I have a love/hate relationship with networking. In all its grammatical forms, the word itself irritates me. I have friends who talk about "plugging in to their network," or attending "networking happy hours," or "networking to find a new job." Noun, adjective, verb - any way you use or conjugate it, to me the word just sounds so forced, as if you suddenly whip out your magical networking cape and become a Serious and Interesting Person. "Hello, I am Dana Bate, and I am networking now."
That said, I have nothing but appreciation and approval for the act of networking, particularly when it is not labeled as such. In fact, that's how I got my job here at NBR. A former professor of mine knows my bureau chief Darren Gersh, and back in 2005 she mentioned there was a job opening for a field producer here. I gave her a copy of my resume, which she passed along to Darren, and the rest is history.
Well, almost. Getting a personal contact to physically hand your resume to your potential employer, as I did, can give you a huge leg up on the competition. I'm guessing it could even get you into the top two or three candidates an employer is considering. But ultimately, you are the one who needs to land that job and show the employer why you are the best person for the position. Your network (there's that word again...) will get your foot in the door, but your accomplishments and value as a worker are what will get you the job.
Comments
Networking isn't just helpful when you're looking for a job. I think it's necessary when you have a business. And nowadays, in the advent of technology and social media, networking isn't just giving away calling cards. Now it's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, so on and so forth. The more friends and followers you have, the more successful you and your business will be. It's like one big popularity contest, only it's in the internet.
Absolutely the most common way jobs get found. Taking the employers point of view, it's far easier and safer for them if they first check with their n-work for potential candidates prior to placing an ad.
Interesting. Network contains the word work. Net can easily be replaced by not. When we use the internet we are connected to a global n-work. Resitance is futile. Perhaps collectively we can come up with a less Borg-ish word.