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The job I currently have I got because someone I went to high school with was a manager there. It isn't exactly a real way of networking but I barely even interviewed or trained for the job because of it. I think you shouldn't go around just asking people if they will hire you but asking if they know of any open positions doesn't hurt.
Yes! Connections are crucial, they can give you an automatic hire above any other applicant.
Yes. I own my own event planning business, but have a part time position at a rental store. I got the job because I knew the boss from networking and having mutual clients.
I have to say that I personally have never gotten a job through networking but a know more than a handful of people who have. This girl I went to hs with would have never gotten a job in modeling if it wasnt because of connections she made with her boss as a front desk agent at a hotel!!
She was introduced to a very prominent woman who had connections with L'oreal!
Not directly, but I have gotten interviews due to networking and then got myself the job after.
Its more important the higher up you get (above manager)
DH was kind of frontlined by being from our univeristy. A lot of C-levels are grads. The last 4-6 people they've hired in his department are the same. I'm less likely to have the same benefit but getting a job in the same town helped.
First job I got because I knew someone that worked at the Culvers I applied at. Knowing him got me the job.
Second job I got because I volunteered at the library for 2 years as a teen, then got hired.
Third job I got because my FI worked there and everyone loves him.
The only job I've gotten completely on my own is the one I have now, and that's at a huge Walmart that is way understaffed so it honestly wasn't too difficult. So yes, I would say who you know goes 100x further than what you know.
I got an internship by emailing a CEO that had given a lecture at my university. He then recommended me for the position I have now. Definitely don't be afraid to talk to people you know or have met about future job oportunities. People are much more likely to want to hire someone they know something about. Resumes can be very misleading.
Yes. My manager was looking for a graduating senior in 2008 and emailed a former coworker about it. That coworker was a professor that I worked very closely with - undergrad teaching assistant, collegiate activities - spent more time with him than my DH for a while!
He recommended me for an internship with them instead (I was a soph at the time). They decided they'd do that and hired me for the summer. That turned into a couple Christmases helping as well - it landed me an internship with a different dept. at the same company the next summer (my dept. offered me the same internship again but I wanted to get broader experience) and then last spring they offered me a full-time job.
So two internships and a job (basically the entirety of my professional working career) from networking. None of those three were ever advertised positions.
DH on on the other hand got two internships from attending his career fair and got his current job the old-fashioned way.
I think networking is usually the best way to get an "in". My first job out of college, I actually got it because my ex-boyfriend's cousin's husband went to school with the guy who was doing the hiring. True story. I contacted pretty much everyone who might be able to help and tried to make connections with people who could get my resume in front of the right person.
My FI is much, much better at this than me, though. After grad school, he cold called tons of CEOs and prominent people in his field and went in for meetings. Now that he's starting to look for a job again, he usually emails those people to "catch up" and mentions he's looking for a new position, attaches his resume, and mentions an open position with their organization to see if they might be willing to pass on his information.
He's been lining up several interviews this way--one recruiter told him she got his resume from 4 different people in one day! The job market is very competitive, so any extra endorsement you can get from someone within an organization can definitely give you an edge.
My current job is the only job I've ever gotten through applying to an ad. With my three previous positions, I find out about them through a contact. This wasn't networking through people I didn't know, though. First, was through a friend, second through a former boss, and third through a former co-worker. I reached out to 2 of the people to ask about positions. For me, it's been all about keeping connected to people that have contacts and being a member of a professional organization.
Yes - I have gotten jobs I have found advertised on my own by applying and then sending my application to people I know that work at the company and asking them to make sure the application gets into the right hands.
My husband got his current job purely through networking. We were at a cocktail party when I started talking to a woman in his field. I got them talking and encouraged my husand to send her his resume that night. He didn't hear back from her and was frustrated that he had "put himself out there" so much. A couple of months later she called him out of the blue and asked him to come in for an interview for a job they had not posted yet. He was hired directly and they never posted the job.
Nope! I actually am really proud of myself that every job I have ever gotten is based solely on my own credentials!
At my current job I'm the last person in 3 years to get hired without a referral from within the company. Woot!
Sweet, I definitely agree that networking can be valuable. I think my struggle is that I've never been able to utilize my network to find jobs. Basically all my friends are still in university and my family and husband's family are work in jobs that don't lend themselves to network opportunties.
