We are eight months into this pandemic. As a job seeker, you have mastered Zoom, updated your resume, and practiced your pitch. But it’s certainly not business as usual and unusual times call for different ways of doing things and a whole lot of creativity. In today’s climate, you don’t have ten coffee meetings on your calendar, five golf outings, and two annual conferences to stoke your networking efforts. But that doesn’t mean your socially distanced networking can’t thrive. Here are ten ways to keep your search moving forward.
Send Holiday Cards. Holidays provide a natural touch point for reconnecting with your network. Sending a holiday card through the mail or email to your network puts you top-of-mind and positions you for a catch-up call in January.
Create Thought Leadership Collateral. With so many outlets available for putting your expertise out into the universe, and people spending most of their time online, now is a great time to position yourself as a thought leader. While writing a book or white paper is one way to achieve this, your goal can be accomplished even with smaller commitments. Articles, blog posts, and tweets can create powerful positioning and build a following. If writing is not your thing, consider video or podcasting to get your ideas across. By sharing your ideas, you invite conversations, which in turn leads to new relationships and possibly new and important introductions.
Join a New Professional Association. Many organizations have pivoted to online events and learning, and several have active LinkedIn groups. Some organizations will let you attend one virtual meeting for free or offer reduced membership fees for people in transition. Being part of an affinity group directly aligned with your industry or job function can be leveraged to build new relationships and gain valuable introductions that will help create movement in your search.
Find Someone to Mentor or Become a Mentor. Most leaders recall someone in their professional journey that they consider a mentor. The influence that person had on their career is often greater than their affiliations with certain companies or educational institutions. If you are an emerging leader, now is a great time to find a mentor and if you have already reached the C-suite, consider mentoring others. The trust and loyalty that is built through these relationships is unparalleled in terms of how this can help you in your career. The person who mentors you is sure to be an advocate at some point during your career and the mentee is sure to remember and appreciate your help and keep you top-of-mind for introductions and opportunities that suit your background.
Volunteer. This might be a virtual endeavor right now, but there are plenty of ways to give back to your community or volunteer for a cause you believe in. Perhaps you have knowledge that would help the board in your co-op or homeowner’s association make better decisions about financial or capital improvement investments. Maybe you can help members of your church or synagogue learn a new technology for staying in touch with people remotely. Whatever the initiative, it will bring you together with other people with common interests and become a conduit for growing your network.
Audit Your Wardrobe. Teleconference meetings have offered us a great deal of flexibility on our dress code, with many of us going business casual on top and super casual on the bottom, but it’s still a good idea to make sure you are putting your best food forward (even though no one will see your feet on the calls!) when deciding what to wear on networking and interview calls. Women can pay more attention to accessories that will be visible on the screen, such as scarfs, earrings, necklaces, and broches. Or they can switch up their hair styles (natural, blow-dry, updo) or accessorize interesting hair pins or headbands. Men can alternate between different watches or eyeglasses or patterned and solid shirts
Beef Up Your LinkedIn Testimonials. As part of your general networking strategy, request LinkedIn testimonials to elevate your credibility and visibility on LinkedIn. A great way to get a testimonial is to offer to create the draft for your contact’s review. By doing the heavy lifting, you can expedite the process and tailor the testimonial to the areas of expertise you want to showcase.
Teach an Online Class. This is a great way to not only position yourself as an expert, but also to network. As the instructor, everyone will get to know you quickly, and as you establish your credibility in the area you are presenting on, people will want to connect with you and remain in your professional circle.