How I Landed My First Job With this one skill

Did you know that interview-style job search is the slowest and the longest path to your dream job? The shortest one is career networking or what they also call job networking!

More than 80% of the company hires today are in some way already known to the employers. Employers may know them by referrals, casual conversations during travels, a job fair, poaching from competitors, and sometimes, they could even be a client or vendor side employees. The number is surprising, but hardly shocking. Everyone likes to hire someone they already know to be good at their job. Interviews are a less effective way of ascertaining the quality of talent, since everybody tries to be their best. On the other hand, referrals, for instance, are pre-qualified to be high quality talent. So, they have a better chance at landing a job.

Now, before I go all wise and informative about the importance of networking in job search, let me tell you that I realized it by accident before I knew – what is job networking. But, serendipity is a sweet experience.

I was in my junior year at the university in 2007, when I decided to get an internship. Actually, I had overheard my senior bragging that he has landed a job at the company where he did his internship. For me, internship became the surest shot at a good job. After many weeks of emails, calls, and phone interviews, I landed the first internship of my life. It was an unpaid internship, but I didn’t mind.

Those 2 months of my internship were the best experience of my life. I realized that what they were teaching at the university was far removed from what happens in the real world. The real world is decades ahead of what happens in the classroom. I dedicated myself to learning as much as I can during the internship. My supervisor, Mr. Hansen, was the head of the company and was thrilled to have a passionate guy like me in his office. It was a fantastic experience for me. I was 100% sure that I would get the job with the company.

On the final day of my internship, Mr. Hansen called me to his office. I was expecting a full on appointment letter or something of that sort. But, he asked me about my experience and we discussed about my career goals in length. However, there was no job offer. Before I let that sink in, I asked him directly if he would like to have me work for him after I graduate. He said that he had given it some thought and he might hire me if his business grows in a year.

The next year was 2008, the year of the Great Recession. His company went out of business. There’s a silver lining, though. Mr. Hansen referred me to one of his competitors, and they were happy to extend a job to me, even during recession, albeit at a low salary. It was 2008 and people were losing jobs left and right. I happily accepted the offer.

My point is that I was able to get a job during very difficult times, because I had the right connection and he trusted my abilities to the point that he was ready to refer me to his own competitor. That’s the importance of networking in business.

And one more thing – forget all job networking tips. The only tip that works is pure talent and an ability to showcase that. If you can do that to the right connections in your network and if they trust your ability, then you should face no problem landing a job.

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