Networking Essentials for Special Operators: Part 1: Where to Start

Sam Havelock is a former Navy SEAL & Marine, Founder and CEO of SOFX Inc., and SOFX Talent: a media and talent agency focused on empowering high impact people and organizations to fight evil and avert suffering at scale through the active recapitalization of veterans generally and former Special Operations Forces in particular.

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Depending on the length of your Special Operations career, you may be years or in some cases decades behind having relationships needed to navigate into an opportunity worth having.

One recent survey found 85% of critical jobs are filled via networking. If you are spending time sending resumes to companies wondering why you are not getting a call back, at least part of the reason is because the good jobs are getting filled by word-of-mouth networks. There it is. Good jobs are being allocated to friends. 

Before we characterize corporate hiring practice as unfair realize that friends picking friends is the same pattern as “Good Deals for Good SEALs”, i.e., service personnel picking certain other service personnel for the best training slots, the best unit assignments, etc. It is human nature to rely on word of mouth referrals. Heck our entire community operates this way too. Yes, there are hiring managers and decision makers who harbor a non-verbalized fear of “vets going postal” but by and large most people don’t believe that.

Our society is confused about veteran mental health thanks in part to all the advertising deployed to solicit funds based on it.  I am not taking anything away from all the excellent and irreplaceable work many benevolent organizations do, but to deny that the onslaught of information campaigns about service-connected mental health issues are causing people to wonder about all veterans is just not facing reality. But I digress.

OK back to the patrol. Understand that friends hire referable friends. Embrace it for what it is, and then own it. Meaning do what it takes to make friends that are outside your comfort zone and have influence with people you currently do not have access to. Not the guys and girls we want go to SHOT SHOW with. Those people can’t help us. The government spent millions of dollars training us how to target people… now let’s go out and use these skills to target people for friendship. 

The people who can help us are not the ones we want having our back in a bar fight. They look, sound, and act a lot different than the ones we like to hang around with.

#theyareunlikelytohavesleevetatoosorlumberjackbeards

Sadly, They won’t look like these people. As much as we would like to learn about what these two in partcular have going on.

The good news: you likely have more connections to work with than you realize.

Networking Pre-Flight Checklist:

• Think through what role & industry you’re looking to transition to or what geography you want to locate to. That choice guides the next set of action steps.

If by Industry

• Pick three target industries
• Pick top ten companies in those industries
• List them in the order of who makes the most money
• Then prioritize them by who is growing fastest. Behind every fast growing company is a ton of poor hires that desperately need the operational leadership you are uniquely equipped to provide. They won’t learn that until after you get in there, but five years later when you are running a division, they will.
• If you have no clue about industry focus then take an on-line test or two that will tell you where you are best suited, or pay attention and do the work over at the transition assistance office.

If by Geography

• Research what industries have long existed in the place you want to be
• Figure out what roles you can assume to add value within those industries
• List in order of who has the most money
• List by who is the largest or fastest growing, see previous commentary

Tactics Common to Both

• Schedule at least 3 hours a week to focus on going through the actions listed next

These steps should be used as the jumping off point in the first stage of your networking journey. Next week in part two of our series we will help you refine your processes and focus on reciprocity in business relationships. For now consider doing this:

1. Identify Your Existing Network

The first step is to take stock of and build upon your pre-existing network: family, friends and first degree connections within the military. There’s no reason your personal relationships can’t be helpful in bridging the gap between your military and civilian professional life. Do you have an uncle, high school friend, or mentor who is willing to help you get your foot in the door? The father you don’t want to ask for anything? Start with him. Begin by sitting down and listing out the connections you already have. This idea is key: 

IN SPECIAL OPERATIONS WE ARE ALLERGIC TO ASKING FOR HELP, BUT THE SINGLE BIGGEST BARRIER TO SUCCESS IN LIFE OUTSIDE OF SOF, IS THIS VERY SAME ALLERGY.

Before you can ask anyone for help you have to reconnect with them to begin with. Your existing personal network (actual friends (vice FB friends) and family) lay the foundation for building a larger network. In-person conversations, topic-specific phone calls and social media outreach (LinkedIn and Facebook) are the best ways to let your personal network know about your future intentions. Putting the word out vastly increases the chance that you will come to mind when an opportunity fitting your vision arrives somewhere across your network. Being a quiet professional in special operations is the standard. Once we are right of the DD-214, communicating like a circus mime about the vision we have for ourselves is going to stop our efforts cold. We have to let people know how they can help us. There are no mind readers out there. People want to help. We make it very hard if our manner of interaction and expressions communicate the message “First Things First, STFU” in the civilian world.  My wife and daughter still have to pound this into my head five years post SOF.

