It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, is the old saying and in this job climate knowing the right people is always an advantage. But where do you start networking? Below are 5 ways to network to ensure you know the right people to get you that dream job!
LinkedIn is a professional Facebook, so get on there, start your profile and start connecting. Firstly add all of your classmates and your family and anyone else on there that you know. Once you have a good following, start to follow your employers. You could ask them to endorse your skills too, which will make you more employable. Now that your profile is looking good, follow the businesses and companies that you’d love to work for. Like their posts which come up on your dashboard, connect with their employees; maybe even message these employees to ask for advice. This is a great way to start to get to know the people in the industry.
Job Training
This seems like an odd one, but if you have a part time job, you’ll probably have to do some training. It depends on the job, but as an example, if you’re working for your university, you might have to do some safeguarding training. The people who will train you will be experts and might have a lot of experience working with children or other vulnerable groups. If this is what you want to do, then talk to them after the training and get them to spill the industry gossip. They will be more than willing to help you along in your career. If you don’t have a part time job, you can always see what events the careers team are putting on. The careers team usually host some industry boot camp sessions where you can mingle with real life business people and employers, so make sure to check the YSJ Careers page every so often.
Recruitment Agencies
Recruitment agencies have been around for a long time, so they’re nothing new. But if you want to work in a certain sector and job hunting is providing difficult, get in contact with a recruitment agency. They can cut out the middle man, i.e. you spending ages scrolling through Indeed to find a job, and will help you find a job that’s appropriate for your skill level and conditions. Even if you don’t sign up to the agency, you could always ask the representative for advice. They might not give you all the information, but they’ll certainly give you an idea of who to talk to and what businesses are most appropriate for you.
Social Media
Employers are using social media more and more to recruit. Twitter and Facebook are the main ones, with employers engaging with potential employees through discussions and threads. Get yourself on these sites and start following your dream companies. Ask thought provoking questions, engage in the threads, show your passions. You will meet people in the industry who will be able to help you out.
Events
Good ol’ face to face communication never goes out of style. If you want to work in a certain sector, such as media, publishing and TV/film, a great idea would be to attend events. Every year there will be events across the country where employers will meet to network and discuss ideas. Most will be in London, but there are fair few in the North and in the Midlands too. Be brave and book onto these events, even if it’s a tiny event in your local bookshop or town hall, it might be the difference between no job and a job, or the bad job or the dream job. Speak to employers, take a CV, a business card or ways to get in contact with you, show your enthusiasm! Even if the employer doesn’t have any jobs right now, by showing your passion, the employer will remember your name and might keep you in mind when other jobs pop up.
So what are you waiting for, get out there and network!
Charlotte Brindley | Careers Ambassador | YSJ