Greek mathematician Archimedes appreciated the power of leverage. He said, "If you give me a solid place to stand and enough leverage, I shall move the world." Archimedes was a master in appreciating and explaining its power.
Leverage multiplies your power many fold. When it comes to leveraging your network, here is how to do it:
* Make a list of all the people you know. This may take some time and stretch your recall, but it will be well worth it.
* Make a list of at least 50 companies that hire your skills. These become companies that you are targeting in your job search.
* Prioritize your list of target companies, from your top choice to the least desirable.
* Call everyone the list of people you know and ask these three questions:
1. Do you know anyone who works for ... then name as many companies on your list as you feel comfortable taking their time to ask.
2. Do you know anyone who may know someone who works for any of these companies? This question is vital as it adds significant leverage to your network.
3. Do you know anyone I should meet with to help me learn more about any of these companies?
You will note that I mention "call," not "contact." A personal phone call will almost always yield more effective results than emailing these questions.
It is noteworthy that most calls likely will involve only three to five companies, 10 at the very most. If your contact is a close friend or family member, you may be able to review your entire list, but that likely will be rare as we are all very busy.
Your goal should be to get at least two names and contact information from each person. When you find someone who works for one of your target companies, ask who the hiring managers are for the jobs that use your skills.
I once worked with a man who told me that he had contacted his entire network and had not found a job. I asked him if he had contacted my brother who lives in California. He obviously had not and was curious why I would ask. When I explained how he could leverage his network -- and his network included me and my own network -- he understood that he had not, by any means, contacted his entire network.
The man was an electrician and my brother is the executive director of the Northern California National Electrical Contractors Association and works with many companies that also do business in Utah.
If you consider that we all know at least 100 people, and each of them know at least 100 people, and each of them know at least 100 people, it doesn't take long to get more names than you can handle. Just those three generations of contacts represent more than 1 million people, any one of whom may work for one of your target companies.
Archimedes was right in appreciating the power of leverage. The key is to understanding how it applies to your job search.
Ron Campbell has worked extensively in the job preparation and job search industry. He can be reached at 801-386-1111 or campbellrv@gmail.com.
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