Welcome to the Just Get Hired Newsletter!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday period and are getting quality time away from work with friends / family if you can.

In today’s issue we talk about networking to get referrals. Everyone knows that a referral leads to better job outcomes, but I’ll show you exactly how you can go about getting a referral through networking step by step.

If you want to get more from Ramped beyond this weekly newsletter, do these things now:

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Let’s get into it.

Networking

The most important thing to understand is that networking = building relationships.

And building good relationships isn’t transactional. As we go through each step of “networking”, remember that the best way to approach everything is:

• With curiosity

• Without expectation

• With gratitude and appreciation

Your goal is to expand the amount of good professional relationships you have that may (or may not) result in creating better professional outcomes for you in the future.

Here’s how you do that:

Step 1: Generate Warm Leads

You want to create a list of potential professional contacts that you can build relationships. Ideally they are “warm” (know you via mutual contact or other means).

Start with anyone in your current network that you know you can ask for a favor.

Literally anyone -- your family, close friends, people from work, etc.

Ask them for introductions to anyone they know that would be relevant to your professional network.

Ideally, they know someone highly relevant (e.g. your cousin knows the head of sales at a company you want to work at).

If not, then your goal should be to simply get one step closer. That means you’re just trying to have a conversation with someone that is ANY closer to your target relationship.

As an example, let’s say you want to work in sales but none of your existing network know anyone in sales. But they do know someone in marketing (or even someone that works at a business that has a sales department).

Start there.

Step 2: Conduct Informational Interviews

These are short (15-30 minute) virtual or casual meetings with the relevant warm leads related to your interests that you generated from step 1.

They need to be very intentional:

1) Come well researched (on the person, their work, and what interests you)

2) Ask second level questions (not just “what do you like about your job”)

3) Ask them for warm intros

The most important thing to have going into these meeting is clarity. You need to know EXACTLY what you want, how their work is related to that, and (if asked) how they could help you.

The worst thing to do in these meetings is show up and say something like “yeah I’m just looking around at jobs trying to figure things out”.

When asking for warm intros, I like to simply ask at the end: “is there anyone in your network / at your company that you think would be good for me to talk to based on my interests and goals?”

Step 3: Show up and be visible

In addition to pursuing warm lead intros via your existing / expanding network, spend time showing up to new people.

Share insights / thought leadership on Linkedin.

Add new connections, attend conferences, and cold outreach to relevant connects via Linkedin DM and email (expect few responses).

Putting yourself out there can feel really hard, especially at the beginning if you have limited connections.

But just remember, if you’re getting limited engagement to start, that also means there’s minimal people seeing your “awkward” posts.

Step 4: Ask without expectation

People love to give favors. They hate meeting someone’s demands.

Ask new connections for introductions to relevant people in their network.

Let connections know that you’ve applied at their company. For example: “hey FYI I submitted an application to XYZ role, I think I’d be a great fit / love what you and the team at XYZ company do.”

But always lead with appreciation / gratitude and never pressure people to help you. Always highlight why any help would add value for them / their company + has no expectation.

Step 5: Give thanks + stay in touch

After EVERY informational interview professional favor, I recommend sending a personalized thank you note. For especially large favors (e.g. got you a job), I would even go so far as to send a hand-written thank you note.

In today’s day and age, extra thoughtfulness and a physical note goes a LONG way.

And make sure to stay in touch with your network as your career progresses. It’s VERY easy to just focus on building / maintaining your network during times of need (i.e. you’re looking for a job).

But, a few messages sprinkled throughout the years and an occasional coffee / zoom call go a LONG way towards maintaining a relationship that may become vital later.

My rule: any time you think about someone, send them a quick note (text, email, Linkedin DM, call, etc.).

A Closing Thought: giving unconditionally

As you navigate your career, you’ll likely go through periods where you are “taking” from your network more (e.g. you need a job or favor) or “giving” to your network more.

It’s easy during those periods of "giving” to expend less energy (compared to when you’re in the “taking” mode). It makes sense: you have less incentive to go out of your way when you’re not the one benefited in the moment.

But I strongly believe that unconditional giving is one of the most powerful forces in a successful career.

Reciprocity is a powerful motivator. The more you give, the more you’ll get.

And the longer you give without getting, the more that reciprocity compounds. People don’t forget when you show up for them, especially during hard times.

Avoid quid pro quo arrangements for your time, knowledge, and energy with professional relationships.

Instead, go out of your way to show up:

1) When your manager needs a last minute favor

2) When a colleague needs a recommendation

3) When a teammate needs advice / guidance

4) When a new connection is looking to learn from you

I promise that over time, not only will you feel better because you’re giving, but you’ll also receive back 10x from your efforts.

Happy holidays to everyone,

-Ben