Now that the waves of redundancies are spreading from financial services to other sectors, more and more people are having to rely on their networking skills to find new jobs. But how do you network from such a position of weakness?
This is one of the questions discussed in a new FT Management podcast featuring two executive search specialists – Samuel Johar, chairman of Buchanan Harvey, and David Peters, Heidrick & Struggles’ regional managing partner for Europe, the Middle East and Africa – and Paul Danos, dean of Tuck business school.
Mr Peters says those who haven’t been very good at maintaining a professional network should not feel that this precludes them from ringing old contacts at times of great need.
I think people often worry too much about this and make the mistake of thinking that, because they may call somebody that they haven’t been in touch with for a while, they will look awkward or seem as if they were a supplicant…
Most people, especially good people, do understand that [networking] is a circular business and everybody needs help at some point in their career.
Elsewhere in the podcast – which can also be downloaded through iTunes – Mr Johar and Professor Danos discuss the extent to which emerging markets and regulatory bodies might hire those who have lost jobs in finance and other industries.
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