I have networked with various people through mentorship programs back in university, but they never turned into potential jobs yet, despit me asking for any opportunites they are aware of.
hmm...
Yes. I am an interior designer for hotels and there is a relatively large hotel design industry in Los Angeles. I attended all the events and talked with sales reps all the time. When I was laid off, word got out and the sales reps recommended me to other design firms. I wouldn't have the job I have now without it.
Yes, networking does lead to jobs. In the industry I work in, when I graduated from school, the students that graduated with jobs got them through networking. Either previous employers, parents, or contacts made at our annual professional meeting. I did not want to use my mothers network to find a job, I wanted it to be on my own credentials. However after a year of no job interviews, one of my mom's friends recommended me for a position in Dallas and I got invited out to interview. I did not get the postion then, but 9 months later they had another opening and called to see if I was still interested. 2 months later I was in Dallas.
Nope - despite a lot of trying - I've never gotten a job through networking. All my jobs were aquired the old-fashioned way.
I tried networking to get internships in college and to get my first job out of college. Zero luck on that front. (I got positions both times, but they had nothing to do with my networking).
I'm currently job searching (have been looking for a job change for 6+ months now) and am doing a combination of networking and old-fashion applying. Neither have gotten me anywhere.
Yes - I was an undergrad and asked one of my professors whose research I was interested in if he needed an RA. Just so happens he did, and when I graduated, he directly recommended me to the affiliated Clinic who hired me on the spot.
Yes - The job I have now! I started here as an intern... I was looking for work and my friend had a paid internship at her company. I took it and within 6 months they hired me full-time. I would never have gotten the internship if my friend didn't work here.
My entire career thus far can be attributed to knowing one person. A girl I grew up with was looking for an intern to replace herself as she was moving to a different office and I emailed her my resume that day, which also happened to be the day I "officially" graduated from college. I interviewed the day after and started the following Monday. I got put on a full time project a few weeks later and then stayed on that same project when a new company won the contract. Who would have though rec league cheerleading would get you so far in life?
My first job out of college I found through a career fair. The next found my resume on monster.com. The third and fourth I found through headhunters. For my current job, a friend I met at my first job recommended me. I also helped another friend from my first company get a job.
So for me, the best networking has just been with people I've worked with in the past.
Yes. I worked at an Army base for two years adn it got shut down. I wanted to transfer to another base and I had heard a guy in our office had a lot of contacts. I knew him very vaguely, and I felt a bit awkward, but I went to his office, explained my situation, asked if he knew anyone, etc.
He made a lot of phone calls, got me in touch with some people at the base I'm at now, and really, really hooked me and a few other people up. The whole process took almost a year, but we were really lucky and it never would have happened if I didn't man up and reach out to him for help.
I am not sure if that is classic networking, but it definitely took me out of my comfort zone and I know if I didn't have this guy's help there is no way I woudl have finagled my way in here!
All the jobs I've had have been through networking. I have never given out a resume.
every job i've ever had i got because i knew someone - my most current job (i've been here 4 years) i got because i worked in a coffee shop part time and my boss would come in every day for 2 years - finally i mentioned i was looking for a job and i had an interview with his company the following week :)
When we were in college, networking got both me and my now-FI amazing internships. The connections we made there I'm hoping will translate into jobs when I finish my PhD and we move back to that city.
Every job both FI and I have ever had is through networking. I never even realized that until this post made me think about it.
Jobs that I've just applied to without "knowing anyone" I never got called on.
Employers love referrals from people they trust. In all but one of my jobs, I never knew the employer/manager, but I always knew someone on the inside that they respected and was always hired on the spot. I always included the person I knew somehow in my application or references. And during the interview they would ask me questions about that person, I guess to make sure I really knew them.
I'm in my current job due to direct networking. I got the job through classmate from my cohort in grad school. After I moved to her city, I asked if she could help me get a job for her company and I got the job! They're policy is to go first to friends/family/former coworkers/former classmates of all employees and then open it up to the public. It's in the mental health field so their philosophy is that if the employees know each other and get along well outside of work then we'll work together better at work. It's a great philosophy and it works, everyone gets along super well together!
Actually, I think all of the past 5 hires including me are all current employees' former coworkers or classmates.
