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Career Networking
Author: Manik Thapar
Article:
Career Networking
Is It Who You
Know or What You Know That Counts? Who you know
gets you into the door, what
you know keeps you there! Majority
of the people who are in the work force
today have got their
opportunities through people that they knew or know.
Networking
in my opinion is the key to starting a successful career.
Once
in the door it is the individual's responsibility to progress
his or
her own career. Networking even pays while you working in
your current
position. Many individuals move on to better
careers through networks that
they have formed.
Career Networking Tips Ask people questions.
What are you doing?
Tell them what you do, ask for a business card. Make sure
that
you listen to what the other person is saying; there are many
verbal
signals that people give, that tell you a lot about what
they are
thinking.
Join a club or a Gym where you can meet new people. Clubs
and
gyms are a good place to meet new people. A lot of individuals
in key
positions in organizations will go to a gym to work out
or play a sport. Sure
these people are there to work out and
relax, but if you strike out a
conversation you never know who
you meet. I got my first co-op placement this
way! It worked for
me and it will work for you, especially if you interest
the
person that you are talking too. If you don't mind spending a
little
bit more, you can always join an exclusive club, where
you get to meet and
network with business professionals.
Remember to sell your strengths, subtly.
Contact companies that you are interested in working with
and
tell them who you are. Tell them that you are going to be on
the
market soon and your first choice is them. Start with a general
mail
asking questions about whom you can get in touch with in
HR. Make sure you
get a name! By putting a name on your resume
you will most likely double your
chances of being interviewed.
Also post your resume on Monster. This is one
of the best sites
to get your resume noticed by thousands of employers at no
cost
to you. I have formulated a special link at the bottom of this
page
for those of you who are interested! Get your business
cards and letter
head's printed. Whether you are still in
University or in College, having a
business card tells people
that you are professional and serious about your
career. It also
gives them something tangible to hang on too. This makes
it
easier for them to remember you. For example I am completing my
MBA and
will be done in December. I just got my business cards
printed because I know
come December I will be looking for a
job. So I hand out these cards to
people who are interested,
leave them in shops and restaurants in
communities, this just
gives me more air time! What do I put on my card? Well
I cheat a
bit, but you have too in today's world. Since I am sure that
I
will get my MBA in another 6 months my business cards read.
Manik
Thapar (MBA) ADDRESS HOME PH CELL Email Volunteer, at your
local church, or
temple or in your community. This is another
great way of meeting new people
who might end up playing a big
part in where your career leads you. Remember
that networking is
something that can be done any where. You can do it on
the
subway or on the bus, you can do it in a coffee shop or a
grocery
store and best of all you can pick and choose you want
to network with.
Net Work Like a Pro It's a common refrain, and it's true: Most
of
the best jobs are never advertised--anywhere. From an
organization's point of
view, it's easy enough to judge from
your resume whether you have the
requisite education and
experience under your belt. But it's not so easy to
discern the
other qualities that matter on the job, such as how
motivated
you are to do the work, how you handle crisis situations,
how
well you get along with other employees, how you respond to
various
types of managers, and how you deal with opportunities
and disappointments.
That's why most organizations look first at
people they know and people who
come recommended by people they
know when it comes time to hire someone. And
that's why you need
to learn to network. Still, having an "in" usually isn't
enough
to land the job. You need to present yourself to your
best
advantage in interviews with your would-be supervisor as well as
with
that person's supervisor and other members of the team.
Preparation based on
in-depth knowledge of the interviewing
process will help you do that and
allow you to walk into
interviews confident and relaxed. The more you know
about an
industry and company, the better your chances of landing
a
job--and the more people you've networked with in the industry
and
company, the more you'll know.
Networking That Will Get You
Hired Companies tend to recognize
that they need to hire someone long before
they create a formal
job specification and resort to classified ads, the
Internet, or
a recruiter to bring in candidates.
During this gestation
period, they often cast about informally
to see if anyone within the
organization knows of a talented
person who might be available. They may
consult advisers,
vendors, or customers. And they will be more open than
usual to
discussions with those who present themselves on their
own--or
better yet, come with an introduction from someone the
hiring
manager respects. As you can see, organizations themselves
engage
in networking when they need new employees. As a job
seeker, your aim should
be to make sure that their networks
intersect the network you create. Why is
networking such an
important part of a job search? Jobs posted on the
Internet or
advertised in the newspaper and even those listed with
campus
recruiters have often been filled or are close to being so by
the
time you become aware of them. Networking gives you an
earlier chance at an
opportunity, at a time when you can still
help shape the job description and
influence the level and pay
range of the position. You will face less
competition because no
more than a handful of other people will typically be
brought in
through an organization's own networking activities. And most
of
these other candidates will already be employed elsewhere and
will not
have taken the time to prepare as thoroughly as you.
Networking also
gets you access to people who might not be
responsive to a direct approach
letter, and provides you with
the added advantage of a recommendation from
someone the hiring
manager knows. Professional career consultants say that a
job
seeker's chances of obtaining a meeting with a particular
individual
improve significantly when a good approach letter is
coupled with a respected
referral. A company's current employees
are among the best sources of
referrals--many firms report that
40 percent to 50 percent are filled by
candidates referred by
staff members. Moreover, companies view such
candidates more
favorably than those brought in through other methods,
because
they already know something about the organization and have
a
personal connection with it. Finally, networking may be the only
way to
locate good opportunities for job seekers whose skills
are not much in
demand. Even those whose skills are in high
demand can benefit from
networking, as multiple opportunities
and personal referrals will enhance a
candidate's bargaining
position.
Using Personal Contacts to
Land Job Leads Networking should
start with people you already know--friends,
family, colleagues,
and acquaintances. These people are not necessarily the
best
source of jobs, but they can advise you on your resume, comment
on
how you present yourself, and help you identify your skills.
Discussing such
topics with friends and relatives may lead you
to intriguing areas you've
never thought of exploring. What's
more, these people are bound to have
friends and relatives of
their own who could turn out to be valuable
resources let you.
We'll call the people you already know and their
connections
your A group. During this initial round of meetings, you
will
ask about and get referrals to people your contacts think will
be
relevant resources for you, such as professionals working in
your field of
interest or people who work for organizations that
interest you. These
people, your B group, may or may not know of
any specific job opportunities,
but they can provide valuable
information about current needs in your field,
where your skills
might fit, what you should emphasize in your presentations,
what
you need to learn, and resources that you can access. The B
contacts,
if duly impressed, can also introduce you to other B
contacts and possibly to
people in the C group. The C group
consists of people who could hire you if a
need existed in their
company and you seemed to be qualified. While there may
not be
an immediate opening for you, a well-conducted information
and
referral meeting with a C person might lead to an interview a
month or
two later, as well as to introductions to other B and C
contacts. While a
telephone call will usually suffice to set up
a meeting with an A group
person, an approach letter, followed
by a phone call to set up an
appointment, is usually a more
effective and appropriate means of contacting
a B or C group
person. An approach letter normally should not be accompanied
by
a résumé--a résumé labels you as a job applicant and may limit
your
chances of obtaining a meeting.
http://www.careerpath.cc
About the
author:
Manik Thapar (MBA) http://www.careerpath.cc
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