Most people considering a career change are familiar with the oft-repeated advice to network their way to a new path. Many people shy away from effective networking, however, because of the mistaken belief that networking consists of attending cheesy business card exchange events or buddying up to strangers in the hope that they will be willing to recommend you to all their employed and well-connected friends.

What does effective networking really look like? This series looks at true stories of people who made satisfying career changes via networking. Their experiences may inspire you to follow their examples if you are contemplating a career change.

Anne Baker: From The Internet Economy To Capitol Hill

Anne Baker enjoyed a thriving career in the Internet economy during the dot com boom times from 1996 to 2000. As one of the early employees of the company now called RealNetworks, Anne used her Georgetown University language arts education to good advantage to work her way from Administrative Assistant to Advertising Traffic Manager.

Recruited to Avenue A (an Internet advertising company), Anne spent one year as a Client Strategist before deciding that her personal mission statement included working toward economic parity for women.

For years, Anne had networked among high tech women. Her involvement with the technology industry inspired her to become a Founding Director of DigitalEve International, an organization with the goal of promoting women’s participation in high tech. While Anne’s participation on the Board of DigitalEve was satisfying, DigitalEve was a volunteer-run organization and Anne’s contributions were unpaid. She was still searching for a salaried position that would be congruent with her personal mission to affect the economic well-being of women.

While watching the television show, 'The West Wing,' Anne experienced an epiphany. She wanted to work in politics. She announced to her husband, "I have to do this."

While pondering her options, Anne began to wonder if perhaps she could find a place for herself on the staff of Senator Maria Cantwell, another former RealNetworks employee who had recently won a seat in Congress to represent Washington state. Anne had stayed in touch with RealNetworks colleagues, and one of them was able to deliver her resume to Senator Cantwell's office.

Because the budget for recruiting was limited, Anne was invited to interview if she was going to be in the Washington, D.C. area any time in the near future. At her own expense, Anne booked a ticket. After proving via a test that she had excellent writing skills (using that liberal arts education again!), Anne interviewed with Senator Cantwell’s Chief of Staff.

During the interview, Anne and the interviewer discovered that they both spoke Russian and both had previously lived in Russia. (In addition, Anne found an opportunity to mention in the interview that she spoke fluent Icelandic and French, and she has a background in Greek, Scottish-Gaelic, Chinese, Latin, and American Sign Language.)

Anne was hired as a Legislative Correspondent. In addition to continuing to contribute to DigitalEve, Anne now spends her days responding to constituent inquiries, helping to create policy and taking care of other administrative responsibilities for Senator Cantwell.

She says, "Having a network doesn’t mean that you have to spend evenings out doing cocktails and schmoozing. It can be as simple as staying in touch with friends from past jobs. You never know when your old officemate could be your biggest champion."

Fabienne Mouton: Career Consultant Makes Cross-Continent Move

In 1998, Fabienne Mouton moved from her native France to the United States to accompany her Microsoft employee husband. Fabienne had worked as a career consultant in France, but as she arrived in her new home country, she faced dual challenges as she did not know the English language and her H4 visa did not permit her to work in the U.S.

As someone who understood how to implement career networking, Fabienne decided that her first priorities were to obtain some type of education or certification in career development from a U.S. school, to become acquainted

with local career development professionals, and to gain experience even if she had to do so as an unpaid volunteer.

Fabienne began conducting information interviews and someone mentioned to her that the University of Washington offered a career development certification program. Despite already having obtained computer science and psychology degrees in France, Fabienne enrolled in the program.

Another contact recommended that she join the Puget Sound Career Development Association, a professional association that would enable Fabienne to meet other career development professionals. Fabienne is now President-Elect for that organization.

Finally, to gain some pragmatic experience, Fabienne began volunteering in the mornings at Lake Washington Technical College and in the afternoons at Bellevue Community College. By doing career advising, job search coaching, and resume writing, Fabienne quickly improved her English speaking and writing skills. She also used her extensive computer skills to master computerized career search and electronic resume writing.

All the investment of time and energy paid off for Fabienne. Once she secured a work permit, she landed several offers for paid full-time work. Fabienne accepted a part-time career advisor position with Bellevue Community College, and a second position to assist trailing Microsoft spouses.

She says, "My experience can help people to understand that everything is possible when you are determined and you follow a step-by-step career goal plan. Networking is the most powerful way to find work or to realize career goals. Fabienne adds, "It works really well when you are focused and your message is clear and concise so that people can understand who you are and what type of work you want."

Jo Johnson: From Theatre Stage Management to Software Project Management to Health Care Project Manager

Jo Johnson had always dreamed of leading a romantic life with a career in the theatre. She pursued her dream and lived the life she loved for many years.

However, at the age of 30, Jo was married and she began to feel that her theatre career was better suited for single persons or those willing to live without much pay and with the ability to move at a moment's notice.

