The Most Important Networking Question Who do you know (Degrees of Separation)

The Most Important Networking Question Who do you know… (Degrees of Separation) Last week someone in my LinkedIn Group asked some clarifying questions about Degrees of Separation.  We disagreed on what a Degree of Separation (DoS) is. Heres how I see it: If I know you, your are my 1st DoS contact. If you introduce me to your spouse, they are my 2nd D0S contact. If your spouse introduces me to to their colleague, they are a 3rd D0S contact. and so on. It kind of looks like this (thanks for the image, Shari at Delivering Happiness): Lets say the 3rd D0S contact is Shari My position is that Shari is always and forever a 3rd DoS contact, regardless of how strong our relationship becomes later. In other words, lets say that Shari and I go into business together we become business partners.  Our relationship is clearly very, very strong. But she is still a 3rd DoS contact, isnt she? That has been my position for years until Lamar challenged it. Honestly, thats still my position, but I can see his point. If you come to me and say can you introduce me to Shari?  You know her, right?  Im going to think of course I know her, I work with her.  As far as you are concerned Im YOUR 1st DoS contact, and Shari is your 2nd DoS contact. To me, shes a 3rd DoS contact, so shes really YOUR 4th D0S contact, but that doesnt seem to matter. I have such a strong relationship with her, she seems like my 1st DoS and your 2nd DoS. Okay, I can see that, and in that way I agree with Lamar. And, thats how LinkedIn does it.  Once Shari says I know and trust you, lets connect she becomes my 1st DoS in LinkedIn. But Ive never really liked that. For practical reasons, I guess its okay (thanks Lamar, for helping me think through this).  But one day Shari and I will be chillin and shell say how did we meet, anyway??  And Ill say, John Smith introduced me to his wife, who introduced me to you. And I can see that Shari was, and still is, my 3rd DoS contact. Does any of this matter? YES, it matters, and heres why: In your job search you MUST drill down on your network contacts.  You must ask them the magic, powerful question: who do you know. Who do you know that works at my target company? Who do you know that is a programmer? Who do you know that is in this industry? You can vary it by asking: Who should I talk to?  Who can you introduce me to? The point is to get them, a 1st DoS contact, to introduce you to someone else. This is absolutely critical in your job search. If you dont do it, but you network a lot, you can have success.  But this single question is THE question that should get you closer and closer to a hiring manager, a decision maker, and someone who is in a position to end your job search. More on this idea tomorrow for now, what do you think?  How have you seen the DoS equation like I described it, or as Lamar describes it? The Most Important Networking Question Who do you know… (Degrees of Separation) Last week someone in my LinkedIn Group asked some clarifying questions about Degrees of Separation.  We disagreed on what a Degree of Separation (DoS) is. Heres how I see it: If I know you, your are my 1st DoS contact. If you introduce me to your spouse, they are my 2nd D0S contact. If your spouse introduces me to to their colleague, they are a 3rd D0S contact. and so on. It kind of looks like this (thanks for the image, Shari at Delivering Happiness): Lets say the 3rd D0S contact is Shari My position is that Shari is always and forever a 3rd DoS contact, regardless of how strong our relationship becomes later. In other words, lets say that Shari and I go into business together we become business partners.  Our relationship is clearly very, very strong. But she is still a 3rd DoS contact, isnt she? That has been my position for years until Lamar challenged it. Honestly, thats still my position, but I can see his point. If you come to me and say can you introduce me to Shari?  You know her, right?  Im going to think of course I know her, I work with her.  As far as you are concerned Im YOUR 1st DoS contact, and Shari is your 2nd DoS contact. To me, shes a 3rd DoS contact, so shes really YOUR 4th D0S contact, but that doesnt seem to matter. I have such a strong relationship with her, she seems like my 1st DoS and your 2nd DoS. Okay, I can see that, and in that way I agree with Lamar. And, thats how LinkedIn does it.  Once Shari says I know and trust you, lets connect she becomes my 1st DoS in LinkedIn. But Ive never really liked that. For practical reasons, I guess its okay (thanks Lamar, for helping me think through this).  But one day Shari and I will be chillin and shell say how did we meet, anyway??  And Ill say, John Smith introduced me to his wife, who introduced me to you. And I can see that Shari was, and still is, my 3rd DoS contact. Does any of this matter? YES, it matters, and heres why: In your job search you MUST drill down on your network contacts.  You must ask them the magic, powerful question: who do you know. Who do you know that works at my target company? Who do you know that is a programmer? Who do you know that is in this industry? You can vary it by asking: Who should I talk to?  Who can you introduce me to? The point is to get them, a 1st DoS contact, to introduce you to someone else. This is absolutely critical in your job search. If you dont do it, but you network a lot, you can have success.  But this single question is THE question that should get you closer and closer to a hiring manager, a decision maker, and someone who is in a position to end your job search. More on this idea tomorrow for now, what do you think?  How have you seen the DoS equation like I described it, or as Lamar describes it? The Most Important Networking Question Who do you know… (Degrees of Separation) Last week someone in my LinkedIn Group asked some clarifying questions about Degrees of Separation.  We disagreed on what a Degree of Separation (DoS) is. Heres how I see it: If I know you, your are my 1st DoS contact. If you introduce me to your spouse, they are my 2nd D0S contact. If your spouse introduces me to to their colleague, they are a 3rd D0S contact. and so on. It kind of looks like this (thanks for the image, Shari at Delivering Happiness): Lets say the 3rd D0S contact is Shari My position is that Shari is always and forever a 3rd DoS contact, regardless of how strong our relationship becomes later. In other words, lets say that Shari and I go into business together we become business partners.  Our relationship is clearly very, very strong. But she is still a 3rd DoS contact, isnt she? That has been my position for years until Lamar challenged it. Honestly, thats still my position, but I can see his point. If you come to me and say can you introduce me to Shari?  You know her, right?  Im going to think of course I know her, I work with her.  As far as you are concerned Im YOUR 1st DoS contact, and Shari is your 2nd DoS contact. To me, shes a 3rd DoS contact, so shes really YOUR 4th D0S contact, but that doesnt seem to matter. I have such a strong relationship with her, she seems like my 1st DoS and your 2nd DoS. Okay, I can see that, and in that way I agree with Lamar. And, thats how LinkedIn does it.  Once Shari says I know and trust you, lets connect she becomes my 1st DoS in LinkedIn. But Ive never really liked that. For practical reasons, I guess its okay (thanks Lamar, for helping me think through this).  But one day Shari and I will be chillin and shell say how did we meet, anyway??  And Ill say, John Smith introduced me to his wife, who introduced me to you. And I can see that Shari was, and still is, my 3rd DoS contact. Does any of this matter? YES, it matters, and heres why: In your job search you MUST drill down on your network contacts.  You must ask them the magic, powerful question: who do you know. Who do you know that works at my target company? Who do you know that is a programmer? Who do you know that is in this industry? You can vary it by asking: Who should I talk to?  Who can you introduce me to? The point is to get them, a 1st DoS contact, to introduce you to someone else. This is absolutely critical in your job search. If you dont do it, but you network a lot, you can have success.  But this single question is THE question that should get you closer and closer to a hiring manager, a decision maker, and someone who is in a position to end your job search. More on this idea tomorrow for now, what do you think?  How have you seen the DoS equation like I described it, or as Lamar describes it?