Last night I wrote about “leftover lovin'” networking.  The example I chose happened to deal with a business owner and his attempt to find work.  Believe it or not, the same holds true with just about any endeavor in networking.  Lack of specificity will destroy any benefit you might hope to gain.

Let’s look at someone looking for a job and the types of statements they might make.  Would your mental responses be very different?

• “I’m between jobs right now” — Huh, that’s too bad. I wonder what’s on the buffet today?
• “I’m looking for employment.” — So are a lot of other people.  Good luck!
• “I’m looking for employment as an industrial engineer.” — Wow!  Sounds pretty technical.  I wonder where someone like that would work?
• “I’m looking for employment as an industrial engineer at the ABC Lugnut Company” — Really?  I wonder if I know someone there?
• “I’m looking for a position as an industrial engineer at the ABC Lugnut Company.  I would really like to meet Jack Trainer, their head of development.” — Hey, I know Jack! or I wonder who I know who knows Jack?

Now, I’m not saying that being this specific with one person will lead our erstwhile job seeker to gainful employment.  Still, the last statement has a lot better chance of getting the desired outcome, right?

Really, it just comes down to being as specific as possible to put yourself at the top of someone elses mind.  Anything else and you are just asking for leftovers.

So, how specific are you?