Supercharge Your Networking in 2019 With These Tools and Tactics

As 2018 comes to a close, I'm guessing more than a few of you are thinking that working on your networking skills would be a good new years resolution. Networking is something I enjoy and I'm always working on improving, so I thought I'd share with you all a few applications that will help you take your networking to a new level.

Postable. A thank you card is one of the most powerful ways to show appreciation when someone in your network does you a solid, like refer you for a job or give you some advice. Finding an envelope, stamps etc is a huge pain. Postable makes it so you can type it out online and in a few clicks and a few dollars later they mail very unique, seemingly handwritten cards. (even fooled my mother-in-law). Yes of course, doing it the old fashioned way is better, but this is a great alternative. Use my code "MRMKNB7Y" on Postable for some free credit.

Calendly. I'm a big fan of Calendly, it makes it extremely easy to find a time for a chat. It syncs with your calendar to only show people you want to schedule meetings with the times that you're available. Send them a link and people pick a time that works for them. Two pro tips. First, if you have a commute, set up a link dedicated to your commute. There is no excuse for not nurturing your network when you have a >20 minute commute, that's twice a day you can catch up with old colleagues or connect with new folks. Second tip, link Zoom and Calendly together to automatically create a Zoom link in the invite.

Amazon. Do not underestimate the power of a small thoughtful gift to someone in your network as a thank you or just to help someone out. You can't go wrong with one of your favorite books. If you have prime, you get free two day shipping for even low priced items. I often do this with students who reach out to me, I send them the Start up of You.

LinkedIn. Of course, the no brainer, but let me challenge you to think and use LinkedIn in two very specific ways when networking. First, on LinkedIn you get tons of updates from people on promotions, new jobs, being mentioned in the news. These are amazing opportunities to reach out, compliment, congratulate and touch based with someone who you may not have spoken to in awhile. Second, if you encounter a tough problem at work, chances are you're not alone, do deep searches and try to connect with someone in your industry who has faced the same problem. I've made lasting friendships by cold contacting people on LinkedIn and asking them if they are willing to share a few ideas one professional to another.

Best of luck in improving your networking in 2019, don't forget to give more than you receive when it comes to professional networking and you'll find an army of people around you helping you succeed.

That Awkward Moment: Who Should Respond First in a Digital Introduction?

It's that awkward moment. Someone just introduced you to another person over email and you don't know who should reply first. If you're the one asking for the intro, I know what you're thinking, that you don't want to bug them or seem too eager. Better just wait for them to reply...right? WRONG. Well...at least in my opinion.

Here are the three reasons why I think the person being introduced should be the first one to respond to an introduction that someone else makes for you.

It shows you are really interested. It's not uncommon for people to make introductions and the person who asked for the introduction never responds. A quick email leaves them no doubt that you are ready to engage.

It gives you the chance to show your relevance. You can add anything else that was left out in the introduction that you feel could make you more relevant. See the great example below.

It will make it easier for the person making the introduction. What's easier, one email response or two? If you respond first, you can suggest times for your meeting, call, or ask the question you want to ask. If you do that, the person will only have to respond once to the introduction to set something up. If you don't there will be a bit more back and forth to figure out a time to meet.

Now don't stress if the other person was really fast and replied before you got a chance to respond. Keep in mind though, that for most introductions, showing extra relevance, interest and making it easy for them, might get you a little further.

Silicon Valley's Most Famous Perk is More Than a Free Lunch

This post was originally published on LinkedIn. 

One of the most well known perks that you can find in many Silicon Valley offices is free lunch. At LinkedIn (where I work) this is the case. The lunch that is served at headquarters in Mountain View is superb. I think for those that have never experienced working at a company that feeds you, there are a few misconceptions about the real value of this perk.

Source: Flickr Maaco

Most people think that it's about getting free meals every day. That is certainly convenient.

You might also think it's about saving some $$. I'm always looking for a deal and it's true that I spend less on food because I'm eating lunch at work.

To me though, the real value of a free lunch is the relationships it helps me build and maintain. Here are a few examples.

A few weeks ago I bumped into a senior executive in the kitchen. We had a nice chat, so later that day I emailed him and asked him if he'd like to grab lunch sometime. He said "sounds great" and we got it scheduled right away. Having the food onsite and free makes having lunch with someone else (even senior executives) at the company easy and comfortable.

