Networking After a Career Change: Starting Over

Yesterday, I did something I haven't done during this job search: I walked into a room full of strangers and told them I was looking for a job.

I prepared for this mini job fair the way you'd probably expect from someone who has spent years teaching Business Communication. I identified four target organizations based on current openings or the potential for future roles in my field. I had about ten resumes printed on nice paper at Staples, bought a portfolio to carry them in, and asked my husband to critique three different outfit options before I walked out the door.

I even brought two versions of my resume. My "pretty" product marketing resume uses color and two columns to clearly separate my skills and experience. I also brought my academic resume, which puts more emphasis on my ten years as an adjunct professor, because two of my target tables were a university and the state education department.

I had a plan. Then I deliberately ignored it.

Practice the Conversation Before It Matters

My first stop wasn't one of my four target organizations. I'm usually the person critiquing elevator pitches, not giving them, so I wanted a practice round before introducing myself to anyone on my list. I spotted a woman sitting by herself and walked over. One of the companies she represented was in media, which gave me an easy opening to talk about my broadcast background. Then she told me her story, too. She'd spent six months navigating the job market before landing her current position.

For a few minutes, neither of us was performing the traditional roles of recruiter and job seeker. We were two professionals talking about careers, industries and what it's like to look for the next opportunity. My elevator pitch got its practice, but the conversation was considerably more valuable than the pitch.

The Question I Wasn't Expecting

As I worked my way through the room, several representatives asked some version of the same question: "Do you have any active applications with us?"

To be honest? No.

None of the roughly 20 organizations at yesterday's fair had an active position that was a strong match for both my experience and salary range. I knew that going in. I was there because the right opportunity could exist in the future, and after months of applications, LinkedIn messages and virtual conversations, I was craving a face-to-face interaction.

That question also helped me recognize something bigger about my current job search.

Your Network Doesn't Automatically Follow You

Once you have 15 or 20 years of professional experience, some of the best doors to new opportunities come through the network you've built along the way. There's one problem with that assumption: What happens when you change industries?

Three years ago, I shifted my career from broadcast marketing into B2B SaaS and manufacturing technology. I brought my marketing experience, communication skills, and years of content creation, events, digital marketing and storytelling with me. What I didn't bring was a 15-year network inside my new industry.

Then an unexpected layoff meant I needed that network sooner than I anticipated. That's been one of the quieter lessons of this job search. Professional networks are incredibly valuable, but they aren't automatically portable. Changing industries can mean rebuilding part of your professional community along with your career. And that takes time.

Networking Doesn't Require an Immediate Ask

That's why I'm glad I went yesterday even though I didn't expect one of those employers to hand me my next job. A networking conversation doesn't need an immediate transaction attached to it. You can learn how to tell your story, hear the questions recruiters are asking, meet someone who understands what you're going through, or put a face to an organization that could have the right opening six months from now. There's also value in getting comfortable walking up to a stranger and saying: Hi. Here's what I do. What do you do?

Yesterday's mini job fair was good practice. There's a much larger job fair coming next month, and I'll walk into that room having already learned something from this one. It also brought this week's Story Behind the Strategy posts full circle.

Monday, I wrote about Larry Crowne and how a network can provide knowledge, perspective, confidence and opportunity when we're starting over.

Wednesday, I wrote about events as trust engines and why the goal shouldn't be collecting 100 names. It's identifying the 20 conversations that actually matter.

Then I walked into an event myself and experienced the other side of that equation. I didn't come home with ten fewer resumes. That's okay. Networking isn't measured by how many pieces of paper leave your portfolio. Its value appears over time, through the relationships you build, the conversations you continue and the doors that eventually open because someone knows who you are.

I'm still building that network. In the meantime, stick with it and happy networking.

Networking in person.