Building Community for Career Success

Recently, I met with a guy who has never looked for a job; and although displaced for barely a month, he already has three offers. Of course, I also met with people who say they’re frustrated that their job seeking efforts aren’t paying off after “weeks!”

So, what’s the difference?

Generally, people who seem to expend minimal effort in landing a new position are people who have established a great professional reputation, and have nurtured their networks. Said another way, they have clear and powerful personal brands and strong brand communities. People who have the toughest time in career transition, generally do not.

Let’s face it, getting displaced prompts a pretty immediate sense of panic and drives most folks to find a new position as quickly as possible. So, the focus becomes the job. Indeed, a common view was pointedly stated by a job seeker in one of my recent self-marketing and networking seminars; she said: “Why do we need to beat around the bush with all this relationship building, when what we really need is job leads?”

My answer is that opportunities come through people; and when people know, like, and trust you, they’ll be more willing to help. Indeed, not only do relationships add richness to all parts of your life but they’re essential to career success. Nearly all accomplishments are driven by communities of people working together to achieve common objectives.

So, whether you are currently in a paid position or not, it’s critical for you to build community by identifying and engaging others with shared interests, expertise, mutual concerns, and a common desire for specific outcomes. How to do that? Certainly, networking will help you make connections – but it’s the subsequent conversations that sow the seeds of community.

In an interview with Dan Schawbel, Seth Kahan makes the point that communities are “beehives” and that in meeting organizational needs, “managers need to cultivate relationships built on trust and healthy growth.” The same applies to you as manager of your own career. Done well, you can benefit others while gaining increased visiblity for the value you bring – visibiliy which can stimulate new opportunities.

Cross-posted at The Personal Branding Blog.

Comments

[carolross]

Fabulous post, Walter, and something that is often missing in career advice. I also like how you make a distinction between a network and a community. Conversation is much richer in a community.

[Walter Akana]

Thanks Carol! Actually, connecting with you, last week, helped crystallize this for me!

I’ve been focused on networking for a long time and see it as a fundamental skill set that people need to navigate successfully in business and life. It’s a learned skill and there are great resources that people can use to improve – a terrific one being my good fried Liz Lynch.

Yet, in all the work I’ve done on networking, I’ve been a bit frustrated that people seem not to “get it” – especially in job search. Last week, after we spoke, I was thinking about your work on community at “A Bigger Voice” (http://bit.ly/9QxmS) when I conducted the seminar mentioned in my post. A few days later the light bulb went off! It occurred to me that it’s less about the individual relationships people make in networking, and more about the community of relationships they form as they share ideas and connect others. It’s in the context of community that they build their brand/reputation and increase their chances of getting noticed by decision makers.

What serendipity! Thank you!