Last month I had an absolutely delightful networking meeting with someone I met through a professional association. What made the meeting so memorable was that the person I was networking with did everything right. She followed every rule of networking including:
- Being flexible with the meeting time and location and asking me what was convenient for me.
- Telling me that she didn’t want to take up too much of my time but wanted to touch base briefly.
- Coming prepared to explain her value proposition and what she is looking to achieve in her job search.
- Asking me what recommendations I had for other people she could talk to in the industry.
- Practicing reciprocity by asking how she could help me achieve my professional goals.
- Thanking me for my time.
I was thinking about this contact yesterday after having two back to back unpleasant networking experiences. In one situation, the networker had a very narrow and inconvenient window of time when she could meet. After I agreed to meet on her terms I followed up with her the day before the meeting to confirm only to find out that she had to cancel. In another situation, someone approached me through a distant contact on LinkedIn and asked to speak to me by phone to ask some career questions. We set a time, yet when I called her I got her voicemail and still haven’t heard from her 24 hours later. Unfortunately, bad networking happens much too frequently and the people who abuse the concept of networking sometimes make it more difficult for those with good intentions to secure meetings.
The networker that got it right is on my A list. She is top of mind. If I can make an introduction for her or give her a job lead, I certainly will. As for the others, I will give them another chance to reach out to me, but the relationship has already been compromised and it will take some rebuilding on their part to repair.