Effective Business Networking
Each person you come into contact with is a potential person who may know of someone in the business or know of a job opening.
Effective Networking in Business
The process of finding out about a job, getting interviewed, and eventually receiving an offer for employment starts with networking.
By networking, I don’t mean sending out hundreds of copies of your resume unsolicited to H.R. managers throughout the country, but by establishing contacts with people who may be in a position to hire you or refer you to someone who is in the position of hiring… you!
Key Players
In my area of expertise, corporate aviation, there are several key players as well as smaller, less-known operators.
Jet Aviation, TAG Aviation, and Netjets are some of the larger companies and they all have a staff of qualified flight attendants or cabin service representatives on hand.
In addition, smaller players including Pacific Jet, Clay Lacy Aviation, and New World Aviation are part of the charter market.
Larger Operators
Finally, you have a whole host of independent flight departments with one or two or more aircraft.
Some of these operators utilise larger cabin aircraft and are in need of flight attendants.
You could send out a copy of your resume to every single company that flies a Falcon, Gulfstream, Bombardier, BBJ, or any of the other larger cabin jets.
You may get an interview, but you’ll also spend an excessive amount of time researching names, and addresses, paying for postage, paper and more.
Instead, the best way to land a job, according to Richard Bolles, author of the acclaimed job hunters and career builders guide, What Colour is Your Parachute? is through networking.
People Contact
Effective Business Networking involves making plenty of people contact.
Some of the best ways of having contact with others are
- at a convention [in our case, the NBAA Flight Attendant Conference or NBAA General Conference]
- over the internet via message boards [such as this one]
- while flying a trip as a contractor
- working for a company in another role [e.g., as a dispatcher, flight manager, etc.]
- or through a friend already in the business
List of Contacts
Successful people establish a list of contacts from the smallest lead [e.g., a receptionist or switchboard operator at a charter operator] to doing voluntary work on an association’s newsletter or with a steering committee for the same type of organisation.
Each person you come into contact with is a potential person who may know of someone in the business or know of a job opening.
Conversely, unsuccessful people rely too much on waiting for a phone call, for an answer to an unsolicited letter, or by not going out to meet people face to face.
Confidence
Quite simply it takes a lot of phone calls, pavement pounding, and other forms of action to land the job that you want.
Plus, it takes someone with dedication, professionalism, zeal, enthusiasm, confidence, and a caring attitude to help make things work.
If you are not confident of your abilities, you will have a much more difficult time landing a job.
Top-Notch Resume
Before you establish contact with anyone it is extremely important to have a top-notch resume.
Make sure that there are no spelling errors or grammatical mistakes, that it is formatted professionally, and printed on bond paper and that you include correct contact information such as your name, address, phone numbers, and e-mail address.
You can be the most talented person in the world, but your resume could look awful.
Busy Employers
Busy employers look at resumes and toss the unprofessional-looking ones away [or they file it away for a predetermined amount of time].
You also need three top-notch references [don’t list them on your resume but be able to furnish them upon request].
Emergency training is very important to have agencies such as Jet Professionals insist on it; most of the larger operators require it as well.
Additional training including galley services, a wine appreciation class, and emergency training, can all help you out.
Be Prepared for an Immediate Interview
Finally, when you do receive a call – even if unexpected be prepared to interview on the spot.
Most interviewers will screen you on the first call and you will need to sound sharp as well as be focused.
Be prepared to give a concise background on who you are and what you can offer the company.
Do not focus on your needs, but focus on the company’s needs and how you will benefit them.
Sound Like an Asset
Do not expect them to be thrilled by your focusing on yourself.
This business isn’t about you – it is about the customers and the company.
Successful candidates know this and they are the ones who will be hired, trained, paid well, and otherwise be perceived as being an asset and not a possible detriment to the company.
This article was contributed by Matthew Keegan who runs the Corporate Flight Attendant Community
Matt runs the Corporate Flight Attendant Community, the top resource centre on the internet for business flight attendants. Matt assists potential candidates with resume and cover letter writing, marketing, job leads and tips, relevant articles, and a dynamic message board community.
Effective Networking in the Business World
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