Every other week or so I eat breakfast with a colleague that works in a completely different part of the company. It's not a scheduled breakfast, we just happen to be getting breakfast at the same time about every other week. There have been many times after chatting about what she's working on, I go back to my desk to chat with my team about how some of the things she's working on will impact our group. This informal channel to share company information breaks down silos that can exist as companies grow.

Our founder, Reid Hoffman, said in The Start Up of You, "one lunch is worth dozens of emails". I'm able to strengthen my relationships not just with coworkers, but with friends and acquaintances that I frequently invite to join me for lunch at LinkedIn. Free lunch and a policy that allows me to bring guests greatly expands the number of people that I can maintain relationships with through this perk.

Free lunch is great, but to me, what matters the most are the relationships you can build over those meals

Building Strong Professional Relationships Starts with the G-Word

This is a guest post by Tom Yang. Tom is in the Leader to Executives Program at T-Mobile. He strives to give more than he receives in all of his professional relationships. He recently graduated with his MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business. Before attending business school he worked in the automotive industry for Nissan and Mazda. 

You just met someone you feel you could learn a lot from. This person might be a rock star in your industry or just a higher-up at your company. He or she just handed you their business card and suggested you two keep in touch. What do you do now?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind should not be what you can ‘ASK’ of them. Rather, it should be what you can ‘GIVE’ them. The reason for that is simple. The foundation of any relationship is trust. Trust builds over time and through reciprocity. To set reciprocity in motion, start by giving first:

Give Information: Even though information is abundant and easily accessible these days, there is still a shortage of people who can actually draw strategic insights from facts and figures. The next time you send a link of an article to someone, don’t just copy and paste the link to the body of the email without adding detailed context. The better approach would be to write a summary of the article in your own words and communicate why you think the article is relevant to what this person is trying to achieve. He or she will certainly appreciate the thoughtfulness. 

Give Intellect: My favorite question to ask someone whom I admire and want to learn from is “what book would you recommend me”? I ask this question because I believe people recommend books that reveal quite a bit about who they are and what they are passionate about. Once I get the recommendation, I read the entire book from cover to cover. I take copious notes along the way, so I could share what parts of the book resonated with me with the goal of stimulating an intellectual conversation with that person. As a ‘thank you’ gesture, I find another book that is cut from the same thread, read it, and mail a new copy to him or her to continue this virtuous cycle of intellectually invigorating conversations.

Give Inspiration: We all need a little motivation from time to time. We need people to believe in us when we are having trouble believing in ourselves. As such, it is of no surprise that we seem to build stronger bonds with those who were there for us during challenging times. Just recently, an acquaintance informed me that he was planning to apply to his dream business school. Having gone through that arduous process myself, I knew he would need a boost during those early morning, pre-work, GMAT study sessions. I decided to mail him a coffee mug from his dream school to remind him every morning to keep moving towards that goal. This small gesture made a sizable impact and I can say he is currently making strong progress. The key is to find out what people’s aspirations are and support them in a memorable.

Most importantly….

Give Appreciation: I feel the most gratitude during the month of April because that is when TIME magazine releases its list of 100 Most Influential People. This is the period when I reflect on the people who had the most positive influence in my own life in the past year. After I compile a list of 5-8 people, I hand-write a thorough letter to each person expressing the impact he or she had on me. As a final touch, I attach a copy of the special TIME 100 issue along with the letter and send it priority mail. I enjoy doing this every year and I can tell you that people really do appreciate this gesture. As you come up with your own creative ideas, just keep this principle in mind: when someone moved mountains to help you in a major way, that person deserves more than a ‘thank you’ email or text. By showing appreciation in a special manner you move one big step closer towards cementing the relationship.

The old saying, “anything in life that is of value takes time,” rings true in building relationships. I would just add “…and acts of giving” and you have yourself a winning formula. 

How to Make a Stranger Feel Like a Million Bucks

A few weeks ago I attended a LinkedIn customer event in Sydney and literally bumped into a famous Australian athlete. His name is Kevin Sheedy. He's a well known former player and coach in the Australian Football League. I immediately shook his hand and told him he gave a great speech, expecting him to quickly move on to other fans. He had spoken at the event earlier in the day to a large crowd and based off of the crowd's enthusiastic reaction, there were a lot of people eager to say hello and take a selfie with him. He did not move on quickly though. In fact, we chatted for over 30 minutes. When we finally parted ways, I felt like million bucks. As I look back on our conversation there were several thing that he did to make me, an American who knew nothing about the sport he has committed his life to, feel like a million bucks. While we don't all possess the natural charisma that Kevin has, there were some basic things he did that can help anyone engage a stranger in a conversation that will leave them feeling uplifted.

