Networking: Advanced

Networking men

When you start your networking efforts, you may be more focused on goal clarification and broadcasting your job search.

You may be contacting people who are not related to your target role or company, like friends and neighbors, and these folks may end up being very useful. 

However, as you hone in on target roles and companies, it's important to also do more strategic, targeted networking. 

Understand the Process

Start with a Clear Strategy

Strategic networking begins with clarity. Know which companies you're targeting and why. Then, identify the right individuals to connect with inside those organizations, ideally people in or close to the roles you're aiming for.

  • Create a target list of 10–20 companies aligned with your goals.
  • Research and identify potential contacts: people in your role at the target company, people who used to have your role at the target company but are now at a different company, people in your role at competitors, people who are or were suppliers. Hiring managers, team leads, and internal recruiters can be on your list but they may be harder to reach.
  • Have a clear purpose for each outreach: are you seeking advice, insight, or an informational conversation?

Rather than reaching out to dozens of random professionals, focus on building a few meaningful connections that can grow over time.

Know → Like → Trust

When sales people approach a potential client, they don't just start talking about a product's benefits. They need to get potential clients to know them, like them, and trust them. This applies to networking too: 

Let’s say you meet someone at a networking event:

  • You introduce yourself and exchange contact info → They now KNOW you.
  • You follow up with a helpful article and comment on their LinkedIn post → They start to LIKE you.
  • You share a client success story and consistently follow through on meetings → You’ve earned their TRUST.

Make Deposits First

One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is treating networking as a one-sided transaction, reaching out only when they need something. But effective networking is like managing a bank account: you can’t make a withdrawal before you’ve made any deposits.

In other words, before asking for help, time, or favors, you need to provide value, show interest, and build trust.

  • Show genuine curiosity about someone’s work or career path
  • Engage with their content on LinkedIn or other platforms thoughtfully (not just likes; leave a comment or share a takeaway)
  • Send a thank-you message or follow-up that acknowledges their insights
  • Share a relevant article, tool, or opportunity that might interest them
  • Introduce them to someone in your network who could be helpful to them

These small actions demonstrate that you’re not just trying to extract value from a connection, you’re contributing to it.

 

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Be Clear About Your Goals and Your Value Proposition

Clear Goals Empower People to Help You

One of the most common networking mistakes is showing up with vague intentions, such as saying you're “open to anything” or “just exploring.” Ambiguity makes it harder for others to identify how they can help you, refer you, or connect you with the right people.

Why Clarity Helps:

  • It provides direction to the conversation.
  • It helps your contact quickly assess where and how they can support you.
  • It demonstrates intentionality, which sets you apart from those who are simply fishing for opportunities.

“I’m looking for a project management role within the healthcare sector, ideally with a company focused on operational efficiency and digital transformation. I bring a background in coordinating cross-functional teams and streamlining complex processes.”

A Value Proposition Communicates Professionalism and Confidence

A clear value proposition shows that you’ve taken the time to understand your strengths, your career direction, and the problems you’re equipped to solve. It also communicates confidence in your own capabilities, which inspires confidence in others.

Your Value Proposition Should Answer:

  • What do you do best?
  • Who benefits from your work?
  • What specific outcomes do you deliver?
  • What makes your approach effective or unique?

“I help early-stage startups develop scalable marketing operations. I specialize in content strategy and building community engagement that drives consistent, low-cost user acquisition.”

This kind of statement makes you memorable and allows your contact to easily connect you with the right opportunities.

Clarity Builds Trust More Quickly

People tend to trust and invest in those who demonstrate clarity and direction. When you can clearly articulate what you're seeking and how you create value, you present yourself as someone who is focused, reliable, and professionally mature.

  • It positions you as a serious candidate or collaborator.
  • It aligns your goals with the other person’s network or insights.
  • It reduces friction in the relationship-building process.

It Makes Follow-Ups and Referrals Easier

Clear goals and messaging make it much easier for someone to take the next step, whether that’s referring you, introducing you to someone in their network, or offering advice.

Without clarity, the conversation often ends vaguely, with comments like “Let’s stay in touch” rather than concrete outcomes or leads.

