More and more potential candidates reach out to us asking to have an exploratory meeting – at our office, over lunch, coffee, or even dinner. I did some online research and noticed that there seemed to be a new trend among employment consultants. Instead of sending your CV and never hearing back from a recruiter – they say – be creative and invite them to network with you instead. If nothing else, you get to pick someone else’s brain and find out interesting info about the job market. In the best case scenario, you might be at the right place at the right time and the person you reach out to might have an interesting career opportunity for you.
Sounds like a good idea? If you truly make it about networking, without a doubt!
If you are familiar with how we do things at pronexia, or if you have been reading our blog, you must have noticed that we are big fans of networking. It is really unfortunate, however, how some people misinterpret what networking is about. If someone gave you their time to sit down for an exploratory chat, it does not open the door for you to follow up incessantly and hold this person accountable for whatever your personal objectives are. When you have a new contact, you need to nourish that relationship and realize that in order for it to flourish it has to be a give-and-take and not just a one-way street.
I am now always hesitant when I receive a request for an “exploratory” meeting – is it just a creative way of landing an interview or how do I know that this person is genuinely interested in building his/her network?
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