The power of a targeted networking strategy

Episode Transcript

Hello! My name is Julianna Yau Yorgan and I’m a career coach who helps introverts succeed in the workplace by unleashing their introvert superpowers

Today, I’m going to share a client success story of:
How my client created a targeted job search and networking strategy
The plan we put together for her
And how you can apply the same in your networking strategy

I chose this topic because networking is often awkward, time consuming and uncomfortable for introverts. It’s hard for us even to make that first step, and then people don’t reply, you don’t want to pressure them or you just don’t even know what to say.

This client success story is one of my favourites because she was able to get the job she wanted from having only ONE conversation with ONE person.

So let’s take a look at how she did this.

My client was working for a startup company and in a situation where she was under appreciated, under paid and just not taken seriously.

She knew she wanted to work somewhere she could be challenged and actually use her skills as a leader and, of course, be paid properly.

With her years of experience in sales and customer service, we decided to target a Team Lead position for a customer service team. I also worked with her to target only two local companies so she could stay focused and devote all of her energy to really secure the role and set herself apart.

When the right role came up for her that was a match, we tailored her resume and cover letter and sent in the application.

Although her skills and experience were a good match, we really wanted to make sure she did everything she could to get through every stage of the process.

She had told me that she didn’t want to reach out to the hiring manager directly, because it just didn’t feel comfortable for her. So we looked at her network to see how close she could get to the hiring manager, without actually talking to the hiring manager before the interview.

With a bit of work, we found that she had a personal friend who knew someone who used to work with the hiring manager. The friend agreed to make an introduction, and the hiring manager’s former coworker agreed to meet with my client.

The ask was simple: my client only wanted to learn more about the team, the kind of work they did and what it was like to work on the team. She made it clear that she wasn’t asking for a referral so that it could be an easier “yes”.

Well, the two of them ended up getting along so well that she ended up recommending my client to the hiring manager without being asked!

So from that one conversation with one person, only to learn more about the team, my client was able to get to the top of the hiring managers list—and got the job, the raise, and the recognition she knew she deserved.

Now she’s happier, challenged at work and is making so much more than before that she was able to help her parents move closer to her.

So how can you apply a similar approach to your job search?

First, stop applying to every single role out there.

I know it’s scary, but it’s a logical fallacy that applying for more jobs will increase your chances of getting one.

Despite the latest craze with AI assisted recruiting, at the end of the day you’re still dealing with people—mainly the recruiter and the hiring manager.

So if you’re applying to a whole bunch of jobs, you’re either

Not customizing your resume, which is going to decrease your chances of getting noticed,

Or you ARE customizing your resume and just created a second full time job for yourself. One that doesn’t pay you and drains you of your energy.

So instead, get super specific with the companies and roles you apply to and figure out what the biggest gap is that you need to close.

Do you need to learn more about the company culture as part of your interview prep? Or find out what experience to highlight on your resume? Or do you just want to be sure your application gets looked at by the hiring manager?

Once you pick your one thing you need to do, it’s time to activate your network to see if you can get an introduction, or gather up all your energy to make that introduction yourself.

After that, it’s about doing what you do best as an introvert and letting them lead the conversation, asking insightful questions and building a meaningful relationship.

Okay, that’s it for now.

If you’re looking for more of an edge with your networking strategy, make sure you sign up for my free, Network Like an Introvert masterclass.

This masterclass will be live in January and I created it just for introverts who feel awkward about randomly reaching out to people to ask for something.

The masterclass will go deeper into the networking strategies you need to be using in your job search, including how to fix common networking mistakes that introverts make.

I’ll drop the link to the webinar signup in the show notes

Alright, I’ll see you next time!