 

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Understand the Purpose of Informational Interviews

Learn

Yes, you need a job, but these conversations are an indirect way to get there. Your first goal is to learn about a career path, a company, industry trends, how you might fit into a new career pivot, what a company is looking for in a job that's not in the job posting, and many other topics. You can get information off a website or AI, but it is never as current or in-depth as the information you'll get from a human being. Your curiosity should be genuine. If your connection senses that you are just faking it to angle for a job, you lose trust. 

Become Known and Trusted

When you have a conversation, you become a known quantity. Assuming you create a good impression, this brings you into the circle of trust: someone who can be referred to others for more networking or for future jobs that might get posted. Trust is an incredibly valuable commodity, especially in today's recruiting environment full of AI bots and fake applications. This is how you circumvent the application pools of hundreds of others and increase your chances of landing an interview.

Be More Strategic

With the information you gain from informational interviews, you can more easily focus your search on industries and companies where you'll be a better fit and where you'll have an increased chance of landing a job. This can be a big time saver over a spray-and-pray approach. 

 

 

Start Your Outreach

Write Emails That Get Read

Most networking emails fail because they’re generic, too long, or overly focused on the sender. To stand out, make your outreach short, specific, and centered on the other person.

  • Start with a sincere compliment or point of connection (e.g., a recent post, shared background, or mutual interest).
  • Be clear about why you’re reaching out and what you're asking for.
  • Keep it brief: aim for 3–5 short sentences max (<75 words).

Example message:

Hi Alex, I came across your profile while researching design teams at Stripe. I was impressed by your talk on accessible UX design. I’m transitioning into UX myself and would really value your perspective on what it’s like to work on your team. Would you be open to a short conversation next week?

Email is generally preferred, but if you don't get a response, try a LinkedIn message (best if you have a paid account or try messaging for free if you share a LinkedIn group).

Also read The 2-Hour Job Search by Steve Dalton for more concrete steps to take when you reach out.

Use LinkedIn Strategically

Too often, job seekers use LinkedIn reactively, sending cold connection requests or messages with no prior interaction. But LinkedIn works best when you treat it as a long-term networking tool, not just a messaging platform.

To get noticed and build trust, you need to show up before you ask for anything.

Follow target companies
Start by following the LinkedIn pages of companies you're interested in. This gives you visibility into company updates, culture posts, job postings, and employee highlights, all valuable conversation starters.

Follow key employees and recruiters
Identify people who work at your target companies including hiring managers, team members, internal recruiters, or department leaders. Instead of immediately sending a connection request, follow them first. This allows you to see their activity and engage meaningfully.

Engage thoughtfully with their content
Pay attention to what they post: articles, job updates, insights about their work or industry. Add thoughtful comments, ask relevant questions, or share your perspective. This increases your visibility in a low-pressure, value-adding way.

Establish familiarity over time
A few meaningful interactions over a couple of weeks can make a big difference. By the time you reach out, your name is familiar, and you've already shown interest and professionalism.

Send a personalized connection request
Once you’ve engaged meaningfully, send a short, tailored connection request that references your previous interaction. This could be something like:

Hi Jason, I’ve really appreciated your recent posts on product leadership at Shopify — especially the one about cross-functional collaboration. I’m exploring PM roles and would love to stay connected and learn from your insights.

Go Beyond LinkedIn

LinkedIn is useful, but not the only place to network. Many meaningful connections happen elsewhere, often in more niche or targeted settings.

  • Use alumni directories or reach out to fellow alumni who work at target companies via email or LinkedIn.
  • Attend industry meetups, virtual events, or webinars, then follow up with participants or speakers.
  • Join online communities (Slack groups, subreddits, LinkedIn groups, or Discord servers) related to your field and engage before reaching out.
  • When appropriate, send direct emails using professional contact information found on company sites or tools like Hunter.io.

The more personal and relevant your approach, the more likely you are to get a response.

 

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Come Prepared

You don’t need to script your conversation, but it’s helpful to prepare answers to these four key areas:

Your Career Goal
What are you working toward and why?

