Q: I’ve got lots of contacts, but I don’t get anything from them.
Mon, March 8, 2010 at 12:00 
Our Position Ignition Guides tackle the question: I've got lots of contacts, but I don't get anything from them..
Guide Question 1: What are you trying to ‘get’ from your contacts?
A network is important not because of what you can ‘get’ from your contacts, but because of who, and what, they can introduce you to.
Once you are clear about the job you are seeking, the sort of boss you are looking for, the culture of the organisation you want to join, a contact who knows you well – and whom you know – can often surprise you. They may make a suggestion that will unlock a whole new set of options for you. They may know exactly the person you have to speak to in order to get to the potential position that you are perfectly made for.
To get into this position, you have to work hard to really get to know your contacts. It is about connecting with your network, not growing it obsessively.
Guide Question 2: How well do you know your contacts?
Guide Thought: Many people believe networking is about collecting a mass of contacts. At Position Ignition, we do not believe this is a useful way to look at your contacts.
Instead, we believe what’s valuable is how well connected you are to your contacts. The tighter, and more personal the bond between you, the more valuable it is.
So, instead of encouraging those we work with to collect ever more business cards, we encourage them to be interested in those people they already know. Who are they? What are they interested in, what’s their educational history, their quirks? Do you know their family, where they live.
It is only by being curious about the detail of people’s lives that you can begin to have a useful, and valuable, connection.
Our test is: can you pick up the phone at any time, and ask one of your contacts almost anything, and get some sort of positive response. If not, you do not have a close enough relationship with them, and they are not a useful contact. They are merely someone else in your database.
Guide Question 3: What is your message to your contacts?
If you treat your contacts like scalps, or notches on the bed post, the message to your contacts is that you do not value them highly.
Instead of that, we at Position Ignition encourage you to treat your contacts as potential allies. To nurture them and aid them. To really get to know what they want, not just tell them what you want. Ideally, your message to them is that you are there to support and help them.
Once you are treating them this way, they will respond in kind.
If you want to learn more about networking take a look at the 135 Networking Career Tips eBook, designed to walk you through the ins and outs of networking confidently.
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Reader Comments (8)
Interesting thoughts.
I believe Contacts are like Trees in a Garden, and they have to have be natured with the same care, as Trees are nurtured in a garden, to yield results