Almost anyone in an editorial position quickly gets used to making cold calls. It’s not always much fun. People don’t call back, they don’t have the information you need, they cancel appointments. If I sound like I’m whining, that’s because it can be a pain. I prefer the term venting.
I’m also better off thinking of myself as networking rather than making cold calls. After all, most people do talk to me and are helpful. And the next time I call, the whole thing is a lot easier.
Networking isn’t important for only editors, of course. Consider a story I heard recently.
A senior vice president at a large REIT lost his job. I’ll call him Al. In a short time, Al was on the verge of a job offer. But it fell through. So did the next one. And the one after that. About this time, Al was invited to a meeting of a professional association. A bit dispirited, Al said no. But a friend talked Al into attending. Al now works for the person who was seated next to him at the event.
That story comes from Leo Turley of Huntington Partners, a real estate placement firm. Networking tops his list of to-dos for job seekers. “In the late ‘90s, it was an employee’s market,” he says. ”Now employers have the upper hand. But I’ve been through two or three real estate cycles, and I’ve found dozens of jobs every month for 19 years. You never know where you'll find them.”
Of course, it’s not just job seekers who should be networking. Whether it’s checking references on a vendor or just keeping in touch with peers, networking should be in the job description of every facility executive. It can be a pain, but the payoff makes it worthwhile.
