Today I had a call with someone I met at a professional association event a year and a half ago and have stayed connected to through LinkedIn. A few days ago, he sent me a nice message requesting a small amount of time to either meet in person to over the phone to discuss some career research he was doing. Of course I was happy to oblige.
After a bit of chit-chat, discussing what he’s been up to and the specs of my new role, we got to the point of the call. The “research” was to find out if I may know of any job opportunities that may fit what he is looking for. So, I asked what to me is the obvious, “What would your ideal job be?” His answer was a bit challenging for me to digest: it included a few job titles interspersed with “or”; and didn’t give me a picture of the type of organization that he’d like to work for. I was sold on wanting to help him, but needed the parameters to know if I could.
You may be thinking, “well, I don’t want my contact to rule out options they may know about by being too pic
ky.” I’m not suggesting to be inflexible in the range of options that you’ll accept–but at least start by targeting the bull’s eye. This is a key element of your career seeking elevator pitch–so you have to be precise about your desired outcome. Anyone worth receiving advice or a referral from, will be able to determine if they know of opportunities or have contacts in the ball park of what you’re looking for.
As for my contact, a series of questions helped him to uncover more specifically what his ideal role looks like. I didn’t have the right knowledge or connections , but was able to refer him to a colleague who I know will.