Ask questions. Shortly after I introduced myself, he started peppering me with questions about my life. He took a sincere interest in me as person. He asked where I was from, what I did for a living, how I liked Australia.

Bring energy to the conversation. It had been a long day. I was tired, but Kevin's energy was contagious. I left the conversation having channeled some of his energy and feeling ready to take on the rest of the day.

Be authentic. He was so authentic that it made me feel very comfortable, even though at first, I was very flustered to be speaking to someone who has accomplished so much.

Answer each question with sincerity. He treated each question I asked the same, even the really ignorant ones. I even asked him if played or just coached. Turns out he has played or coached in over 929 games, he's even in the Hall of Fame. He did not act annoyed or insulted, he just answered with an enthusiastic, "yes, I played too."

Each time we meet a stranger, we have an opportunity to have an impact on that person and leave them feeling uplifted. I hope this experience gives you a few ideas how you can do that, because what Kevin taught me that day in a 30 minute conversation is not a lesson I will soon forget.

No response to your request for an informational interview? Try this.

When I was an MBA student I reached out to a lot of busy professionals asking for a few minutes of their time for informational interviews. Even when it was a warm contact, not everyone was great about responding to my emails. As a busy professional before and after business school, I totally get it. Even when the intention is to respond, things happen. You forget, or even just deprioritize sending a response that day. There is though, a simple way to follow up that can help you eventually get some time on the calendar with most well intentioned busy professionals.

A week or so after you sent the email, reply to your first email and say

"Hope you had a great weekend. Let me know if any of these times work this week for a quick chat and what number to reach you at.

Monday- 9am-7pm

Wednesday- Anytime after 1pm

Friday- all day.

Thanks,

Joe Schmoe"

That's it. Short and sweet. Following up in this manner is making it as easy as possible for them to reply. I personally don't think there is anything wrong with sending a similar email each week for a month. At that point you might want to try different tactics if you're still not getting a response, but as long as you keep it positive there is a good chance eventually you'll get a response.

Have another great tactic you use to follow up? Please share in the comments.

4 Simple Ways to Give Back to Your Network

I graduated from college in 2009 in the middle of the financial crisis. At that difficult time for the US economy and my career, there were managers and coworkers that took the time to mentor, provide encouragement and give me a chance. I could not find a full time job by graduation, but was lucky enough to get an internship that summer with Adobe. I learned a lot that summer, but had to keep looking for a full time job because of a hiring freeze. Following the guidance of many mentors, I was able to leverage that internship experience to get a full-time job at Salesforce. Often, I think back on the many people in my professional network that have helped me along the way and are still a part of my evolving career. This got me thinking about what are some of the small things that anyone can do to give back and show appreciation to those in our professional networks. Here are a few ideas that can all take less than 5 minutes.

Respond to an email you forgot about. Maybe someone reached out asking for an introduction, a reference check or perhaps it was a student wanting to learn more about your company. Take 5 minutes right now, write them back and make their day.

Lend your network. Amplify the message of someone in your network by liking or sharing their post on LinkedIn. It could help someone in your network find their next hire or gain a new customer. If the post is great, share the love.

Send a note of appreciation. It does not have to be long, just heartfelt. Handwritten is best, but an email is nice too.

Share a post you know your network will love. Not just some post with a great headline, but something that is truly thoughtful or inspiring. Take a few minutes and really think about what content would resonate most with the people in your network.

I challenge you to take a few minutes today to find a way to give back to your network. If you can think of other great ideas, please share them in the comments.

A Simple Way To Strengthen Your Professional Network

If you want to strengthen your professional network, one the most important things that you can do is report back after any interaction with professionals in your network.

If you reached out to a former coworker to get advice on a marketing campaign you were going to run, let them know whether or not the campaign was successful and what you learned.

If while looking for a job you got an introduction from a friend to their old roommate, who now works at your dream company, let your friend know how your conversation went with their former roommate.

