Top Takeaways from The Networking Roadmap Workshop with Daryl Crosby
Dr. Marcia F. Robinson and Dr. Daryl Crosby during The Networking Roadmap.
Last month, we hosted a webinar with Hampton University alum and career coach, Dr. Daryl Crosby. In the workshop, Dr. Crosby shared approaches to overcoming common networking pitfalls during the job hunting process by creating a networking roadmap.
Dr. Crosby explained that job seekers often neglect the hidden job market where 70% of jobs are said to exist.
“Opportunities lie in people,” posited Dr. Crosby — jobs in the hidden market are often acquired through networking rather than traditional job boards. Read on for our top workshop takeaways.
Expand Your Network
Dr. Crosby explained, “Visibility may put you straight onto a [job opportunity] short list, without a job being advertised.” When you put yourself out there at networking events, people will likely remember you when a job opens up.
Tap into or expand beyond your current networks. Spend intentional active time in:
Alumni associations
Professional associations (ex: NSBE, NABJ, NABA, etc.)
Conferences
Divine Nine greek organizations
LinkedIn & Facebook groups
Do Informational Interviews
An informational interview allows you to pick the brain of someone who holds a position you are interested in pursuing. These unique opportunities help you to gain insider knowledge and clarity about planning your career moves. The interview can help you build your network, possibly turning the interviewee into the advocate and helping you tap into the hidden job market at a later date.
Dr. Crosby offered these tips for conducting a successful informational interview:
Study the industry and the individual you want more information about.
Mindset preparation: You are not expecting a job. You are strengthening a beneficial relationship and developing future allies, supporters and champions.
Ask engaging, open ended questions that focus on what skills have helped the interviewee to be successful in the industry.
End strong: verbally recap at least 3 major points you learned from the interviewee
Convey how you plan on taking action with the new knowledge you gained from the interview
Show gratitude
Develop your Personalized Networking Roadmap or a Movement Action Plan (M.A.P.)
Dr. Crosby suggested that job seekers answer the following questions for themselves:
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be?
What gets me there?
What are 3 actionable steps I can take right now?
Take the 3 steps for the next 10 days. This sets you up to complete 30 action steps towards your goals).
The Networking Roadmap was part of The HBCU Career Center’s free virtual workshop series where we connect HBCU students and alumni with high-quality career oriented thought leadership. Learn about our upcoming workshops here.