#JobSearch : How To Create A Networking Pitch In Three Easy Steps. Great Read for All!
Even with social distancing and the cancellation of large group events, every professional still needs a networking pitch. First of all, there are video meetings and virtual summits, where you may need to go around the screen and introduce yourself.
Secondly, a friend could still offer to refer you to someone by email and ask you for a few lines about yourself to include – that’s networking in writing!
Finally, if you come across a LinkedIn profile that interests you and you want to connect to that person, you should write a note with your invite, and that’s yet another opportunity to introduce yourself.
The best networking pitch introduces you in a concise and compelling way. However, capturing your personality and highlighting the best of your background, all while not rambling on for too long is difficult. In previous posts, I have shared suggestions for creating your networking pitch if you have a lot of experience to cover or if you are in a career change and want to talk about yourself differently or if you are unemployed.
In general, you can create an effective networking pitch in three easy steps:
Step 1 – Pick something about your professional background to establish credibility
You don’t have time to include a summary of your resume or even the chronology. Besides, that’s boring. Instead, focus on a specific professional accomplishment that puts you at the right level (e.g., if you’re in management, don’t mention an individual contributor role). Pick something that is relevant to where you want to work. For example, you could mention:
1. Your current company and role. This is not necessarily your title, if your title is generic (e.g., VP, Director) or full of jargon (e.g., names a department no one outside your company would recognize)
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2. What you are working on, learning or researching. If you are in-between jobs or consulting but looking to go in-house, you still want to focus on being active, rather than saying you’re unemployed or in transition. Remember too that even though you are working on your job search, you don’t want to mention that – instead talk about the companies you’re researching or things you’re hearing about the market
3. Industry expertise or other specialized knowledge. Rather than a role, you talk about your overall industry of other expertise, including how many years you’ve been in this area or a cutting-edge fact that leaves no doubt that you’re current in your field
4. The arc of your career – e.g., several employers, industries or roles. This is useful if you’re in-between roles but want to highlight that you have existing experience. Even if you’re currently employed, you may decide that your overall experience is more interesting than anyone role
5. Types of clients you serve and the results you achieve. Many jobs, especially as you get more senior, have multiple responsibilities, but by talking about who you serve and what the results are, you hone in on the value you deliver, rather than how you do it or what your day-to-day is like
6. Sample recent project or client story. By drilling down to one example, you showcase your expertise and experience while also telling a story. If you have a particularly interesting before/ after the result to share or a hero’s journey, this could be a good way to package your credibility
Try all six of these formats, and choose the most powerful ones, or keep them all and rotate them depending on who you’re talking to and what you want to highlight.
Step 2 – Include something personal to build rapport
You don’t just want to include professional details in your pitch because it’s boring. Everyone focuses on the professional, and you need to stand out to be remembered. Including something personal also helps a genuine relationship to build, and the pitch is just the start of what is hopefully a long-term genuine relationship. Some personal tidbits that are still appropriate for professional networking include:
1. How you became interested in your line of work. This is a natural transition from establishing your credibility – you’re not only knowledgeable but enthusiastic!
2. Life story – e.g., where you grew up, where you went to school, earlier career if different from now
3. Passion or hobby – these should be pursuits that you invest in, not just dabble in because the superficial effort doesn’t make a memorable impression
4. Community or non-profit involvement – if you have any leadership experience, that adds to your professional credibility as well
5. Recent book you read, trip you took or event you attended – similar to the passion or hobby, this isn’t just about being well-rounded but also being interesting and dedicated, so pick accordingly
6. Connection to the person you are talking to or circumstances that put you together – if you’re attending a virtual summit on AI, and your work isn’t obviously related to AI, then you could talk about what prompted you to attend
Step 3 – End with a call to action for yourself that lets the other person know your immediate priorities
Your call to action is where you state what you’re focused on in the near term. For example:
1. Career step you are working on – if you’re in finance, you might mention you’re studying for the CFA and looking forward to more complex analyses (if that’s your ideal career move)
2. The area you are researching or idea you’re considering – if you’re a career changer and your background is very different from what you want to do, specifying your new target career as a research subject for you lets the other person know you’re moving into something else
3. Ideal project
4. Ideal client
5. Ideal role
Having a call to action is critical so the other person knows exactly what your focus is, and if they want to help you, they know exactly how they can help. At the same time, make sure that the call to action is what you are doing yourself and not a question you pose to the other person, or worse, an outright request. Your introduction should never include a request – it’s too early and will seem presumptuous.
A multidimensional pitch is best because it reflects the multidimensional you
Using all three steps to develop your networking pitch ensures that your pitch is as multidimensional as you are. It also establishes credibility, rapport, and the next steps, all of which give the other person enough information that if they want to continue with the relationship in a meaningful way they can. (Of course, you should always take the initiative to follow up in case the other person is terrible about following up, as many people are.)
Author: Careers