“I’m working toward a transition into user experience design because I’ve realized how much I enjoy solving user-centered problems through both design and research.”

Your Value Proposition
What do you bring to the table?

“I help teams translate complex user needs into intuitive digital experiences. My background in research and prototyping allows me to quickly iterate and test solutions.”

What You’re Looking For
Be specific about roles, industries, or types of organizations.

“I’m currently exploring mid-level UX roles at mission-driven tech companies, particularly in health or education sectors.”

How They Can Help
Give them an easy way to support you.

“If you know anyone working in UX or at companies focused on digital health, I’d really appreciate any introductions or recommendations.”

Having a networking resume or Open to Work document (see below) can help as a leave-behind or attachment to a thank you email as a reminder of this information. DO NOT OFFER a resume without being asked. 

 

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Be Persistent

Build Real Relationships

Strategic networking may feel like it's about quick wins, but if you are planning to be in your industry for a while, it’s also about building authentic relationships that may lead to opportunities over time. Plus, you won't have to start from scratch the next time you look for work! 

People respond better to relationship building than to transactional requests:

  • Follow up with thoughtful questions or appreciation after a conversation.
  • Share useful resources or insights when relevant.
  • Stay in touch without always asking for something.

The people who help you most often aren't the ones you just met; they’re the ones you’ve built trust and rapport with over time.

Follow Up and Stay Organized

Most connections won’t respond right away. That doesn’t mean they’re not open to connecting; they may just be busy or distracted. Following up respectfully shows professionalism.

  • Follow up once after a few days and again a week or two later if needed.
  • Keep a simple log of who you’ve contacted, when you followed up, and how they responded.
  • Always thank people for their time, even if they don’t have opportunities to offer.

Consistent, thoughtful follow-up separates passive job seekers from strategic ones.

 

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Attend Events

There are many events all over town that can be very helpful to attend, both to keep your industry knowledge fresh and to make new connections. See the long list below.

Events are NOT just for extraverts; having one or two quality conversations (then following up without asking for anything 2 times) is a great outcome and usually doable for introverts. Those will be quality connections that will last. 

There are many ways to discover events: ask your network, subscribe to the SmartPeeps and PDXMindshare newsletters (see links below), and join email lists for WorkSource plus any local industry associations related to your field. 

If you find a great event please post it to the LinkedIn Group so that all our job seekers can see it!

💲Short on cash to attend networking events?💲

Thanks to the generosity of a former job seeker, we have a small networking event scholarship fund available. 

Two reimbursements per person are available while you are an active job seeker (not to exceed $50 in total).  

Here's how it works: 

  • Register and pay for the event.
  • Download the networking event scholarship fund reimbursement form.
  • Complete the form, sign it, and submit it with a receipt or documentation from the event to mentors Stan Earnshaw or Jennifer Kass. Reimbursement is available for up to $50 of the total event cost. One reimbursement per job seeker.
  • Your reimbursement will be mailed to you. Be sure to include your mailing address on the form. 

Unsure how to start a conversation at a networking event? 

See How to Start and Continue Conversations at a Networking Event. It's all about casual conversation, not talking about your job search. 

 

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Local Networking Opportunities and Events

General Interest

  • Meetup.com: Platform with local get-togethers, including professional ones.
  • Eventbrite.com: Another platform with multiple events.
  • Magnet: Highly recommended by other job seekers. A different type of event.
  • Smart-Peeps.com: Sign up for the bi-weekly newsletter for a list of local events.
  • PDXMindshare: Another newsletter with local events.

Industry/Functional Focus

Nonprofit/Social Impact

Marketing/Communications

Technology

Other

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Tools and Resources to Help You

Skill Builder Workshops

  • Networking 101: Start connecting with confidence (and even enjoy it!).
  • Networking 201: Expand your efforts with more intention
  • LinkedIn 101: Optimize your profile to quickly communicate your professional identity.
  • LinkedIn 201: Use the platform effectively to find jobs and expand your network.

AI Prompts

Other Tools

Online Resources

Books

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  • Networking
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  • Informational Interviews
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  • Networking Resume
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