by Mansi Gandhi
It’s easy to get caught up in your daily routine, but networking can bring you outside of it and give you a larger perspective about the Industry or Companies you are interested in. Whether you’re happy in your existing job or searching for new opportunities, networking can help you better understand your industry, come up with new ideas, uncover new opportunities and align yourself with what’s happening in your field. But it has an even, more specific value. Networking can help you land a job!
Recently at an event hosted by The Job Forum (Non Profit for job hunters), offered to help job hunters of the SF Bay Area by organizing a FREE event and showcasing the importance of how networking leads to landing your next job, the important points discussed includes:
- For Tech, Healthcare and Biotech Industries – the Job Forum speakers, who are Sr. managers at companies like Genentech , Google, Facebook, UCSF Kaiser, Intel, Salesforce and more, spoke quite candidly about their own career paths and how networking and referrals helped them land their career jobs.
- They also took time to describe the value their companies place on internally referred candidates for open roles and discussed exactly how to network and contact these insiders within companies. The speakers said, a referral you can get from an employee with whom you network at your target company will be especially valued and help you to stand out as a good candidate for the role you are targeting.
- The Job Forum speakers highlighted the importance of Informational Interviews. Asking genuinely curious questions during informational interviews helps to get valuable information about the target industry. If nothing else, it’s a chance to connect with like-minded people who share similar career paths and can offer their perspectives to you.
The experts at The Job Forum point out that networking with other professionals can help you determine your career goals and set you up for lifelong success. It can help you assess where you are, where you’re going, and where you want to be, and it can introduce you to new friends that may one day become colleagues.
Where you can network
- Conferences
- Associations
- Online
- Colleagues including your customers or partners at your current job
- Meet up groups
- The Job Forum
- Family and Friends
Networking shouldn’t occur solely during designated networking time. It will happen naturally when you’re out and about, living your life. It doesn’t matter where or how you meet others in your field — what matters is being specific about what you are interested to know and also being generous to others and to lend a helping hand. It matters how you build and nurture your relationships. Networking is not a one way street.
Networking for Your Future
Connecting with other people is the best way to move your career forward according to experts in job search. Meeting other professionals will open you up to new opportunities, and ultimately help you to have the career you want to have. And if you feel nervous or shy, just remember that the people you’re meeting were once in the exact same situation. Try to have fun with asking questions about what you are genuinely interested in learning or better understanding and you will be on your way to building contacts and friends!
The Job Forum is a nonprofit run by volunteers who offer job hunters insights and advice from experts in various industries. Our volunteer experts are insiders in Bay Area companies and they advise job seekers with practical ideas for how to be more successful in finding a job or career within these industries .
Virtual events, Meetings and Q&A sessions are organized to assist job hunters with customized assistance and ideas on every Wednesdays and Thursdays evening at 6PM – virtually.
Sign up on eventbrite to register and take advantage of these FREE sessions.
Please support The Job Forum with your donations so we can continue to help the many job hunters who need guidance, insider tips, and ideas, contacts and encouragement.