My sister is very successful and she got her job (unrelated in any way to her college degree) because she new someone that worked there. She bacame supervisor. She went to Columbia. Now she works on Wall Street.
I got a commission for the office's new location, and they purchased several of my pieces. So.. yes, in my experience it is ... everything.
Yes!! My MIL put in a good word to my current supervisor. She interviewed me, twice actually, for two different jobs, and I ended up getting the one I have now.
Who you know can make a huge difference in most career fields.
Sort of. The job I have now I found out about because an old coworker worked there and she told me they were hiring. She put in a good word for me and I ended up getting the job, but I had to go through a normal application and interview process just like everyone else.
Yup. I got my previous job because of networking. I started with some targeted cold calls/letters and kept in touch with the HR manager and when a job came up, she gave me a call and I was in.
I've gotten an internship offer through networking as well. I simply asked to talk to the person about their job and how they got into it and it always evolved into asking if they know of any positions and/or anyone else they can suggest I talk to. And I'm currently interviewing with a company a friend of mine works at. It works but it takes some time and dedication.
One job I got through an old school friend on Facebook. Another was support staff at my school who I got to know and when he moved companies I bumped into him through mutual friends and he offered me an unadvertised job.
Yes, I think it's probably the best (and sometimes only) way to get a job nowadays, especially if it's a career-type job in corporate America. In fact, that's how I got my current job after I finished getting an MBA. One of the senior managers remembered me from a previous position and when this one opened up, he contacted me. I had been applying to places in the traditional manner but they definitely didn't pan out. In terms of contacts, the closer your contact is to the hiring manager, the better. In this case, he was like one step over and after one lunch with the hiring manager, I was hired within a few hours. Otherwise, considering how many people are applying for those few positions, it is easy to overlook your resume with the hundreds of others.
In addition, networking also helps with getting into a position that's not yet even available or they may want you so badly they'll create a position for you.
I personally haven't. I've gotten a job because a coworker knew of the job or worked for the company. It was all through people I knew beforehand. I don't know if that counts as networking. I think of networking as in meeting new people in other fields.
My husband has. We were at the bank getting new checking accounts since we just moved. My husband mentioned having a hard time finding a job. Well, the manager at the bank that was helping us open the account, told us that she works for another company and that company could use someone with his experience. It was great and very lucky. He was pretty much hopeless prior to that. He was submitting resumes and getting no call backs.
I think it helps to network!
I got my current job, firstly, because I was highly qualified, but also because my mentor at my last job was on an industry panel with my current lab director. I am very grateful for the opportunities that networking have opened up for me!
I got my job very easy (I work at a high school as a tutor) because I graduated from this school years ago and the staff still knows me. I got good recommendations from teachers as well, and my interview was quick and short. This job isn't necessarily the job I really want, but it's good job that pays my bills, food, other necessities and transportation expenses while I am finishing my Bachelor's.
Needless to say, the interview went smoothly :) I think it's easier to get a job when you know people, and especially when they can put in a good word for you. It might be a trust issue because people might feel uneasy about strangers and people they are unfamiliar with. But, that's just the education field and my experience with my little part time job.
I used to be an employment counsellor teaching those techniques. Networking really works. I don't know where you are in Canada, but try to find Job Searching Clubs in your area; they have a specific method to networking and will show you how to go about it.
I personally landed jobs by networking, but also by applying to postings. All promotions were landed by networking. I guess that all you have to remember is that employers will usually post a job offer as a last resort when they could find no one that they already know or have heard of - posting a job is more expensive (the add, sorting all resumes that come in, interviewing a bunch of people...) and more risky (you don't know after an interview if the person will actually be good at the job or if they're really just good at talking during interviews).
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Just curious...
I'm currently looking for a better job so I'm reading up lots on job hunting techniques. All the books say that networking is the best way to get a job and that a huge percentage of jobs are never actually advertised, etc
Who has actually gotten a job as a result of networking? How did you meet the person? How direct were you about asking them for job hunting help or did they just offer?
I have only ever gotten jobs the "old fashion way" - responding to job ads and sending on lots of resumes. The job market is very slow in my city now, so I'm gonna try the network approach more actively. But being out of school, it feels like there are a lot less open network opportunities.