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Saturday, 4 February 2012 |
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The hidden jobs market: building up contacts
Thursday, 27 February 2003
As a professional, you should always be trying to build up your list of contacts. If you are a freelance professional, this is particularly important. A list of contacts is also useful for those who prefer permanent employment .
Many people underestimate the value of contacts. They only want to know someone at the exact time they need them. This is a big mistake, and worse, it’s bad business. Keeping track of who’s who in your industry can pay off big time. And the best contact you have can be sometimes be the one that was initially least obvious. Look back at those who’ve helped you most throughout my professional life. I’m sure you’ll find some of them are people you didn’t at first expected to be of value.
Recruitment agencies understand the value of contacts better than IT professionals. In fact, their database of contacts, if not the most valuable asset they own, is definitely one of the most valuable. Agents are constantly on the hunt for new contacts, because they know that that’s where the money is. You should understand it too.
Make a promise to yourself never to let a contact pass you by, and you'll be rewarded. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next month, but one day that name you took a note of could help you in ways you never expected.
Steps for building up your list of contacts
The first step is to create a database for your professional contacts. Keep it separate from your personal contacts database. Add in all the usual fields, making sure you have a field for Notes. Use the Notes field to keep track of any dealings you have with that person.
Now start adding names to the database. First of all, add everyone you can think of who’s relevant to your professional life. Even if it’s someone you think isn’t too important, add them anyway. You’re going to be using this database for years and today’s helpdesk trainee might be tomorrow’s manager.
Next, start adding names you hear from other professionals you know. Ask them who their colleagues and managers are. If you’re at the pub, and meet a person in your field, try to find out from them who the managers are at their site. Be subtle about it, obviously, but try to get some names. Remember the names they give you and write them down when you have a quiet moment. Then, add them to your database.
Spend some time surfing the websites of local companies. You’d be surprised how many contacts you can pull from a website. Once you’ve been through the contacts page, look for articles or meetings posted on the site that relate to your field. They often have names and contact details on them. Do a search if the site has that facility.
Finally, it’s time to get on the phone. Call companies and ask who’s responsible for what. Say you’re a consultant and are simply updating your contacts data. This kind of thing goes on all the time. If you get resistance from whoever answers the phone, try someone else in the company. If you still can’t get any names, you may have to be more creative with what you tell them you’re calling for.
Once you start building up a database of contacts, you’ll be surprised how useful it can be. It is especially practical when you’re looking for work. And in today’s market that could be sooner than you think.
In our next ‘Hidden jobs market’ article, we’ll be exploring ways you can leverage that contacts database to look for opportunities.
Paul Knapp (editor@brainbox.com.au)
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