"What Is a Network and How Do I Get One?"                                  

What does each of these popular phrases mean?  What do they have to do with success?  How does each apply to success in search of that one top job?

"You just have to be in the right place at the right time."

"You have to give it 110% all the time."

"It's not as much what you know, as it is whom you know."

 Once in a while, but not often enough to count on, you may just happen to walk into a business to get an application blank and they just happen to need someone matching exactly the qualifications you happen to have.

  BUT – does "luck" guarantee a successful job search?  It is what some job-seekers are counting on.  They hope to be lucky enough that there won't be any more applicants than them, that the boss won't read their paperwork, that they won't have to do an interview, that they can start work tomorrow so they can have paid vacation time beginning next week. Unfortunately, the best candidates do not make the effort needed to get to the job interview and some "lucky" low-life may happen to "be in the right place at the right time."

 Twice or three times in a while, often enough to count on, you will be rewarded for giving it 110% because you will have made your best effort on your paperwork, done your best in the interview, and tried harder than all the other applicants for the job.

 BUT – does "effort" guarantee a successful job search?  Trying hard is admirable and even is translated as "enthusiasm" in some circumstances.  Unfortunately, some of the least skillful or least talented candidates for a job want it the most and work hardest to get it only to be turned down because someone more skilled or more talented showed up willing to take the job for the same money.  Giving 110% of not very much skill or talent won't be as good as others giving 80% of top skill or talent.  Life's not fair.

 It does happen sometimes that a candidate has no skill, no talent, no drive, no ambition and no luck, but they know the business owner or the employer and they get the job anyway.  A student in my Practical English class just would not do the daily work. I couldn't convince him to turn in his senior project or to do the writing assignments.  One day, late in April, after badgering him for the millionth time, he finally just told me, "Mr. J., I don't need to do this stuff.  When I graduate I will be working for my dad in the car dealership and will be making twice as much money as you do after this many years of teaching."  And he did, and still is...

 BUT – does "knowing somebody" guarantee a successful job search?  Probably!  Of course, it depends on how high up the person is that you know, but generally, having a personal connection on the inside will make the most difference in whether you get the job or not.  Totally incompetent sons or daughters, nephews or nieces, brothers or sisters, friends of the family or relatives of friends of the family are hired into corporate or business openings every day.  Some may not last more than a few days, but because of whom they are or whom they get picked over those who are better candidates.

 The vast majority of jobs are filled by people who have had some good luck, have worked really hard and have some good contacts.  It may be flat out lucky that you happened to know somebody who worked at the company where you want to apply.  It may be that the right person happened to notice how hard you are working on something else and thought you might be a good employee.  It may be that someone totally outside your little network knows someone in your little network, and well, they were talking...

 Luck, you can't plan on.  Effort will improve your chances over time and will overcome lots of weaknesses, but not all. So, having good contacts is the one thing you can have some control over and that will make a huge difference in your chances at a job in a selected company or business.  Right – how can you have that kind of contact base at this stage of your life?  Mostly, you'd be surprised how many contacts you have if you were to sit down and map them out.  You may be short in some critical areas, but tentacles of your list reach far and wide.

What is a network?

 Network, n. --

1. any arrangement of fabric or parallel wires, threads, etc. crossed at regular intervals by others fastened to them so as to leave open spaces; netting; mesh. 

2. a thing resembling this arrangement in some way; specifically,

                a)  a system of crossed roads, canals, etc. 

                b)  in radio and television, a chain of transmitting stations controlled and operated as a unit.     

(Webster's New World Dictionary, 1951 edition)

 3.  a group or system of electronic components and connecting circuitry designed to function in a specific manner; a system of computers interconnected  telephone wires or other means in order to share information. 

(American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2006 edition)

 4.  a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest:  Working mothers in the community use networking to help themselves manage successfully.

(Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006 edition)

  A network, then, is a web of contacts that know each other and touch each other at some point in the web.  If the purpose of the network is to get a job in a particular field, then everyone who has contact with that field or the person seeking the job, even remotely, will be part of the network.

 How do you get a network?

 You already have a network.  Your personal network is composed of everyone you know, your family knows, your friends know, and tons of people you have not met yet.  If you were to list every person you know who also know you (family, friends, relatives, teachers, club members, teammates, daily contacts in the community, everyone you can think of that you know) the list would be a big one.  Now, take any one of those contacts, multiply your list by their family, friends, relatives, teachers, club members, teammates, daily contacts in the community, everyone they know – WOW!  And that's just one person on your own list.  When you put all the parts in place, you have a network.

 Will this network help you get the job you are seeking?  Maybe it will, maybe it won't.  Most of us have to develop our network as we go.  If your network doesn't know about your plans, how can they help?  When you start that job-search, talk about it, don't beg for help or ask them to recommend you to someone inside the company.  Just let your contacts know you are looking for a specific job in a specific field in a specific location – then let it spread from there.  If you are interested in staying close-by and working in a generic field, you social network can usually work for you.

 However – if it doesn't work for you, or if you are stepping out of your local neighborhood into a specialized field, what can you do to increase the scope of your network?  Knowing who you don't know will help you direct your net to the right places.  All this network preparation should be going on now, way ahead of that big job search.  You need to put yourself in a position to "know somebody" who can help you get the job you want.

 If you know the career field or even the job you want to have in the future, you can help your cause with a little study and a lot of hard work.  Read trade journals or e-magazines.  Join related trade associations.  Take a part-time job, apply for an internship, do volunteer work, serve on advisory committees, or find any other way to get to know the people who w0rk there and what they do. 

 These people then become part of your network, too.  Don't purposely target someone solely for the purpose of using them to get a job – that will not be received well.  Show interest in what they do and what the company does.  You need to do more than get a business card from them, but don't make a nuisance of yourself.  Simply integrate yourself into their world for a while.  Let them get to know who you are as you get to know them.

 Even better than having them in your network, you will be part of their network.  That's right!   Every employer or human resources person also has a network.  They will use their network to find reliable people to fill positions they have open.  They will go the application blank/resume route, but they will also ask their network if there are good candidates out there looking for a job.  Remember, the network works both ways – "who you know and who knows you."   Be sure they see you in a positive way and that they know you are looking for a job in this field.

 Sometimes you just have to walk in the human resources office with your resume just as they are posting a job opening.

Sometimes giving it 110% will beat out some super candidate for the job who is only giving it 80%.

Sometimes it's good your dad owns the business where you want to work and wants you to take over when he retires.

Getting a job is hard work if none of the three statements above work for you.  You cannot just hope someone picks your name out of a hat and calls you for an interview.  You can't just be a hard worker.  You can't expect someone you know to tell you about a great job opening if they don't know you are looking.  You have to put it all together.  You are the manager of your job search.  This is real – with a little luck, a lot of hard work and some good contacts you have a better chance of finding and getting the job you want.