Although she still loved the theatre, she began to long for stability, better pay, and the freedom to go on dates with her husband on Friday nights.

Jo blanketed Seattle with her resume and cover letters. She received a cool reception from corporate hiring managers, discovering that her experience in the theatre and her Masters degree in Stage Management were not sufficient to generate interest in hiring her.

Jo's husband was working as a temp at Adobe Systems, so Jo was able to make a connection with a recruiter there. She sought a temp position as a Project Manager for a marketing program, and she was offered the job. After a short time, the temp job was converted into a contract job.

Once in the job, Jo concluded that her work as a Stage Manager was very similar to the work as a Project Manager. She explains, "In the theatre, a Stage Manager tracks Actors, Directors, Designers, Props, Electrics, Costumes, and Schedules. In the software industry, a Project Manager tracks Engineers, Marketers, Public Relations, Quality Assurance, Schedules, and many bits, bytes, and details."

Jo was eventually promoted into a permanent position at Adobe. Later, she was hired by another software company to be a Project Manager with even more responsibility.

Jo says, "What it really took to make this career shift was a lot of patience! I also had to get over my fear of talking to people and really networking. Through both of my careers, all of my jobs have been obtained through contacts with other people. Through my life, I think I have gotten only one or two interviews from a resume sent out cold. My personal experience rings true to the saying, 'It's not what you know, it's who you know.' The 'what' really counts when you get in the door, but the 'who' is the most important aspect of getting it opened."

2002 Update:

With the high tech slump in Seattle's economy, Jo found herself back on the job hunt. This time around she wanted to use her project management skills in a more creative arena like Advertising or Marketing Communications. Jo launched her job search by using networking skills and emailing every friend and acquaintance to see who had connections to various companies. Jo recalls, "A number of doors opened to informational interviews, but the supply and demand equation was such that hiring managers could be very, very picky about hiring people with extremely specific skills and experience and still pay low salaries, so changing careers was not an easy prospect."

When unemployment ran out, Jo went back to what she calls the "ever trustworthy temporary agency." They offered her an administrative position at Group Health. Although Jo wasn't enamored with the idea of doing admin work, she decided that it was the best place to get a bird's eye view of an organization. Through one temporary admin placement to a second, Jo was able to meet a number of people in a variety of departments and set up informational interviews right on the spot. It was through this that Jo was able to establish a position for herself as a project manager. Jo says, "Seeing the need within a department and creating a position for yourself is a pretty great thing! Although working in health care wasn't my main objective, I was able to design a position for myself to use the skills I wanted to use, bridge a gap that was much needed in the organization, and gain experience and knowledge in a new industry. I got all of the things on my wish list. Since I designed the job, I don't feel cheated or feel that I 'settled' in any way. I did have to take a pay cut that was enough to pinch my pocket book but not enough to hurt my pride. I think in this economy it's about compromise and I think I compromised to my own benefit."

Teresa Goertz: From Financial Services to Technical Writing

In 1999, when Teresa moved to Seattle from Vancouver, British Columbia, the only person she knew was her soon-to-be husband.

Having spent 13 years in the financial services field, Teresa was ready for a change. She wanted to launch a new career and she knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

Teresa chose technical writing because she considered writing to be her 'true calling.' Hurdles to be overcome included the facts that Teresa had never written anything professionally and she didn't have much technical experience.

To build her skills, Teresa signed up for a Technical Writing certification program at Bellevue Community College. She also signed up for a Technical Editing program. She completed both certifications in 13 months.

While she was gaining skills in school, Teresa knew that she needed to make contacts with professionals in the field.

She joined the Puget Sound chapter of the Society for Technical Communications (STC). Because she had some previous background in marketing, she volunteered as the Public Relations chair for one of their regional conferences.

She was also recruited to be a judging manager for their annual writing competition. The woman heading both the conference and the competition worked for a consumer product group at Microsoft. After working with Teresa at Society events, the woman hired Teresa for a two week trial as a contractor in a user education group at Microsoft. Teresa stayed for a year until she hit the IRS-mandated 100 day break in service requirement, and her manager was unable to secure permission to hire her for a permanent position.

It was back to networking for Teresa. The president of the local chapter of STC had her own consulting firm, so Teresa approached her and was able to land a two month contract providing writing expertise. This contract led to others, and Teresa now works from home as a technical communicator working in a variety of capacities.

In addition to writing, Teresa also does strategic planning and marketing for the firm using her marketing skills from her previous experiences. She says, "I'm making 58% more per hour than when I started this new career 18 months ago. Some experience pays off!"

Teresa adds, "I still volunteer for the STC and I recently won re-election. I'm working hard to develop a great package of materials that will help the chapter recruit volunteers."

Sounds like Teresa continues to make a significant contribution to the organization that helped her to embark on a new successful career.

Are you looking for more tips about successful career networking? See the article, " Networking 101."