The 5 people you need to connect with to get the job you’ve always wanted

Would you like to connect with key people at your future employer(s)?

These people are the bridge to your next job ...

Hiring managers are the people you will report to. 

They are responsible for delivering results, and you will make a critical contribution to their success or failure. This is the most important relationship in the key people cast as hiring managers coach and lead you to peak performance and productivity. They are the most motivated to find a replacement or potential future hire because they are always under pressure to deliver results.

Stakeholders are the people who are invested in the hiring process and impacted by your performance in the job. 

They include your manager’s manager, col- leagues, HR, corporate recruiters, indirect managers and anyone from other teams whom the job needs to engage with before, during or after your part in delivering results.

Advocates are the people who know you in your target organisation and will have an influence on the hiring process. 

They are stakeholders who can be an internal supporter for you, recommend you to others and register you as a referral for jobs. They are highly valuable in the interview process as they can provide you with information about the organisation’s culture, vision, strategy, people, challenges and opportunities. This can equip and enable you to make a fully informed decision and succeed in the process.

Informers are people you know in the target organisation or those who have a strong relationship with someone in the target organisation (spouse, sibling or close friend). 

They are not stakeholders so they can’t be an advocate for you internally because they may not know the hiring manager and key stakeholders well enough or have influence with them, but they genuinely want to support you and can do so with information about the organisation’s culture, vision, strategy, people, challenges and opportunities.

Advisors are the people who do not have a vested interest in the organisation. 

They are not stakeholders; they are your coaches, counsellors, friends and loved ones. These include mentors, past colleagues, industry experts, others at your level and those ahead of you too. This board of advisors has your best interests at heart and can be objective about the job. You can take facts, thoughts and feelings to them, and they will give you their opinions about whether the job is right for you or not.

Create a target list of contacts

This list needs to include the company, job and key people to contact in your search. It will be a dynamic list that needs updating and will be your key point of reference in implementing your job change strategy.

Here is an example of a list you can create with your target contacts based on industry, company, job details and contact information: 

• Contact’s company, name and title. You will need this to know whom to contact in the company.
• Category. You need to know the role they will play in the process (eg hiring manager, stakeholder, advocate or supporter)
• Contact’s email and phone/mobile number. You will need this to be able to reach people based on your preferred method of contact.
• Contact’s LinkedIn profile. This is the single best source of information available about people. You will learn their industry, company, name, title and job details on LinkedIn. If you are connected, you may also be able to see their email and phone number in the contact section.
• Status of contacts. This is for you to keep track of what action you have taken so far and to sort your list based on these categories:
  •  Yet to contact/not contacted
  • Contacted, no reply (to be followed up)
  • Contacted/in conversations (from initial discussions to interview process completion)
  • Contacted and completed conversations

Notes. This is where you can update information based on the progression of conversations with the person/people. Notes include details they have provided, next action/s to be taken, and by whom.