How to find your next job

Some people appear to just breeze from one job to the next without having to spend hours looking and going through longwinded recruitment processes. How do they do that? They are most likely networking. As mentioned in my last blog, approximately 80 percent of all jobs are not advertised but filled through contacts. It’s all about who you know!

So how do you network? Well, you don’t necessarily need to know a lot of people. The key is to know other people who are well connected as it is often our contact’s contact who will be the link to a new role. Hence, you first need to identify who you know that is well networked and could introduce you to relevant contacts. That is, you need to identify your Connectors.

One way to identify your connectors is to map your network using the following 2 step process:

1. Break an A4 page into 2 columns. Label the first column ‘Name of Contact’ and fill in the names of the most ‘important’ people in your network. This may be a current colleague, a former boss, or someone you studied with.
2. Think about who introduced you to each person and write their name in the second column labelled ‘Who Introduced you to the Contact’ (write ‘me’ if you met the person yourself). This column will show who your connectors are, that is, the individuals who have introduced you to your current network contacts, and may be worth contacting when you are looking to change roles.

Other ways of extending your network and meet new contacts and connectors are to participate in industry associations and networking events; alumni groups; and clubs and personal interest communities.

It is often worthwhile to network within your current organisation. You may want to stay in your organisation but in a different role, and the ‘right’ people in the organisation need to know who you are and what you would like to do. Or, people in your organisation may leave and be a good connector or a contact for an opportunity in their new organisation.

The key to effective networking is to constantly maintaining and building your network. Do not stop just because you are happy in your current role, or not planning to leave in the near future. Most people who breeze into new jobs maintain and nurture their networks.

Next time People Solutions will talk about how to be a good team leader.