2. Build Out Your Military Connections

Use your military network to find second degree connections in the civilian workplace. If you worked through the pre-flight checklist, you already have the answers for the industries, location and companies you can target across LinkedIn among your number one connections.

I have literally never met a veteran that wasn’t willing to help another vet at least get pointed in the right direction within an industry. Remember, asking for help is what people have to do to be successful. I understand the ethos of the rugged individual culture in SOF, but it will not serve us on the outside. I have personally learned this lesson the hard way, more than once.    

If there is not a single person in your connections that live where you want to be or works in one of your three target industries, then knock on the door of mentors in the military. Chances are they’ll know a few people you can reach out to. Connect with them online and eventually over the phone. This initial outreach will enable you to find more second-degree connections through online networking tools.

This rest of this guide will focus on two of the most valuable and universal social media sites transitioning military can use to network: LinkedIn, and Facebook groups.

How to Find Veteran Connections on LinkedIn

●      ID target companies within industry

●      Navigate to LinkedIn People search function

●      Check box for 2nd and 3rd+ connections

●      Enter the company name under Keywords

●      Repeat with various companies

Evaluate the profiles that come up in your search results to find people you have commonality with: military history, mutual friends etc. Send them a connection request along with a short personal message that explains your background and intentions.

Use Facebook Groups to Find Connections

If you use Facebook and have shaped your Facebook profile to be a positive and professional representation of yourself, using this social platform for business networking can be a worthwhile avenue. Try to avoid smattering your FB account with piles of gunfighter centric images and political opinions if you are trying to find an opportunity. Private Facebook groups — generally invite-only — can be an invaluable resource both to build connections and get notified of jobs that will likely never be publically posted. Begin by seeking out groups that fit your interests and experience. Join (or request to join) the groups and interact with members. A good strategy is to start with a bigger list of groups (20-30) and, over time, narrow down a core few that you’re deriving the most value from. After establishing yourself as a legitimate user and creating relationships with other group members, you’ll receive invites to join more private groups. Again, the connections you make using Facebook groups can be carried out to your other networking platforms.

3. Find New Connections

Now that you’ve established your networking foundation (step one) and are successfully using online tools (step 2, ongoing) to expand your network, you may be wondering when the real networking starts. Even in our digital age, old-fashioned ‘shaking hands and rubbing elbows’ is just as constructive as ever. One commonly-cited networking study found that 83% of those polled said they build stronger, more meaningful business relationships during in-person business meetings and conferences. Each type of in-person networking discussed in this section will need to eventually be fitted into your busy schedule.

Professional Group Events

Attend meetups designed for like-minded individuals. Have the description of what you are looking to do committed to memory. Bring business cards. Get very high quality business cards that are thick, simple, and have your name, mobile number and personal email address on them.  Get the kind that are matte not glossy so that people can write on them. Vistaprint offers very nice ones as does MOO but there are plenty of other places. High quality cards are the least expensive and highest return on investment you can make in connecting with others for the first time.  

How to Find Events:

In order to find events in your area, do research and get recommendations from others in your network and target industries. Develop a short list of keywords focused around your roles and interest industry. Online resources to find events include:

• Meetup.com / Eventbrite.com: Use your keyword list to search for niche events in your area
• Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter: Search with your keywords or check industry groups for networking events near you 
• Local Papers: The events section of your local paper should list professional events, seminars, etc. 
• SOFX Newsletter: SOFX members can view our list of events in the events segment.
• The SOFX website: www.sofx.com
• The SOFX Job Board: www.sofxjobs.com

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Finding Time:

Networking in-person may seem impossible because of the demands of your schedule, but as you research events in your target area, you will notice many are hosted outside of working hours (evening and weekends). Considering 46% of jobs are found through traditional networking, sacrificing time to attend select networking events is crucial.

Following Up:

The best time to add someone to your professional network is right after your initial face-to-face meeting, while memories are still fresh. As soon as possible after attending (or even during) a networking event, go through the business cards you’ve collected and make notes to remind yourself about the conversation you had with that individual. Put the cards in priority order based on your experience with that person and connection potential. Shortly after the event, send a note to those you want to follow-up with using email or LinkedIn messaging.

In Closing

Remember that building your professional network is an ongoing effort — a marathon, not a sprint. Stay tuned for our next installment: Part Two: Steps to Efficient Networking which will move on from the logistics of networking to the implementation of networking best practices.

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