Out of Academia Phase 2, Networking: Increasing your Visibility in the Non-Academic Job Market

Proactively building a warm network of individuals who are prepared to help, is the key to launching and progressing your career.

Last time I outlined the importance of networking in projecting yourself into the job market, and why you shouldn’t have any fears about networking to develop your career.

Effective networking will provide you with an understanding of work sector trends, working conditions, sought after skills, sector-specific language, visibility, support, and crucially access to the increasingly hidden job market.

Anyone can network effectively, regardless of personality type. It can take practice, but with this you can become skilled at it, using an authentic style that works for you.

A recent survey of 300 life science post-grads and postdocs in Europe and the US, revealed that lack of support and awareness of options was the biggest career obstacle they faced. Furthermore, the career advice provided was heavily weighted towards academic careers.

For many who are looking to forge careers outside of academia, advice and support does not appear to be readily available within academia, to assist with their career transition.

This echoes my own experience. I did not find the career development office at my university assisted me well in obtaining post-academic (post-ac) employment. Instead, I landed a post-ac job by seeking out people who could help me. Today I’ll provide the strategy that I used to do this.

I’ve discovered there’s a formulaic process to effective networking that anyone can follow to get results. However before I get into that, there are a six ground rules that need to be implemented to make it work:

Networking ground rules 

1. It’s about talking to people: If you hate networking, think of it in terms of ‘meeting interesting people.’ You don’t need to ‘work the room.’ You’re valuing the people you’re reaching out to, not exploiting them. Take time to reach the right people who can help in your career transition and develop those relationships. The aim is to seek quality rather than quantity.

2. It’s not elitism: This isn’t about being part of an elite club of senior managers and self-promoters. Networking is about asking for help, broadening your horizons, and ensuring people remember you in a positive light. This is no different to the reasons we form friendships, and your viewpoint towards networking should be similar.

3. No big asks: Everyone’s busy at work with way more to do than they’ve time for. The secret to getting a reply, is to ask for things that people are capable of delivering with minimal effort. Sending your CV/resume, asking for a list of contacts, requesting your application to be forwarded to (other) hiring managers, or asking for a referral are all big asks. In the most part big asks are likely to be ignored. Relationships need nurturing to the point where this level of help can be offered. 

When first reaching out to people it’s better to only ask for one or two pieces of information. For example: 

• Identifying skills needed for the job 

• Understanding entry routes 

• Their opinion on a sector or organisation (trends, culture etc.) 

• How top performers are described 

• One additional contact

4. Keep it simple: Be focused when you approach people. Understand what you want out of the conversation. To begin with it might be to generate ideas. But later on in the career transition process, it will be to learn insights into the sector/company of interest and to identify people within them. A simple conversation can be structured as follows:

• Explain why you’re looking for help (the question underpinning the conversation). This question will become more specific as you network though the career transition process.

• Make it clear that it’s only a small amount of help you want. You’re not asking for anything difficult for them to deliver (point 3 above)

• Say that you’re talking to a range of people. This opens yourself up to receive introductions and leads

• When the conversation turns to you, have some short, rehearsed messages to hand that are clear, positive and enthusiastic (see ‘messaging’ of the Tier 2 networking formula below)

• Before the conversation ends, ask them who else you should be talking to 

5. Approach the right people at the right time: A common mistake, is focusing on contacting decision-makers too early in a job search. These people are amongst the busiest in the workplace, and they protect their time accordingly. Emails out of the blue, even well-crafted ones, will often be ignored. 

For sure, these are the influential people you should be aiming to reach. They manage budgets, hire people, and their recommendations carry weight. But contacting these people too early, without a warm introduction and/or an unstructured/unpractised approach, will most likely waste an important opportunity. Using the networking formula below will help you figure out how to make these crucial connections.   

6. Nurture your network: Focus on building deeper connections with those in your network, by reaching out every once in a while. Leave comments on their social media posts, acknowledge milestones (birthdays, promotions etc), or think of them when you find something valuable to share.

The aim is to develop genuine relationships and provide value where you can. This way you’ll be front of mind when opportunities crop-up. 

A 3-tiered networking formula for post-ac careers 

I used a 3-tier networking system to move out of academia into the private sector. Using this formula, it took me just shy of 6 months to go from seeding my post-ac network to receiving multiple job offers in my industry of choice.

It provides a gradual, step-by-step approach, so you can progress through the relevant levels of connection. Starting from the ‘what next?’ question, right through to identifying opportunities at target companies and obtaining referrals. 

• Tier 1 Networking: Warm Contacts

This step is all about discovery and confidence building in your networking technique. Everyone can network effectively, but you have to practice to make it work. This networking tier is where you achieve this, alongside exploring your options.

Here you’re talking to people you know. Approach people openly asking them for advice. Initially it’s about getting encouragement and feedback from people you trust – friends, family, colleagues etc. 2-3 trusted contacts will do as a minimum, but the more you practice the more you’ll learn.

Cast the net wide. Learn from those with experience outside of academia. It’s okay to include some academics (particularly those with strong industry connections), but talk to a greater number of people with non-academic experience if you can.

Master talking about yourself without embarrassment, highlighting your strengths. Ask these people if there are other strengths you should include. Practice small talk and how to phrase open questions so they don’t sound naïve, or worse, intrusive. Ask more about their experiences and if there’s anyone in their network who could help you investigate further.

