There's nothing complicated about networking, although many are confused by it, misuse it, or fear it. Networking is simply the development of mutually beneficial relationships. The key word here is mutually. Both you and your contacts will benefit from your networking efforts.
The Purpose of Networking
The purpose of networking is the exchange of information, advice, and referrals, via the informational interview process, to assist in attaining your goal of changing careers. As competition becomes fierce in some fields and there are fewer qualified candidates available in other fields, both employers and career changers rely on networking, the former to identify qualified candidates and the latter to communicate professional and personal skills to employers. Employers hire those they like personally and professionally. The informational interview, the vehicle for networking, gives employers an opportunity to informally get acquainted with potential candidates.
The Formal and Informal Job Market
The jobs listed in newspapers, trade journals, and employment offices, which constitute the formal job market, represent only about 25 percent of the total jobs available at any given time. The ads in the newspapers tend to be either low-end or high-end jobs in terms of skills. Want ads work for some career fields better than others; you'll need to find out what works best in your field of interest. Most jobs, therefore, are part of the informal job market. They are not advertised or listed at agencies.
Because of this structure, you must rely on yourself to make sense of the whole process and identify available jobs. During your job search, divide your time up according to the percentage of time a particular job search method works. For a general example, take networking (informal job market) versus ads and agencies (formal job market). Because approximately 75 percent of the jobs are found via the informal job market through networking, that's where you should spend 75 percent of your time. However, people still get jobs via the formal job market, so you should spend the other 25 percent of your time there.
The Purpose of Networking
The purpose of networking is the exchange of information, advice, and referrals, via the informational interview process, to assist in attaining your goal of changing careers. As competition becomes fierce in some fields and there are fewer qualified candidates available in other fields, both employers and career changers rely on networking, the former to identify qualified candidates and the latter to communicate professional and personal skills to employers. Employers hire those they like personally and professionally. The informational interview, the vehicle for networking, gives employers an opportunity to informally get acquainted with potential candidates.
The Formal and Informal Job Market
The jobs listed in newspapers, trade journals, and employment offices, which constitute the formal job market, represent only about 25 percent of the total jobs available at any given time. The ads in the newspapers tend to be either low-end or high-end jobs in terms of skills. Want ads work for some career fields better than others; you'll need to find out what works best in your field of interest. Most jobs, therefore, are part of the informal job market. They are not advertised or listed at agencies.
Because of this structure, you must rely on yourself to make sense of the whole process and identify available jobs. During your job search, divide your time up according to the percentage of time a particular job search method works. For a general example, take networking (informal job market) versus ads and agencies (formal job market). Because approximately 75 percent of the jobs are found via the informal job market through networking, that's where you should spend 75 percent of your time. However, people still get jobs via the formal job market, so you should spend the other 25 percent of your time there.
No comments:
Post a Comment