Here's why you're not landing more referrals

If you’re not landing the amount of interviews you want, you’re not landing enough referrals.

If you’re not landing enough referrals, you’re networking wrong (or not at all).

Here’s how you can fix that.

First of all, let’s examine what factors lead to a hiring decision.

When an organization starts their search for their ideal candidate, they’re looking for a few critical things:

• Relevant experience

• Impactful achievements

• High ROI (return on investment, meaning they want to see you deliver a great return on their cost to interview, hire and train you)

Essentially, companies hire someone because they have a problem that needs solving or they have goals (growth, financial, product, customer, etc.) that need to be met.

The person they hire will be the one who can demonstrate that they can solve that problem or help the company hit those goals.

We all know that landing an offer is not simple, but an important first step as a job seeker is to simplify this concept in our minds.

“If I can demonstrate the most value or develop the best solution to their problem, I’ll be the one they pick.”

This is easier said than done, of course. But if you think this way about the job search process, it will be easier for you to understand what you need to do to get the offer.

So how do you actually show those key factors?

It starts with how you network.

When you reach out to someone at a company you’d like to work for, don’t ask for a referral or for them to take a look at your resume.

Everyone is doing this, and it offers zero value.

Instead, your goal with networking should be to build genuine connections with people who could eventually be your coworker or teammates.

And not just this, but also to identify problems that they are facing or goals they are trying to hit.

(Remember that from above?)

When connecting with someone through a cold email or message, break the ice with a genuine compliment or an interesting factoid that you’ve noticed from their LinkedIn profile.

The more personal, the better.

Then, once you’ve gained their attention, it’s time to gather intel.

Ask about the company, the role you’re interested in, their role.

Again, we are looking for a problem that we can solve or a goal that we can help them hit.

If done correctly, you’ll be able to build a good relationship with this person and can gather insight that you can leverage to get noticed.

Once you have the insights you need, develop a creative way to show your value in the areas that the company/team needs.

Send a brief video recording of yourself. Put together a slide deck outlining your solutions and ideas. Etc.

Get creative!

If you change your approach to networking from “Can you help me?” to “Here’s how I can help YOU,” you’ll find way more success in your quest for interviews.

If you want more detailed guidance on this part of your job search, I’ve compiled a step-by-step strategy for networking that will improve your interview conversion rate.

My team will even find up to 50 email addresses for you for people you want to network with.

No more ignored LinkedIn messages that sit unseen in your outbox.

Direct email will get you higher open rate and response rate.

If you want to learn the most effective networking strategy and finally start landing more interviews, check out my program called “Powerhouse Networking: How to Land More Interviews.”