Review of an Illinois Bar Journal Article

Shakin' the Pink-Slip Blues (review of the article)

The May 2009 edition of the Illinois Bar Journal has an interesting article by Helen Gunnarsson titled "Shakin' the Pink-Slip Blues." The article is written with a recruiter's perspective and directives on the proper steps to getting back into the legal work force after being laid off. While this is an interesting article for several reasons, it's particularly relevant here as it focuses on the importance of networking. Gunnarsson counsels that the first step is doing a self-inventory of your experience and skill sets. Second, identify which jobs are right for you. This means evaluating potential alternatives for your future based on your skill sets. After that, she dives into the networking aspects of career development.

For the substance of the article, Gunnarsson relies on the thoughts and comments of several recruiters and career counselers, including: Sheila Nielsen, founder of Nielsen Career Consulting Service; Pamela DiCarlantonio, a managing director of the Chicago office of Major, Lindsey & Africa; and Marilyn Moats Kennedy, founder of Career Strategies.

The article talks about going to, and through, the "village outside the castle." This is a catch phrase Nielsen is quoted with coining. The concept is simple. The company or the job you want is the "castle," and the HR department or person receiving either blind resumes or a response to a job posting is the "dragon." The dragon may pass your resume onto the right person, but it might also just eat up the paperwork. So, instead of going directly to the castle, as Nielsen explains, you need to go through the "village outside the castle." This metaphor is referring to the traditional process of professional networking. You need to go behind the scenes to make sure your resume gets to the right person.

Networking Dos and Don'ts

The networking portion of the article begins with some networking pointers. The focus of this section is making sure to ask the right questions. This goes back to the earlier parts of the article requiring you to do a self-assessment and using that assessment to figure out the right jobs for you. Use this information as your background knowledge to make sure you are asking leading questions that will get you to your goal. Most people who are out of work, or who are students looking for their first job, simply ask who is hiring. This is not going to get you anywhere. Instead, with networking, you need to pitch yourself, and then ask your contact if they know of any places where your skills would fit in. If the contact has some suggestions, ask them if they know a contact person at that firm or company for you to talk to.

The basic idea here is that your networking needs to have an end goal. The article refers to networking as a quest to get to the castle. You make small steps to move closer to your goal.

Note that this differs from some things I have said in past posts. As a lawyer, I think it is important to have an open mind when networking, and not just dismiss someone you meet because they do not fit in to your goals for a particular event or networking situation. Always remember that anyone can be a client or lead to a client. That said, this article is focused on networking for employment. In this case, while keeping an open mind, you need to also have a specific goal and stick with it. Continue on the quest to get closer and closer to your goal.

Persistence Pays

Continuing the quest, or staying the course is key. Networking is not easy, and it takes time. Like I have said before, networking is about building professional relationships, creating and marketing self-value or worth, and building professional trust. The metaphor of a quest is absolutely appropriate. It is easy to get discouraged, but you need to stick with it. Making a contact is basically an informal interview. You use these opportunities to continue meeting people and to gain new contacts which may be closer to your end goal. Being persistent means continuing to network in order to, at the very least, get noticed by the right people. In other words, network in a direction and always follow up.

Network When You Don't Need To

In my opinion, the last part of the article is the most important, and the most overlooked aspect of networking. It is important to network when you don't need to. Too many people think that networking is only important when they need a job or something else. This is the wrong approach. Like I stated above, networking is about building professional relationships and building trust. Networking is a two-way street, not a one-way street. Students, particularly, miss this point. I know I did when I was a student. If you have established a network before you need a job (or even while still in school), it's much easier to use that network when you need it, rather than to try and start building one in your time of need.

In the article, Kennedy is quoted as saying, in pertinent part, "networking episodically is far more painful than doing it on an ongoing basis....This is called career insurance, and you make it yourself." This is the perfect comparison for the importance of networking. When you need your network, it will be there for you. If you start networking only when you need it, you have a lot longer road to travel, and under the conditions it will be much more stressful.

This was an excellent article. I recommend reading it. If you cannot get your hands on a copy, let me know and I will send it your way.

