The Importance of Professional Networking

Networking refers to the use of contacts to get information, suggestion and referrals for the job search.   Contacts could range from your close friends to professionals whom you have met earlier. It is easy to start networking with your friends, neighbours, family, ex-colleaugues, present colleagues and employers, classmates, faculty and anyone else whom you are in contact with frequently.

The Art of Networking

Studies of employees of all kinds have revealed that almost 60-90% jobs are found through personal contacts, friends, relatives and direct application. This method of finding job through personal or informal contacts is often known as networking.  It involves connecting with people and developing your contact, asking them if they know about job openings relevant to your qualifications or if they have contacts with anybody who can help you find out unadvertised jobs. If worked properly, it actually reduces your job search time by converting professional and personal contacts and direct applications into interviews and finally, job offers.

Professional job networks are one of the most effective ways for finding job opportunities. Develop as many contacts as possible with professionals belonging to different businesses and industries relevant to your field. Become a member of professional job networks. LinkedIn is the world's largest professional job networking sites. Keep in touch with professors, former employees, current employees, classmates, supervisors and interns.

Employers prefer to interview candidates referred by someone they know and trust. Many companies particularly small companies rely on referrals, networking and walk-ins instead of tieing-up with expensive hiring agencies and classified ads. So think upon what kind of people are in your network. Start by creating a Network sheet divided into categories of people, such as classmates, friends, alumni, parents of friends, faculty, present and former colleagues or managers, mentors, neighbours, relatives, friends and other people through their work like lawyers, dentist, financial planners, etc. Thoughtfulness and preparation are essential for good networking. Before establishing a contact, be ready with a script about yourself, what are you seeking for in a position and what you have achieved. This will help in introducing you and increasing your credibility. The script should end with questions like:

Do you know of any openings for an individual with my qualification and background?

Do you know of anyone who might be looking for a person with my experience and qualification?

Do you have anybody in contact knowing of job openings?

Your introduction should not be too long so that people may find it boring and leave it in the mid. 

Follow-up is important to effective networking. After talking to individuals about work leads or recommendations; send them a letter thanking them for their help and referrals. Update them on the progress you have actually made, and ask them to let you know if they come to know of any job opening or anyone who can help you. After some weeks, follow them up once again. For some people, networking might appear difficult, yet efforts put forth are well worth it.

In today's job market, it is difficult to find a suitable job immediately after graduation. Do not lose hope. Keep searching in your domain which are not even directly related to your area of specialization.

About Resourcemaster

Resource Master is a professional job network that provides a common global platform to employees, employers and academia. It offers several benefits to the users and bridges the gap between industry, talent and academia.