Relationship Building: 101

Let’s say that you’ve already identified at least one person, maybe a few people, who do the kind of work you’d like to do. In other words, you have a role model.  In order to make best use of this relationship, there are a few things to understand about choosing to associate with like-minded people and how these relationships can help.

• In general, people prefer to associate with others they feel are similar to them. The ideal is to be aligned with people who share your most productive beliefs, attitudes and strategies for furthering your career.  However, if you are surrounded by discouraged job seekers, they may tend to revalidate the stories you already have about how hard it is out there, which is not productive for making progress.
• Your social and cultural environment often determines how well you will build relationships with the right people.

The next step is to identify the key decision makers for the positions you are looking for. At the deepest level of connection are the industry routers, who are potentially a great boon to your networking progress. These are the super-connectors that by the nature of their jobs can open doors for you. They are usually listed as having 500 or more connections on LinkedIn.

If well-connected people are listed as 2nd degree connections from you in LinkedIn, you can ask your 1st level connections for introductions and referrals.

Once you’ve got their attention, remember to build rapport first. Come across as someone seeking to be of service, rather than merely self-serving in order to build your online connections.

And now a few words of understanding:

It takes a courageous, service-minded heart and mind to go out into the world day after day and reveal yourself to people you don’t know. It is a tiresome and lonely process having to live in the initial void of not knowing if your efforts are paying off. For what it is worth, the people here at Jobfully GET THAT. Our very existence is to help and encourage job seekers as they negotiate their way through every action it takes to find the work they want to do.