individuals like to know if their personal efforts produce results. They will remember you for giving them this feedback.
Throughout your job search you will be collecting names, addresses, and phone numbers of individuals who are the subjects of your prospecting, networking, and informational interviewing activities. Once you accept a job offer, be sure to contact individuals in your network who assisted you with information, advice, and referrals. Send them a thoughtful letter in which you (1) inform them of your new position and (2) thank them for their assistance. Individuals who played the most important role in your job search should also receive a phone call from you in which you again inform them of your new position and express your gratitude for their assistance. Sending flowers or a small gift to the most important individuals especially leaves a lasting impression.
Doing follow-up and providing feedback to members of your network is not only a thoughtful thing to do, it is also a wise thing to do. It results in one other important outcome for maintaining and expanding your network in the future: you will most likely be remembered for future reference. And this is exactly what you want to do since your new position may be only one of several new positions you acquire during your career. Within another three to five years you may decide it is time to conduct another job search. When that happens, you should have in place a well developed network of individuals who are willing and able to assist you with your job search. If you fail to provide members of your present network with follow-up and feedback, they are less likely to assist you in the future.
KEY ASSOCIATIONS
The following listing of organizations is only a sampling of the many thousands of professional and trade associations you will discover as you conduct research on these centers for networking. We include three examples for each category. The categories are organized according to different occupational groups. As you conduct further research, you will discover that engineers, health care workers, insurance professionals, and numerous other occupations have many different associations representing different types of professionals and industries. For example, you will find more than 100 associations for engineers. These associations are specialized according to the type of engineering: cost, chemical, mining, petroleum, civil, gas, naval, mechanical, safety, energy, audio, biomedical, insulated cable, ceramic, packaging, logistic, automotive, broadcast, flight test, explosives, and the list goes on and on. Therefore, you need to specify the type of association appropriate for your particular skills and interests. You can only do this by spending some time researching the various types of trade and professional associations.
While our addresses and telephone numbers relate to the national headquarters, most of these associations are also organized at the state and local levels. Very large associations may, for example, have local chapters centered in major cities and regions. These chapters may publish their own newsletter, meet on a monthly basis, and provide job search services to their members.
It would be to your benefit to identify two or more associations relevant to your professional interests. Contact the headquarters office for information on services and membership. If the association has a local chapter, contact a few of the members to find out more about the association. You may be pleasantly surprised to find a group of professionals sharing your interests. If you decide to join, we urge you to get involved by becoming a participant in the organization rather than just a dues-paying spectator. Networking via such associations works best when you become noticed by other members because of your participation and involvement in furthering the goals of the organization and thus its members.