Following up afterwards will help you take that professional relationship to the next level. The reason this step is so important is because it increases the level of trust. Someone trusted you enough to take the time to make an introduction or give you advice. In following up, you confirm to them that this trust was not misplaced and that you made good use of their time. Every time you report back positively, this trust will grow stronger. People just feel great when they know they have really helped someone. Reporting back will actually increase their willingness to help you in the future.

My good friend Sonal is a great example of what can happen when you report back. At the beginning of her MBA program she reached out to an alumni to talk about internships in the Boston area. She ended up doing her internship in California, but kept it touch with the alum in Boston and let him know how it was going, even getting feedback from him on her summer project. After the project was over, she reported back on how it went. She found that each time she followed up on their different conversations, he seemed even more willing to help her in her career and job search. In a relatively short period of time, the relationship flourished into a strong professional relationship.

One common concern I've heard people say, is that they don't want to bother them again. Do not worry about that at all. It's never a bother, people want to know, especially if they have really helped you.

It only takes a few minutes to write a short email or make a quick call, but the positive impact reporting back on different professional interactions will have on the strength of your network will be profound.

Advanced LinkedIn Tips For MBA Students

*While I'm writing this from the perspective of an MBA student, all these LinkedIn tips work for any sort of student.

You've mastered the basics of LinkedIn. Your profile is filled out. You've stopped connecting with strangers. You always send a personalized message when you connect. What's next? Below are my advanced tips for students who want LinkedIn to be a competitive advantage for them in finding a job and managing their career.

1. Embed work that you've done. It's your reputation, not your resume. Show everyone what you can do. If you have any examples of your work that you're proud of, put them under the job where you created it. LinkedIn lets you embed videos, Slideshare and links to webpages.

2. Create profiles in other languages you speak. I wrote another post about why you should do this. You can read it here. It's easy to create a profile in another language in LinkedIn.

3. Optimize your profile for the right keywords. Make sure the key words you want to be found for are in your profile. LinkedIn works a lot like a search engine. If the words or job titles you want to be found for are not in your profile, you'll be hard to find.

4. Join groups strategically and participate. Join groups that are the watering holes of the people you want to be associated with. Jump in on the conversations that are interesting. Groups are a great way to show expertise and build new relationships.

5. Automate some of your sharing. I've found that it is a lot easier to share content on LinkedIn if you use a tool like Buffer. Consistent sharing of relevant content about your industry will keep you top of mind in your network. Buffer queues up articles so they are shared in the future. For example, you can have a post go out every Monday at 3:00 pm. If you find 7 articles you'd like to share one morning, you can have them easily scheduled to go out over the next 7 days. The advanced scheduling helps you be consistent and saves you the hassle of trying to find a new article to share everyday. Check out this article from Buffer on how it works.

6. Sign up for advanced contacts functionality. Go to contacts.linkedin.com, hit the "get started" button. As you go through the sign up process, don't forget to sync LinkedIn with your email and calendar. For more details on what these features can do, check out this article from Hubspot on how to use LinkedIn contacts. As an MBA student, these features will save you countless hours as you use LinkedIn to build your network and find a job or internship.

7. Get recommendations- I recommend getting one or two for each major role. While it's tempting to get them from a fellow MBA student, try to get recommendations from professionals you worked with in your jobs.

8. Manage your endorsements- If you are getting endorsed for something you don't want to be endorsed for, take it down. Check out this article to learn how to do it. If there is something you'd like to be endorsed for, send an email to a bunch of fellow MBA students or a small trusted group of friends/colleagues asking them to endorse you. Definitely do not SPAM everyone you know asking for an endorsement. Also, only ask to be endorsed for skills that you legitimately feel you have some expertise in.

I hope you've enjoyed these advanced LinkedIn tips for MBA students. If you have done all these things, you are well on your way to becoming an LinkedIn expert. If you missed my first post on this topic LinkedIn Basics For MBA Students, click the link to get the basics down before you try all the steps I've outlined above. If you're looking for more tips on how to write your LinkedIn summary check out LinkedIn Summary Examples for MBA Students. If you have any other questions, please comment below. Also, if you have some advanced LinkedIn tips I'm missing, I'd love to hear about them.

