Do Job Sites, Networking Connections, Friends or Strangers Get You Hired? February 5, 2010
Posted by Jeff Nolan in Job Searching, Networking.Tags: Allison Janney, hiring, job search, job sites, Networking, recruiter, recruiting, Twin Cities Thursday Happy Hours, WCCO Good Question
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In these tough economic times, there are many people looking for jobs through networking, job sites, friends and family, but what is truly best way to find a job? I recently asked my Twitter followers for a poll question to post on the Twin Cities Thursday Happy Hours blog and Allison Janney, who is WCCO’s Good Question intern, came up with this great topic. Many people believe that they need to “know” somebody to find the right job, others believe that if they have a better resume and more experience than those they are competing with, then they have the leg up. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this question, but I’m curious to know how people landed the job they are and what they did to get it.
Please share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below, it should be interesting to hear how people’s idea of the right way to job search varies.
I used to own my own business and decided one day to sell it and try something new. I was looking for anything in the sales world. I tried sending my resume off to companies for a few weeks with no luck. Finally I turned to a few people I had done work for with my business and people I had golfed with. I simply asked if they could send my resume to anyone looking to hire. Within a week I got a call from 2 different companies asking me to interview. Within 3 weeks of using my network rather than sending my resume to companies I did not know anyone at, I started working for the company I work with now. I was always taught networking pays of and I could not agree more.
Ole, thanks for the response! Golf is great for business isn’t it? Many people are very willing to help you out if you just ask, a lot of times people complain, yet they don’t reach out to anyone. I too think networking is the best use of time when job searching.
One thing that I tell people who are looking is to try for jobs that are not even posted. I sometimes joke that I have not had a posted job in a while now-If you network right, promote yourself right, you will end up getting asked to do jobs that dont even exist yet.
They way I look at the poll above, what has the highest potential ROI. In my 2.5 years of marketing, while I am only going for part time gigs (still in school), I have found networking to have the highest ROI by far.
Mitch, I totally agree that if you get connected with the right people and are seen in a positive light by others in the business community, opportunities will come up that you aren’t seeking. I like your spin on looking at it with an ROI too, because job searching takes a lot of time and time has value.
Other- Many of the above! I found my job on MNPR Jobs blog, via Twitter. I then looked up the company via LinkedIn, found connections through my current internship, called and requested recommendations from these connections, applied directly, and finally had an interview. It’s a lengthy process but very worth it, I love my job!
A combination of all the options is great, utilizing all channels of connecting and doing your research is a good way to not only be interviewed, but to also interview the companies you are looking at. Glad to hear you love your job!
Hi, Jeff. Great poll. Networking has been a great help to get all the jobs I have had so far. Hope you are well and see you soon.