At the end of these conversations you should feel confident reaching out to people. If you still feel shy, keep talking to people at this level until you gain confidence. You may also have some useful connections in your notebook (hopefully with a warm introduction).

Messaging: This is all about exploration. Listen intently and demonstrate curiosity in the questions you ask. Learn from others about potential roles and sectors. Experiment with how to comfortably talk about yourself in a positive light. 

• Tier 2 Networking: Informational Interviewing 

Leaving academia is a change of career sector, and informational interviews are an essential step in shortening job search time for career changers. 

Inside academia you have a limited perspective on the range of jobs outside. You need to understand who’s actively hiring, how these jobs are filled, and how they might be affected by future market trends. You also might not be fully aware of the hot topics and language used in other sectors. You need to find this out to be a credible candidate when approaching employers.

Lack of industry experience is often viewed as a negative by private sector employers. They think it’s a risk to employ someone without experience of the commercial work culture.

But by showing that you’ve spoken to lots of people and have a good understanding of the roles you’re looking to take on, you narrow this experience gap. This is why, along with reaching important contacts, informational interviews are so important when transitioning out of academia.

Depending how much time you spent honing your skills in tier 1 (or who you were speaking to), you may or may not have a list of relevant people to connect with and conduct informational interviews.

If you find you only have 1 or 2 connections (or none at all) at this stage, don’t worry because these days we’ve got LinkedIn. When cold messaging (without an introduction) on LinkedIn, you may find a lower response rate. But don’t let this put you off, keep going.

Some people will get back to you. Particularly those who have a similar background (i.e. have transitioned from academia), and/or share something in common (e.g. same home city, degree, alumni, a common connection etc.).

Start with those individuals who currently have jobs that you’re potentially interested in. They might not yet be in a higher management level, but they can provide great insight into particular sectors and companies. Crucially they can often also provide a link to decision-makers, including referrals.

I’ve previously provided an outline of how to approach informational interviewing (see point 8 here). It’s a low-key interviewing style that makes the conversation easy for the other person, by making it all about them.

In brief you make the initial contact then ask for a short meeting. Ask them about:

• Their role

• The sector they work in

• How they got there

• The company culture

• Current challenges

• Where they’re heading

• And crucially, who else can help you gather more information

At the end of this networking tier you will be confident in handling conversations when reaching out to strangers, you’ll have some great connections with introductions, and you’ll have acquired key information on sectors, companies and the roles within them.

Messaging: Inevitably the conversation will turn to you at some point during the informational interview. This is your opportunity to project some favourable perceptions of yourself in to your growing network. No slick pitch is needed. Just 2 or 3 rehearsed sentences will do. Leave an impression of the things you find most captivating and an idea of how you might take this forward in your post-ac career.

• Tier 3 Networking: Decision-makers

Decision-makers include anyone who can forward your agenda, and have a say in your appointment. This can include recruiters, HR personnel, hiring managers, department heads, district/regional managers, and C-level executives. You may have discovered these people through tier 1 and 2 networking or actively looked them up.

Alternatively, you may be fortunate to find them serendipitously on a ‘chance’ encounter. The word ‘chance’ here can be a bit misleading, as often these unplanned meetings occur at event that you’ve attended, with the intention of speaking to a particular type of person (e.g. a recruitment fair).

Tier 1 and 2 networking prepares you for meetings with decision-makers. A checklist that you are ready for these conversations, includes:

1. You can talk about yourself convincingly without sounding embarrassed or over-the-top (if not, more Tier 1 networking needed)

2. You have a few snappy short stories ready that evidence your ability (if not, more Tier 1 networking needed)

3. You have a clear reason for the conversation (if not, more Tier 2 networking needed)

4. You know about the organisation (in particular their aims and challenges) and how you are part of the solution (if not, more Tier 2 networking needed)

The focus of these types of conversations with decision makers should include:

• Discovering what they need and their current challenges

• The solutions they’re investigating

• Explaining briefly how you might be able to help

• Asking for additional connections in the company or sector (if still needed)

Messaging: Prior to these meetings, you should have a good idea of the types of skills needed for roles relevant to the decision-maker you’re speaking with. Along with some insightful questions about the company (demonstrating you’ve done your homework), you should also have a series of pre-prepared short stories that succinctly evidence your ability. 

In Summary 

• A network of individuals who are prepared to help you, increases your chances of successfully making a career transition and can reduce your job search time 

• The ground rules for developing an effective network, include: 

• • Aiming for quality rather than quantity of connections 

• • Being comfortable asking for help, but ensuring that what you’re asking for requires only minimal effort 

• • Approaching each conversation with a specific aim 

• • Approaching decision-makers at the right time (once you know what you need to say and are comfortable saying it) 

• • Nurturing your network 

• Use a 3-tiered networking formula to provide a step-by-step approach for accessing opportunities: 

1. Warm contacts: Seek encouragement and feedback from people you know, and begin your exploration 

2. Informational interviewing: Reach out to people at companies and roles of interest, who can provide insider insights 

3. Decision-makers: Talk to those who can directly forward your agenda (once you are confident in your approach). Have a specific aim, and sufficient knowledge to capitalise on any potential opportunities that may arise

So what action are you going to start this week towards building your network and increasing the chances of landing your desired non-academic job? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Next time: Phase 3 of the career transition process, Implementation: Using a multichannel job search strategy to increase your chances of success and developing competitive applications.

‘Til then, stay safe, stay connected and speak soon!

Vicky (BB founder)