11 Professional Networking Improvements You Can Make Today to Find Work in a New Niche

I just fell into it.

That’s how most people respond when I ask them how they got into audio.

But what about when you want to make a change? What about when you want to break out of your current cycles and create a career on purpose?

Why you should care about professional networking = pro audio is based on personal referral.

So if you want to transition within the industry you are going to need new referrals.

At first, this can seem like an impossible obstacle because relationships take years to build, right? Prepare to go outside of your comfort zone.

#1 – Get clear on who you want to meet

When sound engineers ask me “How do I meet the right people?” I say, “Who are the right people?”

Sometimes this is easy to answer. It may be other sound engineers in the new niche that you are moving towards. But sometimes it may take more research to figure out exactly who will be referring you to the kinds of job you want.

The number one person to ask: Someone who has this job already.

Schedule a quick skype date and ask who referred them to the jobs that they have now.

#2 – Where do they hang out?

When you are clear about who you want to meet, then do some research and find out where they spend time.

Online

One quick way to do this is to look them up on LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social network and look at what groups they are in and what events they attend. You can join the same groups and start participating. People will get to know you and you can start asking questions related to finding new clients or employment.

Offline

I broke into theatrical sound design in San Francisco by connecting with another designer at an event I knew he would be attending and asking him for a referral. We hit it off and he never gets this kind of request, so he was happy to help.

Check Meetup.com, Eventbrite, and local industry events for more ideas.

Although some sound engineers don’t like to be approached at work, you can also go to the kinds of events that you want to work on and connect with the people working them.

#3 – Go direct

You can skip all of the group friendliness and just contact them directly.

It is easy to contact them if they have their own website or are on Twitter. If you’re stumped, try this.

#4 – Ask for an introduction

After finding someone on LinkedIn, you can often connect with them simply by joining the same professional groups, but a more personal way to ask for an introduction is through a mutual connection. On LinkedIn, there is a little triangle next to the Connect button. If you have some a connection in common you will see an option that says Get Introduced.

First you’ll need to message that common connection and ask for the introduction. Remember that they might not remember how they know that person. I have over 500 connections and there are plenty whose origin I have forgotten.

#5 – Like Dating for LinkedIn

What if you were automatically paired with potential referral sources who were down to chat?

Treatings is an app that has the goal of helping you create new professional relationship. I really want this app to take off because it would make this whole process sooo much easier, but I haven’t had a lot of success with it. Just like dating apps, there are a lot of people who don’t reply. But it only takes a minute to setup, so I recommend you give it a shot.

#6 – Make introductions

If you want to start getting introduced to new people, follow the golden rule and start doing the same for others.

I just received the best email introduction ever. It looked like this:

SUBJECT: X meet Nathan, audio expert

Hey X!

It’s been a while since we’ve connected. I hope all is well.

This is where I met Nathan. He’s super talented.

Here’s some of the super stuff he does.

Anyway, I respect your work so much that I thought you two should meet. The audio world is too small for two of the good guys to not even to be aware of each other.

No need to include me in any future conversations that y’all have, but forge ahead!

#7 – Activate weak ties

In fact, in landing a job, Granovetter discovered, weak-tie acquaintances were often more important than strong-tie friends because weak ties give us access to social networks where we don’t otherwise belong. Many of the people Granovetter studied had learned about new job opportunities through weak ties, rather than from close friends, which makes sense because we talk to our closest friends all the time, or work alongside them or read the same blogs. By the time they have heard about a new opportunity, we probably know about it, as well. On the other hand, our weak-tie acquaintances—the people we bump into every six months—are the ones who tell us about jobs we would otherwise never hear about. –Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

So what can you do?

Ask your friends to tell two of their friends. Make your request easy to remember and transmit. Craft a clear email that can be easily forwarded.

#9 – Volunteer

This can be a tough pill to swallow if you have years of experience in one niche already, but both Darryn de la Soul and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato told me that if they were transitioning within the industry they would do whatever it took to make new in-person contacts, especially a work relationship so that more people would become familiar with their abilities.

#10 – Hire a labor broker

You can join a labor provider like SoulSound Agency in the UK or VTS in the US. They have contracts and contacts across the industry and will get you started in the areas of your choice. In exchange, they’ll take a percentage of the labor paid.

#11 – Hire a coach who knows that niche

There are career and business coaches for every industry in the world. See if there’s one for your niche. Even if you don’t want to hire them right now, they are sure to have some free material to get you started.

How to fail at networking

There are two ways that your new networking strategy will fail:

You don’t try. Maybe you have a lot of fear or confusion around getting started. Everyone does. Create a simple, personal strategy and schedule time to work on it every day. Every day?? Well, if it’s important to you, then yes.
You do it wrong. Maybe you are too cold or informal. Don’t break out of the gate with “How do I get a job?” You sound like a college student. Show genuine interest in the other person first and they will be more interested in you.

This article 11 Professional Networking Improvements You Can Make Today to Find Work in a New Niche appeared first on Sound Design Live. Sign up for free updates here.

Loved this post? Try these:
Do You Have A Clear Path To Pro Audio?
Food And Drink At Work For Sound Engineers
Balls Of Steel: 10 Surprising Tips For Live Audio Engineer Training