What's the etiquette for contacting former colleages for networking purposes

[KentPhilip]

Following my jobcentres advice (yes really!) I am considering contacting some of my old work colleagues to see whether they know anyone who is hiring in my area. But what is the etiquette here?
Do you call them first or email? If call, during the day, evening, or weekend?

Are there some that I should not bother with, such as people who do not have the same technical skills as me, or who worked in a different business area completely (and are non-techies).

And I have a word doc containing a list of people from way back, most who I have not spoken to or contacted in over 8 years. Will it be slightly taking the piss to contact them now?
(Some of the older ones will no doubt have died of old age )

I am not convinced that this networking lark is effective, but I'm prepared to give it a try (got nothing better to do, afterall).

[BolshieBastard]

Following my jobcentres advice (yes really!) I am considering contacting some of my old work colleagues to see whether they know anyone who is hiring in my area. But what is the etiquette here?
Do you call them first or email? If call, during the day, evening, or weekend?

Are there some that I should not bother with, such as people who do not have the same technical skills as me, or who worked in a different business area completely (and are non-techies).

And I have a word doc containing a list of people from way back, most who I have not spoken to or contacted in over 8 years. Will it be slightly taking the piss to contact them now?
(Some of the older ones will no doubt have died of old age )

I am not convinced that this networking lark is effective, but I'm prepared to give it a try (got nothing better to do, afterall).

Doesnt matter what method you use to contact them. If its been 8 years they'll either be helpful or dismissive.

I'd phone them as its more personal.

[MPwannadecentincome]

I was in the same position as you 12 months ago.

I used linkedin.com to re-establish contact with as many people I had worked with that I could remember. On linkedin you can type a personal note in the email that goes to them - anything that helps them remember who you are would be fine. If they remember you and they use linkedin then fine, you have a contact you can call them or email them asking if they know where opportunities lie. I did this and got a lot of suggestions most of which I followed up.

I didn't bother with names that I could not put a face to. Of course a number of people did not bother to accept the invitation or reply. By then I had found my first contract through networking so for me it worked.

HTH and good luck!

[HairyArsedBloke]

Another good reason not to have a LinkedIn, Facebook, etc account. It'll save you from getting shead loads of begging e-mails from people looking for work.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Another good reason not to have a LinkedIn, Facebook, etc account. It'll save you from getting shead loads of begging e-mails from people looking for work.

Luckily I've not had any!

[KentPhilip]

Another good reason not to have a LinkedIn, Facebook, etc account. It'll save you from getting shead loads of begging e-mails from people looking for work.

You're all heart

[BrowneIssue]

You're all heart

No he's not.

He's partly hairy arse, too. (But that probably was the part that did the posting.)

[d000hg]

Another good reason not to have a LinkedIn, Facebook, etc account. It'll save you from getting shead loads of begging e-mails from people looking for work.

I'm happy to spend 2min linking up with an ex-colleague I respect. Who knows, in a year our situations could be reversed and he could recommend me for a gig.

[Brussels Slumdog]

After all those years

Another good reason not to have a LinkedIn, Facebook, etc account. It'll save you from getting shead loads of begging e-mails from people looking for work.

Last week I received a LinkedIn invite from my PM from 1997 who has ended
up in Brisbane. I think its fantastic that someone still remembers me after all those years.

Whether some of the people you would like to contact will happy to hear from you will depend on your past times together.
Did you socialise with these people after hours , or just happened to be on the same project together?
Did you have a good working relationship?

[XLMonkey]

But what is the etiquette here?
Do you call them first or email? If call, during the day, evening, or weekend?

Depends on how well you know them. If you haven't contacted them since you last worked with them, then it would probably be a bit cheeky phoning them up in the evening asking for work... Probably email then.

Are there some that I should not bother with, such as people who do not have the same technical skills as me, or who worked in a different business area completely (and are non-techies).

Don't bother with people who you don't like.
Do bother with everyone else. You have no idea where they've ended up, so you have no idea whether they are good prospects until you ask.

And I have a word doc containing a list of people from way back, most who I have not spoken to or contacted in over 8 years. Will it be slightly taking the piss to contact them now?
(Some of the older ones will no doubt have died of old age )

You're kind of answering you're own question here...

I am not convinced that this networking lark is effective, but I'm prepared to give it a try (got nothing better to do, afterall).

It is effective. E.g., my last 4 years contracting stats are:
- 6 contracts, of which
- 1 via an agent
- 5 via personal recommendation from networking

I get, on average, 2 qualified enquiries from networking per quarter (qualified = good skills match, suitable rate, recommended for an interview). This is more than I need to keep me occupied.

But, you do have to work at it through thick and thin. The best time to network is when you're in a contract, not out of one. That way you may have something more interesting to say than "gizza job"

With that said - most people do not take offence if an ex-colleague makes contact and asks if there is any work around.
If they like you, then:
- they will prefer to recommend you for a position than take an unknown quantity
- they will feel sympathetic to your position, and may offer to help/advise you on other people to contact
- they will feel secretly relieved that they're in a better position than you...
If they don't like you, then no harm done to you, anyway.

Best of luck