Do you want to learn how to use your network to get hired faster? If you do not have a dynamic career network of contacts in place, then you are making the job hunting experience more difficult than it needs to be. A career network is a group of contacts that you develop over time and then cultivate by staying in touch with your contacts and making yourself available to your contacts with services and assistance.
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If you have a good career network in place, then you can learn how use your network to get hired faster. These handy steps will help you learn how to get hired faster by leveraging the people you’ve met and worked within your professional network.
Make It Clear That You Are Looking for a Job
Never take for granted the notion that your career network contacts know that you are looking for work. When you first meet new contacts, it may not be in a situation where talking about your job hunt is appropriate. But as you maintain contact with your network, you should make it clear that you are looking for work and any assistance they can offer would be helpful.
Find Opportunities to Showcase Your Skills
If you are a plumber looking for work, then one of the best ways to motivate your career network is to show them your skill level. While you do not want to get into the habit of giving away large projects for free, you can certainly showcase your excellent customer service skills and your craftsmanship by helping out network contacts who have a leaky faucet or clogged drain. Always take advantage of the opportunities you are given to motivate your contacts to refer you to potential employers.
How to Use Your Network to Get Hired Faster by Expanding Your Reach
If you want to learn how to get hired faster using your career network, then go out there and expand your network with every chance you get. Talk to people in your industry, attend social functions and go to as many career fairs as possible to expand your network and significantly increase your chances of getting hired.
Remind Your Network of Potential Benefits
For a more out-of-the-box idea of how to use your network to get hired faster, take in account that many companies have a very generous employee referral program that compensates current employees for bringing in new employees that offer value to the company. Talk to your career network contacts and remind them about referral programs that can put cash in their pockets just for finding you a job. Not every company has a referral program, but it is a good bet that your contacts who do work for companies with referral programs have no idea those programs exist.
Always Enhance Your Value to Your Network
You already know how to network, but do you know how to maintain that network? When a network contact calls you for advice, then be there to offer what they need to know. Basically, you can help other people to learn how to use your network to get hired faster.
When a contact in your network calls you looking for a business contact, offer another contact in your network that fits the criteria. Your career network will work harder to find you a job when you are active in your network and show value to your contacts.
The more you put into your career network, the more you will get out of it. If you want to learn how to use your network to get hired faster and get the job for which you are looking, you need to expand your career network. These networking tips will help you leverage them strategically and land the job that you deserve.
