Connect with Your Professional Contacts
Learning how to leverage your network to assist you in your job hunt will be beneficial to landing your dream job and building your reputation.
Utilizing Your Network
Once you have begun to create connections within LinkedIn and through other members at NACPB, the best thing you can do is leverage those connections. Ask for informational interviews with those within your network. Try to set time aside to meet and talk to them about their profession. You will want to talk to them about what their job entails, what they recommend doing to set yourself apart from others, and finally, ask them if you can stay in contact with them. This will allow you to get to know others within your field. It also allows you to lean on that network when applying for jobs. You can ask for letters of recommendation and endorsements through LinkedIn as you build deeper relationships with those in your network. All of which will help you in your job search.
Informational Interviews
One of the best ways to help you grow your professional relationships is to have informational interviews with professionals in your field. We have provided a list of questions you can ask during those interviews, along with a short video explaining what an informational interview is, how to conduct one, and finally how to convince someone to meet with you. You can also check out our blog post Building Your Professional Brand and Network: Essential Strategies for Success for more information about informational interviews.
Keeping Track of Your Network
As you begin to build your professional network you want to ensure that no-one falls through the cracks. The best way to do that is to be strategic in your approach. In the Build Your Professional Network page we provided a contact tracker for you to utilize. This is an important tool that will help you leverage your contacts. It helps ensure that you stay in contact with those in your network, which could ultimately help you in your job search.
Articles
Feel free to read Unlocking insights: The power of informational interviews and Building Your Personal Brand and Network: Essential Strategies for Success.
Next Step
When you have completed everything here and are ready to move on, go to step 8: Visit Potential Employers.