How To Build Your Network From Scratch: Part 1.
Did you know? 85% percent of jobs are filled through networking with personal and professional connections?
If this statistic has you thinking, “I’ll never find a non-clinical job because I don’t have connections outside of medicine,” I have good news for you! You can start building your network today.
Here are two steps to get you started:
Step 1. (Re)Connect with who you know (“warm” networking).
Make a list of 20-30 people you know.
- Think: colleagues from residency, fellowship, or previous employment, colleagues who have left medicine, people you know from community engagements, neighbors, and parents from your kids’ school.
Contact them and request an in-person or virtual coffee/walk/catch up.
- Find out how they’re doing. Fill them in on what’s going on for you. Let them know you’re entering the next phase of your career.
- If you know the non-clinical field you’re interested in, find out if they know anyone in that industry and ask them to introduce you.
Create a LinkedIn account.
- Find current and former school alumni and colleagues (For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, read THIS.)
- Send them a “connection” request. If they’re not active on LinkedIn, look at other social media platforms where they’re active and connect there.
Step 2. Connect with who you don’t know (“cold” networking)
Rajkumar et al. studied the role of connections in getting hired. They found the most useful connections are not strong ties, like friends and family, but “weak” ties- the friends of a friend.
If the idea of reaching out to a “weak” tie makes you want to keep scrolling, you’re not alone. Here are suggestions to make it easier:
Look through the connections of your connections on LinkedIn.
- Do any of these connections work in the industry you’re curious about or doing something that sounds interesting?
- Ask the mutual connection to introduce you to the connection of interest (email works great for this).
Look through the “People You May Know” feature on LInkedIn. To access, go to “My Network” in the LinkedIn toolbar and scroll down. Example screenshot:
- If you come across someone who’s working in the industry you’re interested in, look for a common interest, hobby or group membership. Then send them a connection request.
If you have a free LinkedIn account, you can only send Direct Messages to people you are connected to. However, when you send a connection request, you can add a note to personalize the invitation. There’s a 300-character limit. To add the note, make sure you are in the person’s profile, then click connect, and the message box will pop up:
General tips:
Focus on making connections with people you’re genuinely interested in. Quality often beats quantity.
Start small. For example, aim for 1-2 new DM’s or connection requests per week and build up from there.
Find common ground (mutual connection, school, interests) or something you admire to make it easier to connect.
Next week, in Part 2, I will cover:
What to say in your connection request and informational interviews.
How to prepare your elevator pitch.
What else would you like to know about networking?
Need Some Encouragement To Network?
Watch Networking For The Networking Averse (3:30 mins)