Well, I’m not sure what the “con” is. But I’ve gotten three jobs and countless interviews over the years directly through networking connections. But you have to be constantly networking BEFORE you lose your job. Connecting with people on LinkedIn and Facebook. Going to industry functions and events and activities where you meet people and exchange business cards and whatnot.
Now if your industry isn’t hiring, that’s another story. I know guys who are NY investment bankers and there just aren’t jobs out there for those people. Which means those people need to figure out what skills they have (overdressing, drinking a lot of Red Bull and screaming “BOO-YA!” for example) and translate that to a job that is hiring. They also may have to come to terms with the fact that they need a job to pay the bills and can’t just wait around for that ideal bloated salary position.
Another problem with networking is, even if you’ve been in corporate America, your entire network may be unemployed. That’s what happened to me - all my peers/networking contacts have been laid off. We’re ALL out of work, so how can we “network”? Realistically, if ANY of us get a job nibble we’ll take it for ourselves, we won’t be sharing it - just a matter of survival.’
That 's one reason why I think this economic downtown really is significantly different that those I’ve weathered in the past.
Anyhow - since my corporate network is unemployed I’ve been making ends meet by painting houses, hanging drywall, mowing lawns, trimming hedges and trees, picking up garbage, cleaning up flood basements. Very physical (thank goodness I took care of my body over the years!), unglamorous, occasionally disgusting, the pay is shit, but so far I still have a roof over my head and food on the table.
There is no problem with networking. It costs you nothing and can only provide a benefit.
I find it difficult to believe that everyone you know or have ever worked with or have done business with is out of work. And if that is the case, then actively expand your network.
Leaper, I agree with you. I’ve had a number of jobs in my professional career, and I’ve gotten exactly 2 through networking. All my other jobs I’ve gotten because of want ads, the internet job boards, and the like. I have been given (and have given myself) some leads through networking, but none of those have panned out, usually not because of anything on my end. I do think that networking is valuable, but I also believe that the idea you’ll get a job from it is overhyped. From the conventional wisdon, you’d think that there’s this secret wealth of jobs out there that you’ll be able to access if only you knew the right people, and I really don’t think that’s the case.
Similarly, if you’ve been in the car industry as a factory worker or engineer, it may be time to figure out what you want to be next. (Thank God their skill set doesn’t overlap much with investment bankers - that would really flood the market for overdressed BOO-YA screaming Red Bull drinkers. Its really nice that there are such a variety of skills out there, because someone needs to hire the Levi wearing Miller Lite drinking Packers fans).
I just dropped in to wish the OP luck. I would also second or third those who have recommended the possibility of doing odd jobs. I can think of a lot of people who would pay to have someone clean gutters, mow lawns, trim, paint, fix fences, clean a garage…anything.
Before college, I remember babysitting, cleaning houses, painting, detassling corn, delivering groceries…doing pretty much anything to earn a buck. With summer coming on, there are bound to be a lot of outside odd jobs to do, so if you’re relatively healthy and capable, stuff like that could be an option.
I’m sorry you disbelieve in my reality, but there it is. Everyone from my former corporate life I could possibly network with has been laid off over the past two years. Fortunately, I am smart enough to speak with people outside of my workplace, which is how I wound up painting houses, hanging drywall, and laying floors. I would not, however, describe that as a “network” but rather “having friends” which I acquire not for what they can do for me but rather because I like to have friends.
I can believe it. Gary, Indiana (where I think I’ve read Broomstick is from) had a horrible economy even before this recession.
Trying to find a job in NYC is a different world than trying to find work in the Rust Belt. I’m from Detroit originally. Luckily I had the resources to move away to an area with a relatively healthier economy, but I know a lot of Detroiters who are stuck in the catch 22 of being unable to find work but not having the money to move away and start over anywhere better. When a recent headline projected unemployment in Michigan will soon hit 20%, I don’t really know what to tell my brother who is stuck there without a job.
Broomstick, I actually do think you’re networking, and you’ve given some good examples. Because those people would be your friends whether or not they were sending work your way. Yet they are sending work your way, right? Doing work for your landlord seemed like a particularly clever idea. Networking really isn’t just investment bankers sliding business cards to each other.
And don’t give up on networking with your fellow job seekers. Sure, maybe they will take many leads for themselves. But if you stay in touch, when they get a lead that for whatever reason is off the table for them (night shift, relocation to Siberia, hiring manager is someone they pissed off in a former life), maybe they will pass it along.
For those free to relocate, I was talking to someone from southern New Mexico today, and he said that area has low unemployment and is hiring for no-college-degree positions in the energy industry.
It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just find it surprising.
Your network is different from your friends. Really your friends are a subset of your network. There are a lot more people that I know professionally than I am actually close friends with.
Also, the worst way to network is to call up people and ask them to do stuff for you. You are much better off asking for information you can act on then being all “can you get me a job?”
What makes you think I called people up and asked them to “do stuff” for me? I kept in touch with as many people as I could after I got laid off. Within 12-18 months THEY were all laid off, too. Yeah, I found it surprisingly, too, but there you go.
I guess I should clarify that I don’t think networking is a “con,” per se. That’s probably too strong a word for it. It’s just been totally useless for me. Maybe I’m not doing it right, but there you go. (And no, I don’t just ask people to find me jobs. I do my absolute best not to burden them with endless streams of requests at all, so I don’t look like I’m just using them.)
I just got a two-week temp assignment starting tomorrow, so if nothing else I delay the exhaustion of my UI by two weeks. And it’s at a location I’ve temped at before, so maybe they’ll keep me on the preferred callback list. Here’s hoping.
At your temp jobs, work long hours and as hard as they will let you. Make yourself seem indispensable.
During the Great Depression, my father got so desperate, that he went to one place and told them that he was going to work for them for one week and if he wasn’t worth some money, they didn’t have to pay him. At the end of the week, they paid him and hired him.
If I were going to do that, I would try to do it for a grocery store or a restaurant so that I would have access to some leftover food.
Goodluck, Lumpy. Things will get better before too long. There’s no shame in being without work or asking for help or for food or shelter. This could happen to any of us. But when things are better for you, just remember what this felt like and give the next fellow a hand.
This is kind of here nor there, but I know that there are going to be a lot of semi-temporary jobs popping up for the 2010 Census. I’m not sure when they’ll open up.