An Easy Way To Take The Awkwardness Out Of Networking

There can be awkward moments when you are trying to build your professional network. It's hard to know what to say to start trying to build a professional relationship with someone. I've found though, that there is one simple question that can really help jump start a relationship in a lot of situations.

Could you tell me about how you got to where you are?

In other words, you're asking someone to share their story. It's usually insightful, maybe inspiring, but everyone has a story and often people are not afraid to share it. There is also something personal about hearing about the long and sometimes windy trail that has lead to their current endeavors. This question can be very natural especially if you're young in your career or a student.

I interned at Adobe when I was an undergrad. I met with an executive in another department to get some advice as I was still figuring out what I wanted to do for my career. I asked that one question (with a few follow up questions, of course) and we talked for 30 minutes. At the end of the conversation she asked if she could help me by introducing me to other people in the company. She asked me! There is something about telling someone your own story that often inspires you to lend a hand. Now, I'm not writing this so you can ask this question and try to flatter someone into helping you. That is not my intention. I just want you to know that it's a common outcome to asking this question. The most valuable thing you'll get out of asking that question is getting to know someone better and being inspired by their story.

Why You Want To Make Introductions For Your Professional Network

You just got an email from a friend asking for an introduction to one of your connections. Should you ignore it? Pretend you don't know them? Wait 6 months to reply, then tell them it got sent to SPAM?

I'd like to make my case on why you usually want to do it.

The inspiration for this post came from a great article Reid Hoffman wrote called Help the People You Know with Small Gifts. In the article he explains that "the best way to strengthen a relationship is to jump-start the long-term process of give-and-take." He goes further to say that "pleasant friendships are nice, but the best-connected professionals are ones who can really help their allies. This is what makes a professional network and not simply a social one."

Generally speaking, introductions do not take a lot of time. At most, it'll take a few minutes to fire off a few emails. Those few minutes though, could change someone's life. A few months ago a former roommate asked if I'd introduce to him to one of my friends that works at Facebook. He wanted to abandon his career in academia to become a Data Scientist. I thought he was smart and talented, so I made the introduction. It took me less that 5 minutes. A few weeks later, I saw he accepted a job with Facebook. In a few minutes I created immense value for two people. My friend got a new job and the person I introduced him to got a great new colleague and probably a fat referral bonus.  

Particularly with introductions, I find that what goes around comes around. It's always a pleasant feeling to send an email asking for an introduction, knowing you were able to help them when they were in a similar situation a few months ago. Don't make the introduction though, if you feel you'd have to get something in return later to feel satisfied. It's best to do it with no expectation for return, then be pleasantly surprised later.

There is a caveat though, don't do it if you don't respect and trust the person you are making the introduction for. Look for opportunities to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships.

Whether you're making an introduction to help someone find a job, close a deal or just get some great advice take the time to make it happen.

How To Network Without Being Annoying, Phony or Fake

My brother really hates "networking" in the negative stereotypical sense of it. He does not like going to networking events. His nightmares involve approaching random people and asking for favors, but guess what, he has done an amazing job at building his network since he graduated from college.

My brother is the one in the middle with the white shirt

All he does is one simple thing, he participates in his profession.

Let me explain. My brother is a talented concept artist who has worked for the likes of Lucasfilm. Check out his blog here. When he started his job at Lucasfilm out of school, he really wanted to learn from the talented artists that surrounded him. He did whatever he could to participate in what the other talented artists he worked with were doing. Those activities varied greatly. Sometimes that meant he was doing crossfit during lunch with his coworkers. Other times it meant he was attending evening classes sponsored by the company on different art topics. It also meant he would attend screenings of the shows from other departments (tough life, right?) Through all of these activities he got to know some coworkers that were going to do a concept art book. He got invited to participate. Next thing you know, he's launching a concept art book with some of the industry's best. Check out his book called Punch Drunk Mustache here. Below are a few images from his book.

Credit: Sean Pando

Credit: Amy Beth

Contributing to the book has provided even more opportunities for him, like attending Comicon in San Diego last year for his book launch. Expanding his network beyond just the people he worked with directly has created many freelance opportunities for him.

If networking is difficult or scary for you. Don't do it. Just participate in your profession. Find the watering holes of  the people you aspire to be like and just show up. If you do this, you will naturally expand your network and possibly your skills. So, just get out there and find those watering holes.

If you want to learn more check out this video where I talk about this concept.