The CareerZine

In This Issue Article:
What Makes for a Good Referral?
Tech Tip: Managing Your In-box

What Makes for a Good Referral?
How to Handle Bad Ones. How to Make Good Ones!

How many times have you had someone referred to you by a colleague, business acquaintance or friend for no perceivable reason?  Eventually you both agreed it was a nice chat and you should stay in touch.  Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.

Have you ever found yourself in a discussion of the referrer’s motivations with a person referred? Of course it is always good to have one more networking connection and one more resource. You never know, right?  But isn’t your time valuable enough to expect any referral to be worthwhile somehow?

This is what Reid Hoffman, founder of Linkedin.com, says on his Linkedin profile about how he wants referrals:

“Unfortunately, I'm extremely busy, so articulate (as they apply):
(1) why this request will improve the world in some way (as I have a strong interest in these projects)
(2) why my expertise is particularly needed for this (not just that I happen to be around),
(3) what my interest might be in the particular project
(4) what makes this connection useful or important to you”

 

After years of watching my clients muddle around making and giving referrals to no one’s benefit, I realized that making good referrals is one huge hairball within the networking process that gets regularly dropped with a thud.

Why do smart, well-educated, professionals make incredibly bad referrals to each other? Here are  three of the most common situations:

They Don’t Connect the Dots

Attribute this to being over-busy, ADD, or information overload, they know what you do but don’t understand how you make a living. For example, if you are an expert in Search Engine Optimization, they will refer you to someone else who is as well.  Well, maybe you can find a common ground with your competition and that’s all well and good. But wouldn’t you rather meet a prospective customer?

I have gotten introductions and referrals to other career coaches by people that I perceived to be consummate networkers. How I have handled it is to actually ask them to critique my elevator pitch, my business data sheet or the about page of my website and give me feedback. I ask if I have made my value proposition clear enough and based on that what kinds of referrals could I expect people to give me going forward. When they do transgress again with referral, I simple resend the data sheet and remind them that it serves my business better to get x kind of referrals.

They Over-Network

With every contact met, they are driven to help provide resources, connections and information. I call it the do-gooder syndrome. Somehow they got it wired into them that a good networker is one who keeps on giving. Since, they always try to refer everyone they meet to someone who could possibly help, all their other networking contacts can soon be worn thin by over exposure. Often the referred resource cannot be of any value to that contact but the over-networker gets the gold star for trying (see previous category).

This approach works with a well-established, very broad, deep, and substantial network to refer to without overloading it.  Many MBA alumni on school networking lists get overexposed for this very reason. The numbers are often way too sparse in popular sectors such as consulting, venture capital and private equity so all those alumni end up overworked as networking resources and reluctant to proceed. 

How do you avoid becoming the short-order cook in an over-networker’s referral restaurant? 

You can privately request your over-networker to curb their enthusiasm, but you will be typically disregarded as they will not to be able to help themselves. The easiest way to abate the situation is to issue a polite refusal copying your over-networking referrer to any requests you receive through them. Saying no enough times encourages them to seek a yes elsewhere.

They Prevaricate to Avoid Direct Communications

This is certainly the most egregious type of networking referral as it is so disingenuous. However, I am often surprised at the silver lining for the two people connected can result regardless of the original referrer’s less well intend motivations.

A prevaricating networker may be able to help the person seeking help to them but for whatever reason they don’t want to or are not willing to help. To avoid directly saying no, they get rid of the request by referring them on to you instead.  Don’t mix them up with the do-gooder who is well-intended or a dots connector who is clueless, as this person is acting entirely out their own perverse self-interest.

What do you do with a prevaricating networker who uses you in their networking recycling program? It does no good to approach them with the intention of having them own up to their own agenda. You can make clear the kinds of referrals the fit your business needs and ability to help. You make continue to be disregarded, so the best course is steer clear of them. Make sure you are end up on good terms with whomever they have referred to so not to be lumped in a negative perception as the prevaricating networker.

Improving Your Referral Skills

How do you improve your quality and level of referrals to others? Start with knowing your immediate network. You may have a database of over 1000 contacts and are directly familiar with 25%. Ask the 25% how you can help if the opportunity ever arises.  Never assume you know, as that what can trip you up. Find out the kind of referrals they want and don’t want for their business and how they are willing to help others.

In the case of the other 75% of your contact database that you do not know as well, ask them for permission  privately before you cast a contact like bread upon the water in their direction. Find out if this referral is reasonable for them to entertain as a favor to you or a value proposition to them.

