Searching for a job can be a stressful endeavor in any profession. The cold-call process of sending resumes directly to companies and interacting with people you have never met can be exhausting and often leads nowhere. A more resourceful approach is to rely on networking to find opportunities. When successful, you already have a foot in the door since you know someone involved with the process and have more in common than the job itself.
Alumni Associations
Join your university alumni association or the alumni group for any other educational entity in your past. Even if you are not in touch with your old college friends, many people, including those in hiring positions, place great emphasis on shared educational backgrounds. And alumni associations often send out newsletters and offer other methods for networking with graduates, including websites or email groups. This is an excellent way to interact with other people with whom you share a significant part of your experience. Recruiters may be lurking in these associations. At the least, you may hear about job opportunities from fellow alumni before the positions are advertised elsewhere.
Don't Advertise Yourself
Networking is about friendships and enjoying the company of others. If you appear to others as being only interested in finding a job, this minimizes the personal attention they expect from you, and you will not be taken too seriously. Even if you network with complete strangers online, in an email discussion group or other medium, don't send out requests for work or advertise your background. Instead, get to know those with whom you interact. This is what networking is about. Make friends first, then dig deeper for work opportunities. And always be polite.
Take Inventory of Your Networks
Everyone belongs to social networks, even if you don't realize it. Whether it is the local PTA, your condo association or your workout buddies at a fitness center, you know people because of the places you go. Make an effort to expand your social networks. Someone in one network may lead you to another. For example, that guy you occasionally help on the weight bench down at the gym just might know of other fitness programs that you can attend. Ask him and maybe he will introduce you to new people. Your chances of finding work through the people you know will increase as you get to know more and more people.
Learn More About Your Friends
As you interact with new people, learn about them. Ask them questions about their work, their interests and other people they know. Then, learn about these things your friends are doing. As you demonstrate interest and knowledge in their work, this may flatter them and you may have an opportunity to present yourself as a possible candidate for a job, when the moment is right. Don't force yourself into a conversation about work, but be ready for it if it comes along by already knowing a good deal about their roles.
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