{"id":6974,"date":"2022-10-06T12:38:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T12:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/?p=6974"},"modified":"2025-03-21T08:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T08:39:40","slug":"establishing-trust-when-job-searching-or-networking-in-the-tech-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/establishing-trust-when-job-searching-or-networking-in-the-tech-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Establishing Trust When Job Searching or Networking in the Tech World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Network to job search. Network to broaden your mind, your skills. Network to sell. Network to market yourself\u2026 your product\u2026 your pitch\u2026 Is there anything networking can\u2019t do? Mark Ikemoto answers the question on top of his 30+ years experience in the tech world.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to job searching advice, we\u2019re all looking for the best. There\u2019s no way we want to miss any opportunity that comes our way. <\/span>If you are in tech, then who best to talk to than someone who\u2019s actually got more than 30 years of job searching experience in the tech industry?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Ikemoto\u2019s background is rife with spells at prestigious companies and on impressive projects. We\u2019re talking HP, Wind River Systems, Apple, Real Time Innovations and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Mark is devoting himself to helping others find the right fit for their career development. He\u2019s a Job Search and Career Coach. And he is literally a mine of information and good advice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"HandThanks for agreeing to speak with us, Mark. As an expert in job search, resume, career, and a prominent interview coach, we’ll be talking together about employment and networking. So, I wanted to start with:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of the accomplished people we interview have similar yet different definitions of professional networking. How do you define networking for yourself?<\/b><\/p>\n

Professional networking is all about asking for favors. Asking for favors from people who don\u2019t know you is not easy. You need to establish trust and empathy first. Most networking advice says to take time, months or even years, to do this. How can you do this faster? There are speed networking events. But what if you wanted to call up someone you don\u2019t know and establish trust and empathy in one cold-call short conversation? It may be possible. This is something I\u2019ve been thinking about for a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, thinking of the world of career development and job search, your speciality, do you find networking holds a special place or a specific function?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Networking allows you to bring other people\u2019s minds, thoughts, and ideas into your head, too. But much more quickly. And interactively.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You have only one mind with one set of thoughts. Imagine having two or three or more minds in your head. You could read books, watch videos, etc. to expand your mind. Networking allows you to bring other people\u2019s minds, thoughts, and ideas into your head, too. But much more quickly. And interactively.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n The best experts in one app.<\/span>\n

Don't wait to be added to connections, start chatting right away.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Try it<\/a>\n <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

You’ve enjoyed quite a rich career yourself, full of impressive projects, and probably with some serious challenges on the way I would guess. Is there one that comes to mind you’d like to share to job searchers out there?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

As a job searcher, you have a fundamental question to ask yourself: Should I go up the ladder, or go sideways, or do both at different times? Should I be a generalist or a specialist? I am mainly a generalist. I like learning new things across different subjects. My work life has always been fun. I look back at my tech career and can\u2019t believe how many fun, crazy experiences I\u2019ve had. Just by being flexible, being a generalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about when you get to the END of your career, when you retire. What do you want to remember? What do you want to be remembered for?<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which brings up another important challenge: We get so caught up in the middle of our lives with job searching and career development. Think about when you get to the END of your career, when you retire. What do you want to remember? What do you want to be remembered for?<\/span><\/p>\n

Since I\u2019ve retired from my tech career, I realize now that retirement leaves a big hole in one\u2019s life. If you\u2019re doing active planning during your career, you may want to steer your career so that you\u2019ll have more work-oriented options when you get to the end of your career. Career-planning for retirement \ud83d\ude0a . Think about consulting. Or teaching. Or even plan for moving down the corporate or career ladder to a less challenging position that will give you more personal time to enjoy semi-retirement more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"handThen, what 2 or 3 networking tips would you give someone job searching?<\/b><\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t give up trying to learn and use networking. Read books, articles.\u00a0 Network with other people for their advice on how to network. Your networking skills will also serve you well in other parts of your work life and personal life.<\/p>\n

As the job searcher, you have to lead the conversation. You have to know what you want from this total stranger you are talking to. You have to prepare and practice.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. Too many people have contacted me and said \u201cI\u2019m looking for a job doing XYZ.\u00a0 Can you help me?\u201d I say \u201cOkay, what do you need from me?\u201d Silence. As the job searcher, you have to lead the conversation. You have to know what you want from this total stranger you are talking to. You have to prepare and practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Otherwise, you might as well just post your questions\/requests on LinkedIn \ud83d\ude09.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’d like to conclude our interview with a deeper insight in your expertise, the interview. Firstly, is the networking that leads to an interview part of the interview process in a way?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes!\u00a0 Exactly. Networking is part of the interview process. Every networking encounter IS an interview process of sorts.<\/span><\/p>\n

And secondly, how would you say the interview is changing, adapting, or maybe even evolving to fit the new work reality?<\/b><\/p>\n

Interviewing is the most time-consuming, most-expensive phase of the hiring process. It is a natural target for tech attempts to improve it:<\/span><\/p>\n