No doubt you’ve heard the saying, “There’s strength in numbers.” But do you know this familiar phrase also rings true for your career?
In today’s job market, we’re often taught to be wary of numbers — greater unemployment rates equal more applicants per job, which means much more competition and a slimmer probability of you landing an interview.
The numbers game is usually viewed as something working against you, but what if I told you that more really is merrier when it comes to pursuing your career goals?
How so, you ask? Well, let’s use history as an example.
Remember the Allied Powers of WWII? Major countries such as Britain, France, Russia and the United States joined together to oppose the Axis Powers, led by Germany, Italy and Japan. By combining resources, military personnel/assistance and leadership, the Allied Powers defeated the Axis Alliance. Individually, these countries probably wouldn’t have had a fighting chance, but uniting made them stronger.
This concept is also true for your career. There are certain people who, once you “join forces” with them, will have the skills, talents, connections and resources to elevate you to the next level — your allies.
And below are three steps to help build these crucial connections along your career path:
1. Identification
Before you can make an ally, you’ll need to determine who these people are. First, examine your career goals, noting the different routes you will have to take to accomplish them. Then, think about the people you may meet along those routes and their level of impact on your future career.
Who is beneficial to connect with and why? Will having them as an ally benefit you in the short or long term?
For example, say you’re an account executive in food sales and your long-term goal is become a buyer. Building a genuine professional relationship with the operations manager at your favorite client both deepens your sales potential with that company (if you have a finger on the pulse of operations, you have better insight into your customer’s product needs) and widens your exposure in the buying and operations side of the food industry, setting you up for movement to your long-term goal.
After you’ve identified potential allies, you’ll need to conduct research. Where do these people work? Do they belong to any groups or associations? Is their contact information readily available? Having this information is extremely important to set you up for step 2.
Sometimes, this is as easy as hopping on LinkedIn or perusing the “Our Team” or “About Us” pages of a company’s website. But don’t overlook the obvious: digging into your own email archive can be a great tool. (Tweet this thought!)
Think of all the projects you’ve collaborated on with an email trail, and you’ll doubtless come up with people who’ve been cc’d as an afterthought whose position or industry knowledge is in line with what will help you.
2. Networking
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 70% of all jobs are found through networking — don’t neglect this strategy when attempting to make allies.
Using your research from the previous step, be sure to network with your list of potential allies to one day make a solid connection. It isn’t helpful to simply know the key people you need to have on your team; get out there and talk to them. It may start by sending them a LinkedIn InMail, responding to one of their posts or comments from a Google+ group or even attending a conference you know they’ll be hosting to make a formal introduction.
For potential allies who are further removed from you, follow them on Twitter or “like” their posts on LinkedIn or Facebook. Whatever steps you have to take to open the door of communication between you and your future allies, do it. And once this door is open, make sure it remains ajar by keeping in contact.
In its most successful form, “networking” is simply making a genuine communication. Going from that logic, the best kind of intro message will a) clearly not be a form letter or a copy-and-paste job, and b) center on something specific about this person or a shared experience you have. “Found your profile on LinkedIn and wanted to connect” won’t get you nearly as far as concisely conveying that a post/speech/project of theirs you came across stuck in your mind, and you’d be excited to pick their brain about it sometime.
3. Give and Take
Sometimes you have to give a little to get a little. We’re all familiar with how the business world works; most people have the you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours mentality. Your allies may be the same.
Build a sense of trust and dependability by doing favors for your allies. If your business is looking to contract an accountant and you know one of your allies has his own accounting firm, refer him. Or if you know a talented job seeker who’d be perfect in your ally’s business, connect the two.
Doing beneficial things for your allies builds camaraderie and shows these people you have their best interests in mind and can be counted on, making it much easier for them to return the favor when it comes to advancing your career.
In the End
Making professional allies is one of those career to-dos that’s a running project, rather than something you can simply check off. As with any running action, whether it’s going to the gym or checking your voicemail as soon as you get to the office in the morning, you need to get into the habit.
Keep your eyes peeled for potential allies, identify the right opportunity to deepen (or just begin) your connections with them, and stay aware of when you can be an asset to them independent of your own current needs. The more consistently you go through this process, the more naturally it will come and, in the end, the more allies you’ll find on your side just when you need them.
What’s the biggest part of your new career ally-making plan? Share in the comments!
Image: Flickr
