I’m an ex-Microsoft VP — this is how you network to score your dream job

Amid a tough job market, you may find yourself leaning on your network more than ever to secure a new gig.

Professional connections can play a vital role when it comes to finding a job, according to Chris Williams the former vice president of human relations at Microsoft who has over 40 years of career experience.

The first trick of successful networking is to expand your connections. In other words, “get outside your own bubble,” Williams said in an essay for Business Insider.

“When you get exposure beyond your immediate sphere, you multiply your presence,” he explained, imploring professionals to make connections in other sectors. “Those new people introduce you to more new people, and the size of your network expands exponentially.”

Not only will you learn how the company operates in every department, but it will also “help you perform your job better and build allies across the company,” he added.

And you can even go one step farther and “get outside your current organization.”

“Look to other companies in your industry that are doing interesting things,” he advised. “Consider organizations that work far differently than your current one.”

The “value” of learning about other organizations is to gain an understanding of “how things work elsewhere” and “how different companies handle the challenges you see everyday,” such as motivating employees, working together as a team and hire new talent.

“Every organization faces many of the same challenges, and it can be incredibly enlightening to see how other people and teams handle them,” he continued. “It makes you smarter and more valuable to your company.”

To find those people, however, isn’t as hard as it might seem. According to Williams, those connections are “at that conference you went to last year,” “on social media talking about the frustrating parts of their industry” or even “in the Reddit forum for your discipline or on that gaming Discord server.”

He added: “They’re the other parent at your kid’s soccer match. The neighbor down the street, or the person across the room at church. The other volunteer at the nonprofit fundraiser. Or the other hiker in the group you occasionally go to.”

To strike up a conversation in order to forge a meaningful connection, you often have to make the first move and ask to grab coffee together or schedule a Zoom call, which “almost no one would refuse” to do, Williams said.

Being curious, he noted, is “key,” calling this phase of networking “fun.”

“Meeting people like this is a chance to learn, and to broaden your scope,” he explained, adding that you should be asking questions about what the person does and how their job works.

“Also, dig deeper and ask more engaging questions. ‘Gee, that seems like it would be tough to make progress. How do you keep motivated?’ ‘That sounds like it would be cool, what are some of the big wins you’ve had?’” he said.

But remember, don’t get overly personal. Unless they open the floor to more personal discussions, Williams reminded professionals to “keep it all about work” and “make the discussion all about the person you’re networking with.”

“You’d be surprised at the results. People love a good conversation like this, where they get a chance to sit with a good listener and share what they know,” he said, adding that the time it takes to build networks will pay off in the long run.

“Best of all, they’ll think you’re smart and thoughtful. Just because you showed interest, asked great questions, and listened thoughtfully.”