How To Network Your Way To Job Success

6 Tips To Network For A Job In Canada

Ensure your resume is perfect

Your resume is the foundation of your job search. It’s critical that you have a results-focused Canadian style resume as this is your lead document for all interactions. Your resume is your value proposition and you should be continually open to refinding it based on feedback from others. Always ask for feedback and don’t be sensitive to critical feedback from others.

Complete Industry Research

How do you swallow an elephant? One bite at a time. Industry research is an immense task, so here’s a checklist to help you work through it:

Identify Key Industry Contacts: Research and make a list of leading employers, industry associations, thought leaders, and recruiters in your field.

Share and Seek Input: Share your list with others to get their input and advice on potential job leads or networking opportunities.

Organize Your Job Hunt: Treat your job search as a project that requires strong organizational skills. Use tools like Google Docs or other collaborative platforms to manage your progress and invite others to contribute.

Track Your Progress: Create a document (ideally a collaborative spreadsheet that others can contribute to) to track every job application, email, conversation, and milestone. This helps keep you organized and enables others to assist.

Break Down the Process: Instead of focusing solely on landing a job, set smaller milestones such as applications sent, informational interviews, and hiring interviews.

Stay Motivated: Celebrating small achievements helps maintain motivation. Approach your job search one step at a time.

Be Kind to Yourself: Job hunting, especially as a newcomer, can be overwhelming. Break the project into manageable tasks to avoid burnout.

Conduct Informational Interviews

Start by identifying key people in your industry, as building relationships with the right individuals can be a powerful tool in your job search. Recruiters, in particular, are often the best resource since they are industry experts who understand the market and can offer valuable insights.

For other industry contacts that you meet, a simple question like “Would you mind if I kept in touch?” is a great way to ensure future communication and maintain a connection.

When it comes to networking, consider offering to buy someone lunch rather than just coffee. While coffee has become a common offer, lunch allows for an hour of uninterrupted conversation and demonstrates a willingness to invest in the relationship. This small effort can make a lasting impression and help you stand out from the crowd.

Build your team

Panicky job searchers are transactional, a true networker is relationship focused which means you stay in touch for better or worse and you are not just seeking connection when you need an immediate benefit. Be conscious that you can create value for others too by sharing news or connecting people who don’t know each other.

Ask “You’ve been incredibly helpful, is there anything I can do to help you?”

Regular communications

Get into the habit of maintaining relationships with all the people who can help you. One way to do this is to send regular email updates and customize it to each of your contacts.

Ensure you send out this email update at regular intervals and remain positive. You can also share what you’ve learned recently. This demonstrates accountability and consistency and will impress your network. It will force you to have some activity to report in between updates and keep you in your network’s mind when a suitable opportunity opens up.

We’ve seen this work so many times for graduates and newcomers that are finding it hard to break into the industry in Canada. Being visible gives you access to the hidden jobs market as employers will only post a role publicly as a last resort. If you’ve connected with the right people they will be able to open doors of opportunity for you by suggesting your name if a suitable opportunity opens up.

Be persistent but tactful

You will rarely get the help of a busy person the first time you ask so it requires creativity, tact and persistence to succeed in your quest for their help. If you do get their time, ask “Your help has been invaluable, would you mind if I kept you updated on my job search?” A “yes” here invites you to maintain regular communications with a potential market maker for you in your industry.

Always follow up on communications. Use LinkedIn connection request as a gentle nudge to follow up on initial email correspondence which allows you to follow up via email the third time.

“I saw X today and it reminded me of you / your company”

“I noticed your LinkedIn post on Y and thought I would check in”