David Hunt - a "True Networker"

We started thinking about writing about David when we saw his 2007 Networking Goals posted to the Nutfield Networking:

1. To attend at least one networking event in person per month (aside from the ones I host!) and - at least as importantly - to follow up with the people I meet.
2. To diligently post leads I find to the groups I'm in.
3. To get my LinkedIn contact list to 200 contacts of people I've met or who are recommended to me (i.e., I won't add just anybody).
4. To spread the "Gospel of Networking" and the fact that you never know whose "coworker's neighbor's poker buddy" is that one person you need to contact... it's not just about making contacts with others in your profession.
5. To be a good networker and actively send articles, links, specific leads, etc., to persons I know so as to contribute value to others.

Written goals! We knew we needed to meet this guy, and find out more.

Louis had previously met him through the Nutfield Networking group when David was looking for a job. They had lunch, shared some goals, and David went on to find a new job.

However, David did not stop sending information to the Nutfield members. Every time he saw a new job posting, he forwarded it. When he found other networking meeting opportunities, or articles, he forwarded the information to people he thought might be interested.

Why? David had come to realize that networking was not only something that should be done by people who were out of work. Networking, in David’s words has two purposes:

1. helping others find work
2. they’ll be there when you need work

So we met David at a local Irish Pub, and asked him about how he came to be such a strong proponent of networking.

"I was networking before I had ever heard the word networking." When he graduated from college, his boss from his co-op position wanted to hire him, but there was no job for him. However, that former boss knew someone at another company, called him, David interviewed, and he got the job.

As he went on, got laid off, earned his Masters degree, saw the demise of another company, he met many people. As each new episode ended, he found himself contacting those people, asking if they knew of any openings. At one point, when he was laid off, his settlement included the services of an outprocessing company. That was the first time he ever heard he should be networking. As he thought about his career to date, he realized he had been doing this all along, although in an informal manner.

So he set about formalizing his process. When he moved to New Hampshire, he signed up for the Nutfield Networking, WIND, Nashua Job Seekers, and yes indeed, he found his present job.

But that wasn’t the end of it. He realized that many people had offered their assistance, and believed he ‘owed’ them. He not only continued his connection to those networks, but he started an informal group in Nashua. They meet twice a month (at that same Irish Pub), share ideas, pass leads, and offer moral support to one another.

David is now working on a website to promote his Nashua-based group, "Nashua After Hours Networking" – a group intended not only for people out of work, but in the evening so people who are employed can attend as well. He hopes to grow the group to the point that he can invite local companies to recruit; to that end he is trying to get recruiters to sign up to come to the group and he plans to use that to increase attendance. He may also start a yahoo group for the event.

Contact Kathy at KathyE@TheNationalNetWorker.com and Louis at LouisE@TheNationalNetWorker.com or TNNW Blog.