Overcoming The “It’s Who You Know” Philosophy.
Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know”? Perhaps you’ve even found this out firsthand. Finding a new job is difficult. You apply for a position, meeting all listed requirements, only to be rejected without ever interviewing for it. Unfortunately, that’s happened to me more times than I care to remember. And it didn’t seem to matter whether the positions were internal or external.
Over the past number of years, I’ve learned to embrace that landing a job has very little to do with what I know. It doesn’t matter that I have an MBA, that I’m a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB), or a Certified Scrum Master (CSM). For me, none of that has helped to land a single job.
Instead, every position I have landed was because I knew someone on that team. I realize that it truly is about who you know and who knows you. Does your expertise have something to do with it? Yes, but very little comparatively.
To keep this post from being my opinion, I did some research. The following is what I found.
Start with your current network
To build your network, start with those in your current one. That is, those who you currently know, work with, or have worked with. In the article, How to Build and Maintain a Professional Network, Dawn McKay, for The Balance Careers, suggests that those in your network should be “current and former coworkers, fellow members of professional associations, friends and family, former professors and instructors, and former classmates.” I would add current and former supervisors/managers as well.
If you want to remain in the same career field, maintaining a relationship with colleagues and supervisors/managers is especially helpful. Though, they can also be helpful, if you’re looking to expand into a different one. Either way, they’re people you trust and are relevant to your career.
According to Built In, a community for startups and tech companies, you should “focus on your immediate peers.” In the article, Professional Networking: How to Build and Use a Network, contributor Nick Drewe says, “They’re the ones who are going to grow with you in the industry and provide opportunities as you go along, the ones who will hire you or you may want to hire them, and the ones you can swap ideas with about all things tech.”
Not to mention, they’ll be able to introduce you to others and vice-versa. It will be mutually beneficial because you’ll both be expanding your networks.
But I’m an introvert
Many introverts believe that it’s harder for them to make and build new relationships. But that’s just an excuse. As introverts, myself included, it takes more energy for us to mingle. We use energy when we talk with others. Extroverts, on the other hand, are energized by talking with others.
Indeed, listed as the #1 job site in the world, says to “fight your fears.” In their article, 7 Networking Tips for Getting a Job, the writer suggests that “You need to challenge yourself to be more outgoing to network effectively.” It goes on to say, “If you feel anxiety about interacting with others, try preparing questions and discussion topics before talking with them.”
Therefore, there’s no excuse for not getting out and talking with others. Know your limits and then push them. You’ll never grow if you stay where you are.
Expand your network
Expanding your network starts with updating yourself with current and previous colleagues/friends, and meeting new people. According to Media Bistro, you should “just do it.” In their article “Network Like a Boss and Land a Job in 7 Steps” they first suggest that you “just do it.”
What does it mean to “just do it” though? Well, just like the title states, the article is focused on networking to land a job. To “just do it” means to go out and start meeting new people. Networking is not always an easy thing. Especially for introverts. Though difficult is not easy, it’s not impossible.
Understanding something is difficult helps us know where our focus needs to be. Once, when I was in the Army, I remember that running was always my lowest score in my physical training (PT) test. Not that we didn’t run enough, but that was my lowest score.
Even though I was running a seven-minute mile, it was still slow for Army standards. I was already maxing out my push-ups and nearly maxing out my sit-ups, the one area that I could improve the most upon was my running.
Understand, PT tests in the Army are scored based on three activities. The number of push-ups you perform in two minutes, the number of sit-ups you perform in two minutes, and the time it takes you to run two miles. The higher the number of reps and the lower your time to run the course, the better the score. With the max being 300. I won’t go into the extended scale (beyond 300) that certain groups (i.e., Rangers, Special Forces – Green Berets, etc.) went by. At that time, I believe my highest score was 258. And, running was still my greatest weakness (my lowest score).
Therefore, I knew that I needed to focus on running the most. So, I began running outside of daily PT. I ran hills, sprints, and the treadmill. Whatever it took.
I wasn’t a fan of running, but that didn’t matter. If I was going to improve my score, I needed to work on it. And so, I made it a point to work on it.
Eventually, it paid off. We were in Kuwait at the time. At 6:00 am, when we started, the temperature was at least eighty degrees. Because of my focused determination, I was able to run the two miles in a little over twelve minutes. That was fast enough to give me 100% in that category. On that PT test, I scored 298. I missed the max by two sit-ups. But I had met my goal to improve my run.
Running was my greatest weakness. By focusing on it, I was able to improve that area. If shyness is your weakness, then that’s the thing that you need to work on to overcome.
Networking is ESSENTIAL in every job search
If you want to land a new job, according to every article I cited, building a network was the necessary commonality in all of them. It’s one of the, if not the, most important things a job seeker can do.
If you’re looking to change career fields, it’s even more important to network. Find someone in that field. If you don’t know someone, use LinkedIn to find others. When connecting with someone new, don’t make it about you. Remember why you’re connecting with them in the first place. You’re trying to learn about the career field. Meaning, you’re trying to learn about them and what they do.
Once you’ve met, try to make it mutually beneficial. You might not always be able to offer them anything other than an ear to listen. If you are, then great. And even if you can’t, that’s still a win-win situation. You’ll better understand the struggles they face, and they can express frustrations.
So, get off your keister, get out of your comfort zone, meet new people, and find your next career.
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