Why is this important? Because you have no idea as a consultant, a big business developer for your business, or a job seeker how much making bad referrals can trash your word of mouth reputation.  In fact it can make you the laughing stock of multiple networking circles and I have seen it happen.

This is also a two-edged sword because it is incumbent upon you as referral receiver to clearly spell out what kinds of referrals you are willing to take and what kinds your really want from your network. They don’t get to guess or make you into their referral dump.

If you do it right, you will have made a contribution to referee and the recipient of the referral.  It builds what has been called a “gratitude account’ with the all parties involved for your later use for more referrals or your own business and career.  In this economy, you never know when you will need to call in your chits for help and having made good referrals in their direction ensures them to be there for you.

Tech Tip: Managing Your Inbox with ClearContext

This Outook plugin enable you to take control of your inbox. ClearContext is a great tool for the overloaded Outlook inbox.  ClearContext keeps your messages organized by automatically suggesting the right folders to instantly file messages and entire conversations with a single click.Automatically turn email into tasks and appointments with a single click.  Delegate email to others for completion and track their progress.  Defer emails to remove them from your inbox - they will reappear at a later date when you're ready to deal with them.Alerts notify you of unread messages from important senders or conversations.  Automatically be reminded if you don't receive a timely response to email you send.

Career Insurance

In this issue:
Article: Career Insurance
Tech Tip: Msgtag.com

Career Insurance: Tips to Stay Alive on the Job

The current unemployment rate nationally is not going down, while the length of the average job search is stretching into six months for professionals.  Obviously it is better to keep the current situation you have rather than be looking for a new position while unemployed.  So how do you do that?  Gag me with a spoon if I read one more article telling me to work hard and do a great job.  If you haven’t been doing that ongoing, you are already on the layoff list. Your reputation always precedes you.

Given you have done well and worked hard, what strategies can you employ to shelter in place and do you want to? If you are an executive or manager, looking to extend your network and visibility outside the company would be a good idea so long as it reflects back well on your company. Seeking panel and speaking engagements to present on your expertise and your organization’s products would benefit you both.  Becoming involved in a trade association or professional group would be of value as well. At your level, you can make an impression that is noticeable.

Within your company, look for offshore, ex-pat assignments preferable short-term as a way to advance and stay off the layoff lists. This is a good time to get international experience under your belt.  In management circles, this has always been a rite of passage.  Any international trips and projects would enhance your internal status. Just don’t be gone too long as internal reorganizations have a way of by-passing even the best of us.

I heard the other day, someone say that it is too late to start writing a blog after you are laid off. I would add it is also late to build out your network, on-line profiles, and anything else that establishes your visibility and expands your connections both on-line and offline. Start now blogging informally for your company, and yourself a la Robert Scoble did for Microsoft. This works at any level.

Education is not a bad idea to help you become a rising star as a young professional. An MBA never goes out of style. Just don’t expect it to magically open doors for you after you get it. Remember you are buying a long-term network so pick the school and program with that in mind. The MBA degree is like getting an E ticket for a great ride at Disneyland. You get entree into a broader, higher level and quality of opportunities but you still have to wait in line to take for your turn.

If your relationship with your boss isn’t as emotionally intelligent as it could be, it is time to raise your EQ. This may be the easiest one to do.  Make the time to ask how he or she is doing then listen. Don’t try to fix or problem solve, just listen. Don’t dismiss or try to make light of problems, just listen.  Work hard to become a “trusted adviser” by just listening. And after listening, ask how you can help. Do willingly whatever is requested.  You manager needs someone to talk and to rely on. You want to become that person for your manager.

Finally, keep in touch with the informal internal network, better known as the grapevine, within your company. You don’t need any surprises so get in on the gossip, the undercurrent, and water cooler talk and keep abreast of what’s going on. Take defensive action in advance and always have a plan B.

Tech Tip:

MessageTag (http://www.msgtag.com )is a great little software applet that attaches to your outgoing email by way of a footer at the bottom of each email. What it tells you are when someone has opened the email you sent.

It tells from when the person opened your email, how long it took for them to get back to you. In some situations that can be a helpful gage of the affect you had on them through your email.

Do they know they are being email stalked? Well yes, and no. If you use the free version of Msgtag and they happen to scroll down to the bottom of the email they would see the one line ad from the company. If you buy the Plus version you can personalize or hide their ad in the email footer. 

I see the application as a perfect job search accessory or great for sales and business development. No more wondering and guessing if they got your resume, the data sheet, or proposal you sent. You will know.

And, no, I am not in their affiliate program but I am a happy user spreading the word.