The Power of Networks!
Written by Dave Seddon on
Have you ever played a game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”? Name an actor, then connect them to another actor by a film they’ve both appeared in together, then repeat the process to find the least number of steps to get to the actor Kevin Bacon. You probably need to be a film geek to get the most out of it but at its heart is something that’ll help you with your next career move. The game is based on the idea, first suggested by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in his story Chains, that any two people anywhere in the world are connected by a “chain of acquaintances” no more than six links long.
If you’ve looked for a job recently, you’ll know it can be hard work. You update your CV, scour the job boards, find a position that matches what you’re looking for, tailor your newly updated CV for that role, write what you hope is a compelling covering letter, apply and then hope for the best. Sadly, because all job vacancies are always hugely oversubscribed, the first elimination round is often done by bots, programmed to search for specific words or phrases in a CV. They won’t even read the words you spent hours polishing. Even if you make it through the various levels of filtering, perhaps to a human being who will read both your CV and covering letter, and get called to interview, about 20% of applicants talk themselves out of a job at that stage. It’s a bit like those nature programmes in which the bears feast on salmon which are struggling up a series of increasingly steep rapids to get to their spawning grounds spawn. Unfortunately, you’re not the bear, you’re the salmon. As a defence mechanism, you start playing your own numbers game and apply for lots of jobs, not just the one you really want.
There is, however, a better alternative to resorting to the shotgun approach. It involves your most valuable – but probably most underutilised – asset and it’s the reason I talked about six degrees of separation at the start. Yes, I’m talking about your network. A lot of people will back away at this point, saying “I’m no good at networking” but that’s not true. Networking doesn’t necessarily mean working a room, it’s a natural by-product of your day-to-day role. You meet people you like, respect and trust and who like, respect, and trust you in return. They’re the people you’d ask to write a LinkedIn recommendation for you and who’d happily say ‘yes’.
Smart B2C companies market their products using something called an active advocacy programme – recommenders and influencers who open doors and promote that company’s brand and products using their own reputation. Mostly this is because of the old adage “people buy from people”. Have you ever needed a builder or a plumber? Did you look on the Internet or did you ask your friends if they knew anyone they could recommend? Almost certainly the latter because we trust our friends and we believe that lowers our risk of having a bad experience. It’s the same principle when using your network to secure a job.
In a previous blog, I wrote that any company hiring a new employee is engaged in a risk management exercise. They’re worried about a) whether you can do the job, and b) whether you’ll enhance or diminish the existing team? The more senior the role, the higher the risk for the hiring company. A recommendation from someone they know, respect and trust makes you a lower risk proposition compared to candidates they only know from their CV.
The other big advantage of recruitment based on recommendations, both for the candidate and the hiring organisation, is it can be quicker. Because you’re recommended by someone they trust, the company is more likely to put you forward, short-circuiting the initial filtering and telephone vetting stages before putting you in front of the recruiting manager. Even that discussion becomes easier because the default assumption is that you can do the job and will probably be a good cultural fit – all because you’re there on a recommendation. You’ll still have to make sure you’re not one of the 20% who talk themselves out of a job during the interview but the odds have just shortened drastically in your favour. After all, people are far easier to impress and win over than bots.
The strength, and beauty, of networks is their scale and reach. Imagine you have a small network, say 20 people. Now imagine each of those people are connected to 20 people who are also connected to 20 people… Suddenly you’re connected to a LOT of people. Think about how quickly internet memes go viral. Obviously, you want your network to consist of high-quality connections that go a little deeper than forwarding the latest cool Tweet or TikTok video, but you get the idea.
All of this probably sounds obvious as you read it and yet people seem to forget it when they find themselves looking for a new job. I regularly speak with candidates and ask where their last few roles have come from. Invariably I get the response, “I’ve never applied for a role, they’ve always come from people I know.” And yet they’re polishing their CV and applying to jobs on job boards…
Think of your network as an investment and regularly nurture it. Think of it like a garden – it takes time to build and needs regular effort to ensure each new connection strengthens and grows. Most importantly, networks are about give and take – you’ll get out what you put in.
Remember that networks are built on trust, a commodity it takes a while to build but only moments to destroy
Don’t be impatient. That applies equally to how quickly you can ask your network to recommend you and how quickly that recommendation might take to filter through to the hiring manager. We live in a society of instant gratification and when we set our sights on something we tend to want it now. Networks work at a slower pace, but recommendations have a much greater impact than a CV from an unknown quantity. It’s a trade-off worth making. Think about how much many layers of filtering and vetting you’ll be avoiding.
The next time you identify a role you really want, think in terms of six degrees of separation. You could try hammering on the front door along with everyone else – or you could use the power of your network to find someone who’ll guide you through the maze and get you to where you want to go.
At changemaker, we help companies and individuals manage change. For individuals, we provide both expertise, guidance and – sometimes most important – a sounding board. We’ll challenge you and support you through with tools and experience gained through years of developing people