I Know, So the Posts are Only Trickling In Right Now

This post is going to be short, sweet and apologetic. Unfortunately, my work, school and personal schedules have been hectic over the last five or six weeks. It's made updating my blogs slow to a virtual crawl. I always hate when stuff, particularly work, gets in the way of things I actually want to do. Anyway, there is more to come very soon. Hopefully over the next few weeks I will be able to provide more a lot substance up here. I have a couple of articles regarding networking and blogging that I want to comment on in the near future. In addition, I will be completing some very stale, old drafts that never got published here. Make sure to check out the archived posts for when they show up.

In the mean time, I have still been keeping up my networking efforts. I have not had the time to attend any networking events recently, but I have made time to meet some people for lunches. I like to keep the rule to thumb of always try to schedule one lunch a week with someone. This keeps my network fresh. That said, in practice, sometimes it's difficult to manage. In addition to in person lunches, I've taken the time to touch base with people by sending a few emails every couple of days. It's important to keep up good communication, even if you don't have time for any face-to-face interacting.

As always. thanks for reading so far, and I hope you continue reading and checking for updates. On that note, I want to take the time here to give a shout out to a loyal reader. Thanks Michelle for reading and checking the site for updates. It's much appreciated.

Hidden Networking Opportunities

While it's clear to all of us to recognize the value and opportunities associated with organized networking events, it can be easy to overlook other everyday networking opportunities. There are plenty of hidden networking opportunities that occur all the time. The trick is to recognize those opportunities and be able to take advantage of them.

The idea behind this post was suggested to me by a friend, in a round about way (thanks Darcy). The suggestion was to write about the forced networking that can happen on airplanes while traveling. It makes sense, you're confined to a seat with complete strangers stuck directly beside you for the exact same amount of time, so why not use the opportunity to network. This seemed like an excellent suggestion, but I struggled with how to discuss this narrow and specific situation. Then I realized that the airplane example is just a good depiction of a broader idea, recognizing hidden networking opportunities in everyday life.

Hidden networking opportunities can occur in many shapes and sizes. Often, casual social settings can open doors to business relationships. For example, as an attorney who practices in real estate law, I've met people in social settings who have ended up hiring me for their residential real estate closings. Residential real estate closings are not the focus of my practice, but through casual conversation I learned their need for an attorney for their transaction, and likewise they learned of my experience in real estate law and transactions. In this instance, dinner and drinks turned into a client for me, and an attorney for them when they needed one. This is just one example of many depicting the value of hidden networking opportunities.

We need to keep in the back of our minds that any social setting can be a networking opportunity. In addition to the example above, I have helped people that I met in situations ranging from weddings to ND tailgates. In sum, pay attention to people you meet and be conscious of the every day happenings around you and the opportunities that go along with them. You never know when a friend of a friend or a total stranger can turn into a long term contact.

A Brief Note on Personal Referrals

As an attorney, I receive promotional calls, emails, and snail mail from people and organizations on almost a daily basis. Typically these offer services for use in my practice, but sometimes offer products or services for my personal life. Almost every single one of these goes into my trash can, my spam folder, or my voicemail to be deleted. My time, or more accurately my billable time, is money. If evaluating an offer takes away from what I can accomplish in a day, it's often not worth the initial review. I feel that I need someone else to evaluate a product or service provider’s value before it crosses my desk. Thus, in my experience most connections, including new clients, are made by referrals. Referrals are a valuable resource that can be overlooked.

The personal referral is the most effective way to expand your network, and can be a great resource for obtaining new clients and business. For attorneys, if I am introduced a personal referral, then there is already a level of respect and trust present. In other words, someone else has made the initial review of what the skills I am providing and has approved those skills by referring me to prospective client.

In addition to the introduction, the personal referral helps build my reputation. Even though it jump starts building a reputation with a new contact; it is important to remember to continue to nurture and build your reputation in the new relationship.

A professional network is like a garden, you have to water it from time to time in order for it to grow (Credit for this metaphor is being given here, but I'm not sure to who. I first heard this from a speaker at a networking event, who also gave credit. I can't recall either name). Maintaining your network does several things; it keeps current contacts or clients happy, continues to build your reputation, and allows for further expansion of your network. A new relationship does not end at the close of a deal.

While a personal referral can be the key to the first step of building a professional relationship, maintaining the relationship requires many different tools and resources. The use of emails, letters, and online social networking platforms can be used as a great supplemental tool to maintain your existing target network.