Build Your Network
In this document...
Job Hunting
Having discovered what you have to offer, and what kind of job is likely to bring satisfaction, now you have to go out and find the job. There are three main methods of job hunting:
- Responding The response may be to calls from headhunters; to counselors at employment services; or to job postings, want ads, or on-campus interviewing programs. This seems a most logical way to find a job, but it is actually the least effective way, because it is passive. You are, in effect, waiting for the job to come to you, instead of searching for it.
- Cold Calling This is a difficult and unpleasant way to find work, because the rejection level is so high. You approach each employer in whom you are interested, and ask for a job. The success rate is higher than the "responding" method, but most people get discouraged--or go broke from the cost of postage, paper and phone calls-- before successfully locating a job.
- Referrals Most jobs, the best jobs, and the ones which most frequently lead to employee satisfaction, are obtained through some sort of referral system. People who know that you're looking for work contact you when they hear of good job openings. How do you make sure that people know what jobs you're interested in? Here comes that dreaded word: network.
Building a Network
Your goal is to penetrate the existing information network so that you will know which jobs are available, and so that others will know about your abilities and availability. Your job search network is composed of contacts with which you establish a mutually beneficial relationship to exchange information about careers, jobs and the hidden job market.
What is the hidden job market? These are jobs, which are never advertised, including vacancies which are about to occur. What percentage of jobs is so hidden? It's hard to tell (they're hidden) but estimates range from 60%-80% of all jobs. In order to find out about these jobs, you must be in the information loop. Who is in the loop? People you know, and people you're willing to meet.
Don't waste time complaining that "it's not what you know, it's whom you know." By now you should have figured out that it's both. And they're both up to you.
Identifying Potential Resource People
Make a list of your current contacts. Include family and extended family members, friends, social contacts, current and previous work contacts, current and former classmates (Don't forget upperclassmen. In a short time they will be in the jobs about which you want information.), recreational contacts, service contacts (doctors, accountants, bankers), acquaintances from professional associations, volunteer organizations, and church and civic groups. This list will grow and change as you start renewing old contacts and following new leads.
There are some rules for networking. Play by them.
- Ask your contacts for information, not jobs. Do not back these wonderful people into corners by demanding jobs that are not theirs to offer. Asking your contact for a job or for job leads makes that person uncomfortable, and people tend to avoid discomfort and the people who cause it. Instead, ask for information about various career opportunities, particular firms or industries, or geographical areas.
- Never make a request, which your contact cannot fulfill. You want your contact to get in the habit of saying "yes" to you, and, in the process, feeling good about his/her association with you. For this reason, you will ask for information, advice, critique of your well-drafted resume, or the names of others in the field to whom you should speak. You will not ask for a job.
- State your purpose early. Your contacts have been burned in the past by people who presumably only wanted information, and ended up asking for jobs. Let them know early on that you are interested in their expertise and advice--and don't slip in job requests when their defenses are down! Your contact is not hiding jobs from you, waiting for you to ask for them. If you have favorably impressed your contact through your networking behavior, he/she will tell you about all job openings of which he/she is aware.
- Make sure that your contact has all relevant information about you. To introduce yourself and perhaps to get valuable advice, provide him/her with a copy of your resume. When your circumstances change, let your contact know.
- When you meet and talk to your contacts, focus on them, not on yourself and your needs. You are there to obtain information, and people love to give it. You have chosen these people for good reasons: they're in the practice areas you enjoy, the firms you want to join, or they exhibit the personal, professional or ethical values you want to emulate. Ask them questions about their careers and let them talk.
- Give positive feedback. The service your contact is providing is valuable; make sure you acknowledge that value, both in person and in writing.
- Keep good records. Make sure that you know to whom you spoke, when the discussions took place, and the substance of the conversation. Then, when you contact people for a second or third time, you will not embarrass yourself or waste their time by re-covering old ground.
- "You may delay, but time will not." Benjamin Franklin
All of this takes time. There is no short-cut, no streamlined method for developing and nurturing contacts and developing a job network, nor should there be. Since hiring decisions are often based on trusting relationships, you must allow time for those relationships to develop.
A Final Note
Does all this leave you feeling lost, confused, and overwhelmed? Take time out to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. It will help.