Eximius Group

6th Floor Citibank Tower

3 Garden Road

Central

Hong Kong

T; +852 3978 5000

E: info@eximius.com

+852

W: www.eximius.com

Networking opportunity: Keeping Blinkers On!

The Goal: To engage someone senior in the organization that you want to work for to build a professional

relationship. The underlying motive is that this relationship could result in a job opportunity.

The Key Ingredient: Passion for working in that organization. You must know or realize during your

research process why you want to work for that particular organization. It is also essential to know how you

fit in that company based on your past experiences and your personality. Ultimately, your story is your key

ingredient. Take time to think about it, test it on people and be confident of it.

Identifying The Opportunity: I knew what I wanted to do after my MBA. I had my target company in mind,

a development finance institution. I had been reading up about the institution over a couple of months and

gathering related news as well. I got a chance to volunteer at a private equity forum and I looked up all the

panelists who were to speak at the event. The East Asia Pacific Head of the Private Equity arm from my

dream organization was on one of the panelists. I decided I had to find a way to talk to him at this event.

The Preparation Process: While research is essential, I would recommend targeted research. This was my

strategy:

- For the volunteering role, I had to take notes from the panel. For this particular panel on which my

target person was, I opted to stand by because I wanted the chance to talk to him.

- I researched on the specific department he was in charge of.

- I researched him and found articles, news and quotes online. I also found out the roles, departments

and regions he represented in the organization.

- I formed questions out of the data I found on him which I would ask him to start the conversation.

The tip I received was not to push your CV or intention to look for a job but rather engage the person

in the field that they know best. You have to portray your interest and knowledge in the person’s

field to gain their interest in you.

- I practiced my story and how I would present myself, in case that came up.

The Implementation: While the panel was ongoing, I listened intently. At first I thought I would form a

question related to the panel topic. However, I realized that the topic was a bit unfamiliar to me. I did not

want to be caught in a situation which I could not handle. Therefore, I decided to go with the questions I had

prepared. After the panel dispersed, many people flocked to give their cards and I noticed that he did not

give his card. He said he ran out of them and he would email them. This seemed highly unlikely, so I thought

that I would ask for his email id.

As the crowd settled, I then asked him my two questions:

Me: Your outlook on Asia for 2015 was overweight. What would be the outlook for 2016?

Him: (Intrigued) Where did you read this?

Me: In one of your interviews

Him: Where?

Me: On Seeking Alpha (an investment tracking news website)

Him: Oh! Now I remember. Well, we are overweight on Asia for 2016, with a particular focus on China

Me: Thank you. What would you say is your investment strategy for Myanmar?

Him: Myanmar? Interesting. As you would know, since you have been following the news it seems, that we

have made two investments there and we were waiting for other players to make the move first.

Me: Yes, I do know about those investments. Thank you for sharing your insights with me.

This was the 30 second window I had, after which other people started introducing themselves and I could

not have engaged further. But I felt that I had made the right impression. Later, in the cocktail reception, I

made sure I met him again. I introduced myself and he was keen to know about me. This was encouraging

and I requested if I could meet him in Singapore. His head office was in Singapore and my MBA class was

going for a career trek the next week, so I connected the dots. He was very welcoming and agreed to see me.

This was a big moment for me.

Result: I did meet him in Singapore at the organization’s office. This is where I want to work. He met me for

40 minutes and shared his experience with the organization, some pros and cons of the organization, advice

for me and my career. It was a helpful interaction. I asked for an internship opportunity but he claimed that

recruitment was not his domain. Nevertheless, I was not discouraged.

Takeaway: Even though this has not converted into a job opportunity for me, the experience in itself is a big

confidence booster. I am more confident of my story, my research methods and my ability to request such a

senior executive for a meeting. The fact that I can engage in meaningful conversation with senior executives

is a key takeaway for me. Thus, targeting and implementing are both important. The networking success

isn’t measured by how many people you speak to at an event but what you spoke to them about and whether

they remember you.

Kritika Kumar MBA Candidate 2016 The University of Hong Kong/London Business School