Professional networking is an effective way to find a job, as many companies don’t advertise vacancies. Career networking involves using personal connections to develop a career and should be developed with reciprocity. It’s important to start networking with people closest to you and to express gratitude and offer help in return. Joining trade organizations or volunteering can also help expand your network. Don’t feel awkward asking people if they know of job vacancies, and take advantage of financial incentives offered by companies for referrals. Establishing an online presence through business-related groups can also help further your career.
You might be looking for your first job or a way to advance your career. Alternatively, you may have lost a job and need to find a new one. While job boards and classified ads can give you some places to start, many experts in the business world suggest that professional networking is one of the most effective ways to find and secure a job. Many companies do not advertise extensively for work; perhaps as many as half of all companies do not advertise when a job becomes available. For job seekers, this means that a resume sent to these companies, especially if it comes with a recommendation from an employee, is likely to get noticed.
Career networking is, in essence, about making use of the people you know to develop your career. It can be used to find jobs and grow your business. It requires a light touch, not a hard sell, and a willingness to work in your own network for the benefit of others. It should be developed with a sense of reciprocity so that one person does not feel used or valued because they can do you a favor.
Whether you’re looking for your first or fifth job, career networking starts with the people closest to you: friends, family, former employers and colleagues, and even educators. In high school, students can use career networks to solicit teacher recommendations for college admissions or job applications.
Students can ask family members who work in certain fields to recommend them for the job, or they can get their first job from a friend’s mother, a professor’s wife or husband, or the principal’s uncle. Each person you meet is like a starting point in a circle of all the people you meet. So your ability to career network with a person puts you in touch with all the people they know.
Many don’t know how to start a professional career and don’t realize how easy and effective it can be. First, start calling people you think might affect your career. In most cases, you are not calling to ask for a job, but to communicate your interest in finding work and ask if they know anything. As your network expands, when you call or meet someone, you want to express your gratitude to them through brief notes when it feels appropriate and through reciprocal networking. Maybe a contact needs your help, or you can help that person by recommending your business to people you know.
It can help you a lot to start networking on a larger scale by joining a trade organization specific to your work or being an active volunteer in organizations that bring you into contact with many different people. Networking can happen just as easily at a PTA meeting as it does at a business lunch. Keep records of your contacts and be willing to return the favor when you can, as you never know when you might need to use the career network again to advance your career. Don’t stop networking once you find a job; continuing to build great business relationships with the people you meet along the way can come in handy later on.
Don’t feel awkward asking people if they know of jobs available where they work. Many companies offer financial incentives to people who hire new employees. If you are hired, you can award a cash bonus to the person who referred you; then surely there are people eager to help you. You can take advantage of these bonuses by getting friends, family, or other contract contacts into your company.
Career networking has become easier with the number of business-related groups on the Internet. Establishing an Internet presence by participating in these groups can further your career. Be cautious when you join a group to ask for work right away. Take a few months to settle in, express your interest in what others are doing, and see if people in these groups are truly representing themselves.
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