Whether you are outgoing or not, networking doesn’t come naturally to most people, especially in a virtual world. This was the case for Twisha Shah, an extrovert who found networking challenging. “Due to COVID-19, a lot has changed in order for people to make connections. People have embraced networking using virtual means and widened their networking perimeters through social media platforms. Even as an extrovert, reaching out to people virtually was initially awkward for me. That being said, over time, I have seen how effective networking can be,” Twisha says.
Case in point: Twisha landed her current role as Senior Manager of Solution Consulting at ServiceNow after successfully networking at PowerToFly’s virtual job fair. We wanted to get Twisha’s take on how to stand out at a job fair, build connections, and, ultimately, land a new job. Here’s what she had to say.
Opening doors for networking opportunities
When Twisha decided to end her 15-year run with a revenue management software company, she opened PowerToFly’s website — a career tool she kept in her back pocket — and started browsing the opportunities.
“I was thrilled to see they had virtual job fairs with good company lineups and orchestrated information sessions. I immediately registered for the upcoming one and cleared my calendar to attend the sessions I was interested in,” Twisha says.
On that list? ServiceNow. Twisha was familiar with — and impressed by — their software, but she didn’t know much about their culture.
More than a strong product
During the virtual job fair, Twisha entered ServiceNow’s virtual “booth” with her professional outfit donned, camera on, and questions prepared.
Since she was already familiar with the product, the biggest surprise was what she learned about ServiceNow’s culture. “There was a clear, transparent message throughout the presentation that ServiceNow wanted employees to bring their authentic selves to work every single day, irrespective of their gender, race, or looks,” she says.
Twisha was also drawn to the emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion to create belonging for everyone. The company was in the process of chartering various employee belonging groups and stated their commitment to promoting more women into leadership positions. In fact, in 2022, ServiceNow increased representation among women globally to 32.5%, including in leadership, sales, and G&A positions to 50.5%.
“Being an immigrant, a woman, and a person of color, that message resonated tremendously with me. I wanted to be at a company that didn’t judge or stereotype me based on my gender, looks, and accent, but rather created a safe place for me to come to do my best work and contribute my strengths to the company,” she says.
Steps to stand out from the crowd
Twisha was immediately convinced that she wanted to work at ServiceNow, but she understood it was a two-way street.
“I knew from the get-go that I wasn’t physically in front of the company’s representatives, and there would be several others in the session that were looking for positions too, so I had to find a way to stand out and be memorable,” she says.
Twisha used a number of tactics going into the event, including:
- Researching ServiceNow ahead of time and preparing a set of questions.
- Dressing professionally as though attending an in-person job fair.
- Keeping her camera on and paying attention — no multitasking.
- Introducing herself and sharing her LinkedIn profile in the chat box.
- Asking questions both in the chat box and verbally.
- Writing down all the presenters’ names, roles, and titles to connect with them post-event.
Post-event, she pursued these new connections by:
- Following ServiceNow on LinkedIn.
- Connecting with all the presenters on LinkedIn with a personal note expressing thanks, sharing her background, and asking for a follow-up conversation.
- Connecting with other team members at ServiceNow with similar backgrounds to get further acquainted with the company.
And it worked. After making her way through the interview process, Twisha was offered the role of Senior Manager of Solution Consulting at ServiceNow!
6 tips for successful networking
“I found it invaluable to attend these sessions as they undoubtedly helped me accelerate my job search,” she says. At the same time, she knows that standing out from the crowd took more than just showing up. With intention and professionalism, she landed her dream role at ServiceNow.
Hoping to land a dream job like how Twisha did? Consider her six tips:
- Always ask for contact information. Twisha has seen that in order to foster a connection, it’s important to keep the conversation going after the career fair.
- Provide context & customize your outreach. “If you connect with someone virtually, especially when they don’t know you, always write a note providing the context of your outreach,” Twisha says, adding that this should include both your background and the reason you’re reaching out. “Remember a couple of facts about them that you can use to further the conversation.”
- Refrain from immediately asking for favors. Twisha encourages you to wait until you’ve developed a stronger relationship and shared more of your background.
- Stay in touch. Twisha emphasizes that maintaining connections is an integral part of networking, too. She offers suggestions like wishing someone a happy birthday, reacting to their LinkedIn posts, or sending them a direct message to talk about a current event.
- Understand that you might not always hear back. With cold outreach comes the possibility of no response. Twisha advises, “You can follow up two to three times in case they are busy with some other commitment, but if they do not respond after that, it is best to move on.”
- Always, always, always be networking. “Your network can be split into three categories: personal, tactical day-to-day, and strategic. Nurture each with a different approach,” Twisha says. “Consider this a part of your day job, not something you tap into when you are looking for your next opportunity.”
