Successful Job Searching: It’s All About Networking
Supplement your Job search with Getting Out There! Finding a new position presents the same challenges as taking a product to market. But the product they are selling is themselves. First, you’ve got to know what you are selling and to whom. Then, you’ve got to package it up properly. Next comes the all-important execution phase. Networking is essential. Most people still hunt for jobs primarily by looking for positions posted online. In fact, Many Jobs Are Not Published in traditional media like newspapers!
But just sending out resumes, even hundreds of them, in response to ads probably won’t help that much. The reason is many jobs aren’t posted or advertised publicly. At least 70 percent, if not 80 percent, of jobs are not published, and yet most people — they are spending 70 or 80 percent of their time surfing the net versus getting out there, talking to employers, taking some chances [and] realizing that the vast majority of hiring is friends and acquaintances hiring other trusted friends and acquaintances. We’ve me several job seekers who have e-mailed past employers after being laid off from various jobs telling friends, associates and past co-workers that they were looking for a new position. That personal connection is especially important now. With so many people applying for jobs, it’s hard to get noticed.
A Full-Time Job Many job-seekers say the smartest thing to do in a job search was treating the hunt for work as a job. Get up early every day and get to work. Among other things, use your knowledge of firms you are interested in to create customized cover letters that focused not on past performance, but on what you could do for a company if hired. Well-informed and aggressive efforts can pay off. Experts say that even though the job market is undeniably tough, there are more positions available than many people think. But job seekers will have to be smart and disciplined to find them.
Local trade associations host networking events every month. Here are a few that you should check out in Central Indiana: