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“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
We’ve all heard that more than we’ve read obnoxious political arguments on Facebook. It’s a fact of life, and it’s 100% true. Let’s delve in real quick to what a hiring timeline looks like and how networking can eliminate that process and make things easier for literally everyone.
-You and 300 other people apply for the same job.
-Recruiter reads through 300 resumes and selects maybe 10 that he or she likes.
-Recruiter conducts a phone screen with those 10 candidates and drops the number to 5.
-Recruiter sends 5 resumes and interview notes to the hiring manager, hiring manager picks 3.
-Those 3 people get brought in for an in-person or phone interview with the hiring manager.
-Someone eventually gets the job. The recruiter gets a commission, hiring manager gets their guy or girl. This person won despite having
99.7% odds against.
That process can sometimes take about 6 weeks from start to finish, throw in the two weeks at your previous employer, and you are looking at two months from start to finish for an open position.
A few weeks ago Boston Max said you ALWAYS take the call. He was right. If you are receiving a call, you’re in the top 5ish% of candidates for a position (if not better). Recruiters are busy; we have a lot of shit going on. Time is money to us. If a recruiter calls you, they’re interested. Take that call.
So how does this apply to networking? It’s simple, really. Hiring managers attend networking events more than recruiters. If a hiring manager likes you after meeting you at a networking event or from a friend of a friend, that hiring manager is going to take your resume and send it to his or her recruiter and tell them to tee it up.
Why is that important to a recruiter? A recruiter’s job is the same as a producer for The Bachelor. It’s their job to put options in front of the hiring manager (or Ben) and hope that Ben picks one of them.
If Ben comes to the producer and says “hey I really like this girl, get her on my interview schedule,” then that recruiter was basically just handed free money. They still get the commission, and they have to put in SUBSTANTIALLY less work because instead of sorting through 300 applicants hoping to find someone Ben might like, Ben has come to them and said “hey I already like this girl!”
So how do you network? Any and every way possible. I was in the military and I landed this gig by basically creating a target list of companies and then reaching out to Veterans I either knew or could find on LinkedIn who also worked at the company. You can do the same thing with your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters.
Somewhere, whether it be website or hard copy, you can find a list of your brothers and sisters who maybe were in the same chapter 10-15 years ago. Take those names and look them up on LinkedIn. Send them some LinkedIn In Mail and mention that you were both in the same fraternity, and since you’re newer to corporate America you’re looking for a great mentor who can give you some tips on what things are like.
People like being selected as mentors. It makes them feel better than undergrads at Kansas having therapeutic puppy parties following the
election of Trump. You’ll get their attention, they’ll want to help out, and then boom: you have a connection at a great company who can
give you tips at how to apply and who to apply to.
Places you should be networking but probably aren’t:
1. Alumni Events
2. Career Field Events
3. Professional Conferences
4. Chamber of Commerce Events
5. Professional Association Lunches
6. Career Fairs
You probably lol’d at Career Fairs. But seriously, hear me out. Guess who attends career fairs? Recruiters.
Remember that 300 people apply for a spot and the recruiter only talks to 10 of them? This is your chance to talk to a recruiter face-to-face. You’ve just jumped 290 people. Further, while a hiring manager may only have 1-2 open spots, a recruiter has 50. If a recruiter likes you, they can route you to open positions that they know about and that you’re a good fit for. They’ll also route you to open positions that may not be on their career website (hint, not all positions are on the website). You’ve just picked up a career coach free of charge and it’s mutually beneficial. They hook you up, you save them from having to read 300 resumes which means they get paid the same amount for doing way less work.
So what do you do when that recruiter calls you? I’ll cover that next week.
If you’d like help on your resume, shoot it here: kiawahislandstripclub@gmail.com
I’ll be traveling a lot the first week of the year so I can get tothem before mid-January..
Image via Shutterstock
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Kiawah Island Strip Club
I'd rather be golfing. Seattle sucks so I write about that. Also work...ish in recruiting. Shoot your resume to kiawahislandstripclub@gmail.com for any and all job hunt questions.
I’m shocked strip clubs and hotel bars didn’t make the list.
I said should be networking but probably aren’t. I thought the strip club, bar and golf course were all givens so I didn’t include them.
we need a smeltre rebuttal.
Nice work on the generic email. I woulda added either “69” or “420” to the end but I am a child.
‘croooooots
Shouts to Kiawah.
Locker rooms too