Get Hired (Tech and Healthcare): Networking Is Important

My recent message to ‘Get Hired (Tech and Healthcare)‘ membership:

Hello ‘Get Hired’ members,

Some research I’ve been doing today brought to mind a topic Max Crismon consistently shares.  NETWORKING IS IMPORTANT.  Indeed, it is.  There is, though, a mental contrast against what is in actuality more appropriate networking.

Consider an excerpt from my writing/research:

It’s who you know.  This is said for job seekers.  For far too many, this sentiment turns into a popularity contest.  LinkedIn ‘Influencer’, Lou Adler, wrote in 2016: “Job seekers need to realize networking is not trying to meet as many people as possible” (Adler, 2016). The whole of popularity and expansion of one’s known connections is not networking.  It is instead a false sense of association – less than acquaintanceship.

What is actually true for job seekers is what Kathy Caprino wrote for Forbes in 2016.  “If we want to build mutually-beneficial relationships and elicit great support from people, we have to be extremely clear about who we are, what we’re doing in the world, and precisely what we need help with” (Caprino, 2016).

It’s worth highlighting that her phrase “build a mutually-beneficial relationship and elicit great support from people” is a roughshod definition of an organization.  Isn’t it?  And an organization does not need to be solely a depiction of an employer to an employee.

Think instead about people helping other people’s professional development, business discourse, and exploring one’s personal and professional boundaries respective of how one contributes to another’s ambition.  Caprino acknowledges that really connecting with other people “needs to be a two-way exchange.”

……………………………

I hope the above provides some healthy perspective.  How about a few, varied resources on the topic?  URLs at far bottom.

1. ‘Top 10 Excuses Why People Don’t Network’ (2018)
2. ‘Hate Networking? Just Stop It, And Start Connecting Instead’ (2016)
3. ‘New Survey Reveals 85% Of All Jobs Are Filled Via Networking’ (2016)
4. ‘The 1 Networking Rule 99 Percent of People Are Afraid to Follow, but Should’ (2017)
5. ‘What Is An Informational Interview?’ (2019)…….of course, this one is near and dear to me.

Here’s to creating associations and enduring relationships—

Danny Rehr, Assistant Organizer

1. https://thecareerexperts.com/jobseekers/networking/top-ten-excuses-why-people-dont-network/
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2016/10/12/hate-networking-just-stop-it-and-start-connecting-instead/#2e39cf07419b
3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-survey-reveals-85-all-jobs-filled-via-networking-lou-adler/
4. https://www.inc.com/nicolas-cole/1-networking-rule-99-percent-of-people-are-afraid-to-follow-but-should.html
5. https://danrehr.com/informational-interviewing/what-is-an-informational-interview/

Adler, Lou. “New Survey Reveals 85% Of All Jobs Are Filled Via Networking”. LinkedIn.com, 2016, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-survey-reveals-85-all-jobs-filled-via-networking-lou-adler/. Accessed 1 May 2019.

Caprino, Kathy. “Hate Networking? Just Stop It, And Start Connecting Instead”. Forbes.com, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2016/10/12/hate-networking-just-stop-it-and-start-connecting-instead/#47e4c8bc419b. Accessed 1 May 2019.