Stanley Milgrams study came to the conclusion that we are only six people away from anyone in the world. Knowing about the six degrees of separation and using that knowledge to make the most out of your networks of friends, families and peers can help you find the people who are going to take you that one step further in your career.
With Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media sites making it easier than ever to keep up with friends as well making new ones, you'll be surprised at how close you are to contacting the right people, whether that's Investors, Managing Directors or people working for companies you would like to make a client of.
First of all, start off with anyone you've worked with or for. Ask yourself how well they know you, whether you think they would rate your work highly and whether you think they know people who will be able to help you progress your career, or become a client of yours.
Example: If you were music tutor, think of everyone you've ever come into contact with to do with music. Old teachers, former students, current students other music tutors etc... Write down a list of all these people and write down next to the name of each of these people whether they would rate your work highly or poorly. For everyone on that list that you think would rate your work highly, it's time to get back into contact.
So now you should have a list of a few people who would rate your work highly and it's time to get back in contact with them. Email or write a letter to each of the people on list and simply tell them what you're doing and ask them whether they know anyone who would require your services/can offer employment or whatever it is that's inline with your business or goals. I would avoid ringing as this can seem a bit cold and rude, but a friendly email or letter is fine and you'll either get a response saying that they don't know of anyone but will keep their eye out, or they do know someone.
Something that could take less than an afternoon to do may well change the direction of your career or give you a few more clients.
Do this with your friends and family. If your friends and family are supportive, they will be more than happy to help you find work or clients and the great thing is, word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising... and it's free!!
Now it's time to get methodical!
You'll need a good programme or a very comprehensive address book to do this, but now it's time to research makes notes on everyone you've ever come into contact with. Good Networkers know everything about everyone; where they met, what they do and even what conversations they've had because they organise and note down everything they learn about the people they meet.
Start forming a list of everyone you know on facebook to start off with. Write down how you met them and what they do. You will probably find that the far majority of the people you know, don't have much use to you... but their friends might. By doing this you start to get a feel of the circle of friends you currently move in and develop an awareness of your friends social groups. You'll see which friends are successful, which ones are stuck in dead end jobs and which ones do something that could prove invaluable to you.
Although it's unlikely in this age, some of your friends and family may not be on facebook or other social networking sites. Although this makes it a little bit harder to find out information about these people, it's worth making the effort to find out. You only need one link in the chain to help you find the influential person you need.
Example: You may be an aspiring film editor. You look through your list of friends and find someone who works as an admin... for the BBC. You can make a note about that person and start developing a closer relationship in order to get a foot in the door. You build rapport with their circle of friends and discover who their work colleagues are and what jobs they do. Each relationship you build gets you closer to the influential person that can give you the right opportunity.
In order to network successfully, you have to be this methodical. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't be around people because they have a dead end job. It just means that some relationships are more useful in your careers than others and once you are aware of this, you just need to exploit it.
I mentioned in a previous post that Millionaires hang around with other people they think are Millionaires. This is because they network and build relationships that they think may be valuable to their careers. Although this may seem a bit cold on the surface, in truth you actually meet loads of new and interesting people who have similar life goals to yourself, and can often end up making very good friends for life. By working methodically at your networking and baring in mind, the six degrees of separation, you increase your chances of success and can often gain a happier life with the discovery of new friends.
FM
