Analyzing your current contacts and reaching out to them allows you to experiment. More importantly, it allows you to build your confidence and help you get out of the mindset that networking is a one-way street of asking people for help, and into the mindset of mutually beneficial conversations.
Recall contexts where you've met people
It is easy to underestimate the extent and value of your existing network. I don’t just mean the number of contacts you have on LinkedIn. Think of all the people you have met through:
School and university
Part-time jobs
Recreational sports or other hobbies
Friends and family
It’s why it is so important to spend time segmenting your existing contacts, so you can see how valuable they already are.
Segmenting your contacts allows you to:
Break your network down into more manageable sections.
See where your current network is strong.
See where it is weak or where gaps are that need filling.
Manage your contacts in a spreadsheet
A master list of contacts is an essential tool for effective networking. You can do this in a spreadsheet.
Create a blank spreadsheet with these column titles: Name, Job, Value, Phone, Email, Location.
First Name | Last Name | Company | Job Title | Value | Phone | Location | |
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Export your contacts from LinkedIn
To get off to a good start, export your 1st degree LinkedIn contacts directly. This is a big time saver.
Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
Click the Privacy tab at the top of the page.
Under the How LinkedIn uses your data section, click Change next to Download your data.
You’ll be redirected to the Download your data page where you can select Connections.
You will receive an email which will include a link where you can download your list of connections.
Export contacts from your phone
Most modern smartphones will also allow you to export your contacts, but you will have to add some information manually such as job title or organization.
Segment your contacts
There are many ways to segment current contacts.
The most common are by:
Industry
Location
Job title
You could segment it by organization, but it is unlikely you will know enough people in one company to make it worth structuring the information this way.
The aim is to build up a comprehensive database of names, job titles, organizations, location, and any contact details you have for them.
Manually add contact information and location and sort the data.
Rank how well you know each contact
Whichever way you choose to analyze and manage your contacts, once you have added them to your master list, the next step is to assign each person a value of 1, 2, or 3.
This represents your current networks weak ties; you know of each other, but have had little recent contact, or maybe none beyond a LinkedIn connection request.
Is when you know each other, and have had some contact.
A value of 3 represents someone you know very well, and probably speak to often.
Here is what that might look like.
First Name | Last Name | Company | Job Title | Value | Phone | Location | |
Paul | Bell | Mindways Ltd | Creative Director | 1 |
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| London |
Doulgas | Betney | Margate Film Festival | Creative Director | 1 |
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| London |
Susie | Woodman | Belong Agency | Creative Director | 1 |
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| Leeds |
Jools | Rowley | Hard Liquor Creative | Creative Director | 1 |
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| Birmingham |
Alison | Miller | Freelance | Creative Director / Art Director | 3 |
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| London |
Sam | Mills | MPC | Creative Director | 2 |
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| London |
Jon | Booth | Maverick Media | Creative Services Director | 2 |
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John | Richardon | Lacing Lilith | Creative Director | 3 |
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Surprisingly, your number 3's aren't always the most valuable. Research has shown that weak ties (1's) act as bridges to new networks by connecting you to new people.
This isn't a new theory. Jacob Morgan, the author of The Future of Work (2014), quotes academic research from the '70s which already proved this. He explains that weak ties are like bridges which allow us access to people and information outside of our current network. They are the ones to foster.
"It’s a bit counter-intuitive but in the workplace it is not the strong ties that can be the most beneficial, in fact, weak ties (acquaintances or people that you might not know that well) can be far more valuable!" (Morgan, Forbes 2014 article)
In my work as a career coach, I've come across many concrete examples of this. For instance, I recently worked with Susan, who wanted to move from her current role as an executive assistant into an events person in the beverage industry. She thought she didn’t know anybody in the industry. With a little analysis, she discovered that her brother’s roommate worked for a large brand, and a former boss had a LinkedIn contact on the board of a global beverage company.
🎉 Bingo! Plenty of opportunities right there for instigating career conversations and building some potentially great professional relationships. Both her brother’s roommate and her former boss would be classed as weak ties or “1’s” within her network but could add huge potential value.
Let's recap!
Starting your networking activity with your existing contacts is a great way to build your confidence.
Being organized by creating a master list and segmenting contacts should be one of your first tasks.
Your weak ties are the most valuable people; they give you access to new networks
Now that you have completed Part 1 of Personal networking strategy, take the quiz to test your knowledge. In Part 2, we will look at managing your personal brand online, different social media tools, and how to use them to your advantage.
