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Finding a job through networking
By Ellis Pratt. 11 July 2006
If you would like a free sample chapter from our self paced study guide, "Network to Get Work", on finding work through networking, just fill in your details here:
Introduction
"He or she who gets hired is not necessarily the one who can do that job best, but the one who knows the most about how to get hired."
Richard Bolles
There are times in our lives when we need to look for a new job. Sometimes this is by choice, other times it isn't. You may have been told, "Go out and network", but not been told why, when, where or how to do it.
Networking is one of the most important parts of an effective employment strategy. In this article we'll look at some of the reasons why.
The changing nature of work and the end of careers
In the period immediately after the second world, school leavers would join a company with the expectation of a job for life. This changed for the generation leaving school from the 1980s, who anticipated career progression through a number of different organizations.
For the current generation of school leavers, and for many others, the notion of a single lifetime career, perhaps the notion of jobs themselves has probably disappeared.
This means the need to find a job isn't always by choice.
Because we live in a world that is changing all the time, many of us are faced with the prospect of our current job becoming obsolete. We are likely to need to reapply our skills into different jobs from the ones we did before. The career ladder is today more like a maze. Sometimes you may go up, other times left, right or even backward.
According to Leon Benjamin,
"The future of work is only about one thing and that's change. It makes no difference if you're an employee, an entrepreneur, a small business owner or freelance consultant, and the means by which we will secure the work we want that suits our individual lifestyles, will be by cultivating relationships."
("Winning by Sharing: A New Way of Working, a Different Way of Doing Business")
What is networking?
Networking is "a process of interacting with people who usually share similar interests to yours". The interactions are usually the sharing of information about those interests, and the passing on of names of others who also share those interests." It should benefit both parties.
With respect to finding work, it is a way of getting new contacts and information. Some people love to network; others find it really hard, especially as a way to find work.
An attitude of giving
Dr Ivan Misner, founder of networking group BNI, promotes the philosophy of "givers gain". The more you give unconditionally, the more you get back.
However, this goes against the philosophy of selling, and, it must be said the culture of most large organizations. Large organizations tend to reward scarcity of knowledge, so many feel they are like to get on in an organization by holding back, in terms of knowledge, as much as they can. So if you've worked for a large organization for most of your life, don't worry if this feels, at first, like the wrong thing to do.
Why Network?
Three key benefits
Professor Wayne Baker looked at the findings from research into networking, and found three key benefits:
1 Finding a job. More people find jobs through personal contact and by any other means.
2 Pay and promotion. People with rich social networks are paid better and promoted faster at younger ages.
3 Influence and effectiveness. People who are central in an organization's networks are more influential than others.
Up to 80% of positions are filled without employers advertising
It is claimed that up 80% of all jobs are never advertised. They are filled through referrals and recommendations, direct approaches by candidates and by using agencies. For arguments sake, let us imagine the figure is half that; there are still a huge amount of job opportunities that you'll miss if you don't network.
According to a study by Drake Beam Morin, 64% of the people surveyed said they found their new jobs through networking. More likely than not, the best jobs are likely to be those that aren't advertised, because they will have been filled before the organisation needs to pay for advertising.
Networking is not evil
Most of us believe in a meritocratic society. The most able and hard working people are rewarded the most, and you may feel uncomfortable with the idea of gaining benefits because of whom we know.
You can use networking to get an introduction, to get a warm referral. You can also use networking to build up your expertise and create a team that you can use as a support team: sub contractors, mentors, master mind groups and so on. After that, it's up to you. Relationships need to be nurtured. They grow over time, and from that you develop trust and credibility. They can't be faked.
Summary
As we move towards a relationship economy, with the nature of work changing, networking can help you connect with the people who need your skills and can also help you increase your value as an employee.
About Me
I co-own a technical writing consultancy called Cherryleaf. We help developers of software keep customers for life through great user and training documentation. For other types of organizations, we help them produce clear information, efficiently. Our services include a recruitment agency service that specializes in providing temporary or permanent staff with skills in technical writing, training, and electronic publishing. This means I get to see a lot of CVs/resumes, and I help people find work. I discovered networking in 2003, and, since then, I have found it a great way to do business.
Futher information
If you would like a free sample chapter from our self paced study guide, "Network to Get Work", on finding work through networking, just fill in your details here:
For more information on how to find a job through networking, see www.networktogetwork.biz