Blog: Strategy innovation and marketing
28 September 2020
It's about what you can do, not about who you know.
At the end of 2005 I applied for a job at Avance in Venlo. During this job interview they mainly tried to find out who I knew in the region. I had just graduated from hts and in my opinion, had already built up a reasonable network. I was active in the hockey club, worked in the catering industry and managed the sponsorship for the carnival association. I proudly told everyone I "knew" and with some bravado I indicated that I could get in touch with anyone else.
Bragging about number of contacts
At that time I also enjoyed being a member of various networking clubs, although I met the same people everywhere. When LinkedIn was introduced, I focused on it with a colleague. We bragged to each other about how many contacts we had and how we could make the best use of them.
Students are referred to LinkedIn
LinkedIn has become an increasingly important network medium over the years. Other social media platforms have also appeared in the meantime. LinkedIn is primarily intended for working people who want to exchange knowledge and make contacts. During their training, students are also made aware of LinkedIn and the possibilities that this medium offers for finding an internship or a job.
At LinkedIn it is increasingly important that you work on findability, just as is the case with Google and other social media platforms. You need good content for that findability
Prove yourself
Yet nowadays I am of the opinion that it is less about gathering as many contacts as possible, as I did myself in the beginning. At LinkedIn it is increasingly important that you work on findability, just as is the case with Google and other social media platforms. You need good content for that findability. And how do you get good content? Right. By showing what you can do. Who you want to know or who will find you will come next.
Continuously adding value
Good content is therefore "work" of yourself in the broadest sense of the word. Of course it is a good idea to build a network, where you also take the time and effort to keep your skills up-to-date and present them in the right way, so that your findability remains high. This also applies to offline marketing. At your customer or employer you also have to continuously ensure that you add value. Only then will a customer continue to return or continue employment. And hopefully you will get good references, so that you automatically expand your network.
Remote working is gaining momentum
In addition, trends that were initiated earlier are now accelerating. Take digital communication and remote working. How do they affect you as a supplier or employee? Imagine you are an employee. Commuting is becoming less important as remote work is gaining momentum. And as travel distance becomes smaller, employers will have a wider area to search for talent. Talent in the sense of people who have the right skills and experience for the job at hand. With the technological resources available to us today, finding talent has also become easier. As a result, competition in the labor market is increasing.
SMEs and travel distance
At various levels, companies attach less value to who does what where and more value to who can best fulfill a particular function, regardless of location. Many SMEs focus on employees who live within a travel distance of 30 to 45 minutes. I expect SMEs to shift their focus to perhaps more than 90 minutes travel time. For corporate companies, even the whole world is at their feet when it comes to labor market potential.
"Just Google"
Of course, it may still be the case that your neighbor has the right assignment or job for you because he knows you and knows what you do professionally (although you have to match what you can do with what he is looking for). that you are passed by, that your neighbor 'just' googles and does not think too long about who he knows in his immediate environment.
Another supplier
If you are a supplier, the same can happen to you. You do a good job within your field, so that the relationship remains good. So it's about what you can do. But suppose that a subsequent assignment falls just outside your specific field. Then there is a chance that your customer will look for another supplier who can deliver what he needs at that moment. Unless you make sure that the customer knows you can do this job for him.
It is about strategy, innovation and marketing
Paul Rulkens describes in his book "The power of preeminence" three topics that have no ceiling on which you can work as a company or individual to ensure exceptional performance: strategy, innovation and marketing. That is also my opinion. Hence this tip: focus on your skills (strategy), develop them through (innovation) and make sure others know what you can do (marketing). Then your network will follow automatically.
