Your professional network matters and is highly marketable because as an executive it means you can call an “old friend” and get things done. Top firms are looking for this and are willing to pay for it.

Now, if you’ve been out of the workforce for a while then a key concern employers may have is that your industry relationships while vibrant during your time “in-the-game” are now stale.  As a result, employers could perceive those connections as irrelevant. Truthfully, it’s a fair assumption because most folks who are looking to reenter the market are simply not addressing this top concern.  Unfortunately, those looking to reenter the workforce are focused on showcasing how sharp their skills continue to be – from discussing pro bono work they’ve done to webinars they’ve seen – rather then making any mention of how they’ve also retained their most valuable professional relationships. Let me explain how an interviewer may reach this conclusion and what you can do differently than your peers to capture the attention of an employer during a job interview.

Explanation:

Imagine a former civil servant who was once intimately familiar with key governmental players in the Ontario province in Canada during the 2000s. Consider the key subject matter experts with whom that employee interfaced. Chances are that these experts have partnered with a myriad of new civil servants during the last 15 years. Let’s pretend this civil servant spent years out of the country and focused on an entrepreneurial venture in a completely different industry.  Can you see why anyone would assume that this civil servant’s relationships are now useless and subsequently not something that “comes with” this job candidate? I made a similar assumption myself while partnering with a client until I refined the questions that I asked him. Side note: this case study is based on a client engagement with a twist.

The interesting twist is that this person stayed in touch with his contacts and stayed informed around the current events within his industry despite all of the turns that his life has taken during the last 15 years.

Tweak:

So here is my recommendation: ascertain what a prospective employer may assume about what you bring to the table.  If you’ve been out of the market for quite some time then mention just how fresh your relationships are because interviewers will NOT make these assumptions on their own.  The best way to approach this is through your own initiative. Call out the elephant in the room.  Share how you’ve stayed connected to your contacts. Tell interviewers how you’ve continued to follow industry news, players, and trends.

Take Action:

In the best case scenario, you would have reengaged your professional network prior to having launched your job hunt. You would have made sure to get up to speed on what you’ve missed.  If this is the case, as it has been with my clients who tend to be extremely proactive, then discuss your fresh connections, relevant skills, and go in there with clear recommendations of how you would be the “plug and play” employee that every employer wants. Show how you can still place a single call to make mountains move for a prospective employer because that’s what desirable organizations want.

If it’s been a while since you’ve interviewed then I highly recommend going through mock interviews – I’m here to help and I’d be happy to speak with you to better understand your top concerns and offer proven recommendations. Sign-up right here.