In our previous post, we discussed how to land a networking meeting. Now that you’ve gotten someone to actually agree to go out with you for coffee, how should you conduct your networking meeting to get the most out of it?
Firstly, it’s important to lay out the goals of this meeting, as these goals will drive every step of your conversation.
The primary goal of the micronetworking meeting is to turn the person you’re meeting with into a “Referral Ally.” That is, most jobs are filled by a friend referring you to a hiring manager for an open position at a company. If you don’t have (enough) friends in the industry you’re seeking to get a job in, that’s exactly where micronetworking comes into play. By meeting with people, you turn them into your “friends” – or what I call “Referral Allies.”
So Goal #1 of micronetworking is to get the person you’re meeting with to know who you are and that you’re looking to land a particular role. This way, when in the future they’re made aware of a position opening up at their company (or even another company), they can refer you to the hiring manager and you’ll be asked for an interview.
The secondary goal of micronetworking is to get more micronetworking meetings. To do this, you’ll ask what I call the Million-Dollar Question: “Who else should I be meeting with as part of my job search?” If each person you meet with can introduce you to the next person, you’ll be on a micronetworking roll.
I’ve read (and continue to read) many, many books on job hunting, and in my opinion, there are only a few that are good, and fewer that are truly great. However, there is one fantastic book that explains how to conduct the ideal micronetworking meeting. It’s called The 20-Minute Networking Meeting, and is short, to-the-point, and chock full of good advice.
I’ve created a cheat sheet that summarizes the book (with a few tweaks of my own) and explains exactly how to have an effective networking meeting. However, I highly recommend getting the book as it does a great job fleshing out all the details.
Anyway, here is the cheat sheet:
The Micronetworking Cheat Sheet
Meeting Overview:
- The Great First Impression – 2 minutes
- The Great Overview – 1 minute
- The Great Discussion – 15 minutes
- The Great Ending – 2 minutes
Meeting Details:
The Great First Impression – 2 minutes
- Express gratitude – Example: “Nice to meet you, Cindy. I really appreciate your time today.”
- Highlight connections (only if applicable) – Examples: “Mark, who introduced us, sends his regards.” OR “I think we know people in common at Acme, inc. Do you happen to know Valerie Phillips?”
- Set the agenda – Example: “Thanks again for meeting with me, Cindy. I just need 20 minutes. I want to give you a brief overview of my background and ask a few questions that will help in my job search.
The Great Overview – 1 minute
- Highlight your background – Example: “For the past 4 years, I’ve been a technical recruiter at Jobspring Partners here in Chicago. The more I worked with placing developers, the more I realized that their job was much more exciting than my own. I’m like, ‘Why can’t I do this?’ So I jumped right in – I joined Actualize – the coding bootcamp – and learned a crazy amount in a short time. I have a lot to learn still, but I’m ready to get my first job as a software developer. I’m particularly interested in creating software that helps job-seekers – or anything to do with the recruitment industry, as I’m still passionate about that as well. But I’m certainly open to other possibilities as well.”
The Great Discussion – 15 minutes
- Ask 3 questions regarding advice that you’ve prepared beforehand.
- Ask the million-dollar question: “Is there anyone else you can think of that I should meet with as part of my job search?” (You can change the exact phrasing based on your previous conversation.)
- They may offer to introduce you, which you should graciously accept.
- If they do not offer to introduce you, ask, “Can I use your name?” If they say yes, you can include this person’s name when you reach out to the next person using a LinkedIn note.
- Ask: “How can I help you?”
The Great Ending – 2 minutes
- Thank person again.
- Review action items. (For example, if they offered to help you in some way and/or you offered to help them, review those items aloud.)
- Thank person yet another time!
Congrats! You’ve conducted a great micronetworking meeting. The next step is to follow up regularly with your new Referral Allies so they can keep you top of mind. We’ll explore this in the next article.