What if you don’t know anyone willing to help you get a job?
Comment on How am I supposed to obtain income?
jeffw@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Network
Azzu@lemm.ee 2 months ago
KillingAndKindess@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
There are happy hours / meet n greets, networking dinners, and more, that are specifically for branching out and developing professional connection without having to know anyone.
MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 1 month ago
Well that sounds perfectly horrid.
KillingAndKindess@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 month ago
They’re fine. In fact, out of all the possible professional-life-based events, they’re probably the least anxiety inducing thing to attend.
GiantChickDicks@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
I would agree with this sentiment, but that doesn’t make this advice less valuable. If we want things to change, we have to be willing to change ourselves. Advice on how to make those changes is bound to make us uncomfortable.
Abnorc@lemm.ee 1 month ago
There is still a chance, but it’s just much more of a crapshoot. I have been offered jobs where I didn’t know anyone, but those have been rare compared to other offers. Jobs where I knew someone at least tended to lead to serious interviews.
ExFed@lemm.ee 1 month ago
What if you don’t know anyone willing to help you get a job?
Ask them for who they know. Heck, even if they are willing to help you, still ask them for more contacts.
It legit took me over a decade of work experience to finally realize that “networking” was really just a simple graph-traversal algorithm for finding friends. If those friends need help with something that pays, then offer your help.
jeffw@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Network more until you meet someone who has an opening
QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 1 month ago
And if you don’t know people then call them or show up if possible. Just get ahold of even the receptionist. Taking initiative is a skill and it NEVER looks bad. I hired a guy I wasn’t looking to hire because he walked in, said he needed a job, and why he wanted to work for us. He didn’t waste my time, was succinct and had a great personality and attitude. As a hiring manager of over a decade those are hard skills to find. I set an interview time for him to come back the next day and he showed up 15min early (good) and blew me away in the interview just being honest and having a good attitude.
There are 2 skills most people suck at:
- Reliability
- Good attitude
You hate being late and have reliable transportation (this matters in the US). You’re a life learner and want to grow and develop your skills.
These are dealbreakers for me: 3) Team Player. In many positions, if you like working mostly solo, no one wants to manage that. Being a team player that doesn’t mind helping others and/or asking others for help when needed is essential to a team’s success. 4) Take personal accountability for your actions. If you can’t do this you are poison to a team. I’ve let go technically great people because something that went wrong was always someone else’s fault. Once they’re gone the team thrives and outperforms the technical excellence of one.
jeffw@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Just calling up a company isn’t networking
QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Hence the “And” at the beginning of what I was saying.
boletus@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
There are usually many layers before your application actually gets to someone who understands the job and can actually evaluate how valuable you are to the role. There are an insane number of applications that are just gone before someone useful can actually read it.
I know personally I would never have gotten my last 3 jobs were it not for networking and knowing people.
Networking really is the way forward. I understand for some people that socialising is insanely difficult, but knowing the right people can get you jobs that you aren’t even qualified for.
Zoldyck@lemmy.world 2 months ago
This
webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
This right here is why i am inherently incompatible with the modern job market.
My brain is wired to solve complex abstract problems not having to deal with subjective social intrigue in which i’ll always be perceived as some weird idiot because people don’t know what i am talking about half the time.
The only way someone can be convinced i am neither dumb or to disabled to work is because they objectively looked at my work ethic and results so the look on their face shifts from uncanny disturbed to uncanny impressed.
candybrie@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It seems like networking would be even more important for you. You’d have people who could vouch for you: “Yeah they’re kind of weird in an interview, but they do amazing work.”
independantiste@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I agree that some people like you may not be fit for the current way of doing things in terms of job research. But you have to remember that being socially able is also a very important part of the job at most companies, because very rare are the cases where you don’t work as part of a team. I would even say communication is a bigger part of the job compared to the actual brute skill for most companies. You can always learn or perfect a new programming language or platform, it’s a matter of reading. Soft skills like social abilities cant really be learned, and so this is why a lot of companies actually choose people who they think will fit in a team rather that who will close the most issues
ExFed@lemm.ee 1 month ago
In many ways, I feel similarly. However, “this one weird trick” got me out of it. Think of networking as something you do to find like-minded complex-abstract-problem-solvers. You’re just finding fellow nerds.
The algorithm is simple: ask people what they do, why they do it, and who they know. Then contact those people, and name-drop their friend, mention interests you might have in common, and ask to meet each one. Repeat. Follow up on people to let them know you appreciated meeting with them (or not… If you didn’t really appreciate the meeting). If you get the sense that someone is looking for help and you’re interested in what they’re doing, offer your help. The worst thing that can happen is they say no.
OlPatchy2Eyes@slrpnk.net 1 month ago
You would have references from your current job, even if you’re cartoonishly unlikeable. Keep light contact with people you get on with even (probably especially) after they part ways with the organization you work for. If/when you need a job, ask those people if they know any leads you might follow.