Making Connections
'Tis the season for a new jobThe holiday season brings many things -- Christmas carols, crowded shopping centres, and networking opportunities galore for savvy job-seekers. by TAG and CATHERINE GOULET |
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 [ 2007-12-19 ] |
FabJob.com
If you’re considering a career change in 2008, ‘tis the season to attend every event you’re invited to. Over eggnog and hors d’oeuvres or cocktails and canapes you can meet new people, expand your network, and spread the word that you’re looking for a new job.
While you should be using all avenues to look for a new job, including checking the job ads on a regular basis, you can learn about additional opportunities through effective networking.
When a business owner needs a new employee, they will typically ask friends, business associates, and current employees if they know anyone who might be suitable for the job.
Studies have consistently found this is how many positions are filled, including more than half of management and professional positions. The classic study in this area was done in 1974 by sociologist Mark Granovetter, now with Stanford University.
Granovetter’s study, titled Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers, reported that 56% of survey participants found their job through a personal contact. While it was a small survey sample of 282 men in one community, similar results have been found in follow-up studies.
For example, a 2002 Global Career Transition Study by DBM of almost 7,000 clients who changed careers that year reported that 54% worldwide found re-employment through networking. According to the report, “Networking is still the number one way job seekers, worldwide, are finding new employment opportunities.”
Likewise, the most recent edition of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook reports that “over half of all employees get their jobs through networking.”
What is perhaps most significant for job-seekers is the fact that most positions obtained through word of mouth are found through acquaintances instead of through friends or family.
Granovetter’s study found that 84% of the respondents who found a job through personal contacts learned about the opportunity from someone they saw only “occasionally” or “rarely.” That’s because you likely know many of the same people that your close friends know, whereas acquaintances are likely to know other people and hear about different opportunities.
So don’t show up only at family gatherings. Make sure you attend all events you’re invited to, whether they’re thrown by friends, neighbours, or companies you do business with.
If you’re not currently employed, you can have some personal business cards made up at a local printer or online at a site such as VistaPrint.com. Your name, phone number, email and web address on a professionally designed card can create a positive impression and make it easy for people to pass on information about you.
While it may be too late for this year, you can make a New Year’s resolution to expand your network of contacts by attending social and business events that give you an opportunity to meet and interact with new people.
There are many organizations offering these types of events. For example, you can meet people working in an industry you want to break into at one of the “Work and Career Meetups" offered every month in cities across Canada. Visit www.meetups.com to find local events. Membership fees range from nothing for most Meetups to hundreds of dollars for some industry organizations. However, even those with high annual membership fees will often let you try them out by attending one or more events for just the cost of the event.
You may enjoy the experience so much you decide not only to join, but to get involved as an event organizer, helping others build their own networks while you build yours.
Tag and Catherine Goulet are founders of FabJob.com, a publisher of career guides offering step-by-step advice for breaking into a variety of dream careers. Visit www.FabJob.com.
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