Blog Post

Here are my 10 commandments of networking and reasons why. I don't believe you can network effectively or sustainably, unless you master the first 5 'softer' skills.

1- Thou shalt not give to receive
It's OK to have an objective, but to have strings attached all the time, melts into manipulation. Giving without expecting to receive anything back is difficult to master, but MUST be understood if sustainable relationships are to be built.

2- Thou shalt seek to HELP, for that is the rule of karma
As with the above point, rule No.2 seeks to address your role in networking. Offering advice, support, leads, referrals, connections, invites, discounts etc are all actions, which are remembered. Those in your debt with help you back in time to come, mark my words.

3- Thou shalt use thy ears in proportion to thy mouth
Do I need to explain this one?

4- Thou shalt be sincere or die
Yes you insincere buggers can network and yes you insincere ones can apparently develop relationships. However I challenge you insincere types about the depth and sustainability of your apparent relationships. Like oil and water, I can't see how insincerity mixes with meaningful networking and building deep relationships.

5- Thou shalt invest time and effort in being visible
To network you have to be present online and/or offline. With no visibility, other contacts won't know who you are. So invisibility works against the forces required to network. You can be discreet, you just can't be invisible.

6- Thou shalt develop a relationship through contact-points and leveraging
Contact-points can be anything from conversations, tweets, emails, advertising, meetings etc. Anything which puts you in 'contact' with a prospective contact, or something which communicates a message to them. Using a hybrid of contact-points over time helps to build a relationship. In physics, leveraging is considered a 'mechanical advantage', in networking it is the same. Use your existing contacts to leverage relationships with others.

7- Thou shalt detect connections and strings with an eagle eye
What joins point A to point B is what I call a 'string'. Remembering points AND strings means you can be a quicker, smarter and cuter Recruiter than your peers. For example, your client (company A) gives you a job which requires specific experience working on a specific type of project. You recall that company B undertakes similar projects, so you are likely to find suitable candidates for company A, within company B. You then recall that one of your contacts is an ex employee of company B (this is the 'string'), and therefore may be able to refer names to you. You proceed to ask your contact for help identifying names of people at company B, so you can fulfill the job requirement at company A. The success of this depends on the relationship you have with your contact.

8-Thou shalt initiate and reciprocate
This forms part of the give and take ideology, you need to know when to initiate conversations, dialogues, and connections and when to reciprocate on information, advice and leads which are offered. You shall do both in abundance.

9- Thou shalt follow-up on feedback and referrals
Someone forwards a lead to Consultant A and they take it to the 1st level of investigation or worse, do nothing with it. Someone forwards a lead to Consultant B and they embark the investigative journey with that lead and explore it till it's natural end. Who makes more placements, Consultant A or B?

10- Thou shalt keep in touch and be gracious
No one wants a contact or friend who only calls when they want something. That is shallow and totally transparent. If you can't be gracious, then consider a job where you don't have to interact with many people. Recruitment is the wrong profession for you.