Networking To Better Job Opportunities

This article first appeared here on June 2009

  Written By: Gilbert Goh

 In these tough times, many have told me it is not what you know but who you know that matters. I believe them.

 Networking is something that will continue to benefit many who are jobless.

After staying jobless for about 20 months during the Sars period, I finally found a part time job working in a family service center paying $6.50 an hour. 

The job was secured through the tedious efforts of  a long lost friend who recommended me after persuading his boss for about a fortnight.

After working for six months there, I later found full time employment  elsewhere because of the social service experience chalked up there. To this day, I am thankful to this kind hearted friend who took time and effort to speak to his boss about my predicament.

 Many friends I knew found jobs through this manner –  more so if you are not so young or educated like me.

The next three jobs were also all recommended by friends and because they referred me to their bosses, I could get the job easily without much competition.  Sometimes, I secured the job after clearing through one interview only.

I taught part-time English to foreign students in China and locally and the stints were referred to me by a close friend. Without his help, I doubted that I could such work easily.

People trusted the recommendation of their staff and it shows the power of referral here. Bosses rather employ people whom their staff recommended than going through the advertisement way - wasting money and precious time in interviewing them. There is also no guarantee that people whom they employed from advertisement will be good and suitable.

Personally, I have little luck with open employment especially if it is advertised in the newspaper or employment agencies.

Maybe, I am not very qualified or well educated like many others out there.

Some employers told me that they have received hundreds of application letters for each job they advertised and it was troublesome having to go through the whole stack of letters and interviewing them one by one.

However, networking may not be easy for some.

Some jobless people find it  tough  to get out of the house as  they feel ashamed to go out and  meet others who are gainfully employed. It seems that being jobless is such a shame in our Asian community. This stigma hits both the male and female jobseekers.

Naturally, the jobless will  feel lousy  as they tend to compare themselves with their happy friends who are gainfully employed. There is also the financial issue  here as going out means having to cough out transport and meal costs.

I always made it a point to meet my friends in a cheap kopitiam or Macdonald so that I would not feel the pinch. People are very understanding and if they are your real friends they won’t mind meeting you anyway. It’s the company that counts anyway and not the place.

However, some  people may  asked insensitive questions especially if your unemployment period is as long as mine. Those who dislike you will seize the opportunity to chide you a little and  make you  feel lousy  after the meet-up.  We need to be wise here and learn to look at the positive side of meeting people than focusing on the negative.

I came across an unemployed woman (Susan – not her real name) who stayed at home for many months without venturing out of her house except during evening time. She was unemployed for around two years. She stayed with her parents and could not face up to her neighbours whom she fear will ask her questions about her unemployment.

A sense of shame and loser mentality have gotten over her. Susan later saw a counselor who slowly affirmed her and helped her regained back the self confidence to go out and meet people. She is now working part time as a clerk in a local company.

Sad to say, her case is very common for those who are into prolonged unemployment.  It happened to me for the first six months before I managed to snap out of it.

I avoided church friends and neighbours and holed up in my home for many days without venturing outside. It is a sure way to chronic depression.

Concerned friends can do a lot to help their unemployed friends here. The unemployed only need to know that someone is out there who shows care and support for them.  Do your part by checking with your boss if they need a part time position. Most bosses won’t mind having an extra pair of hands at the office if it doesn’t really eat too much into the headcount cost.

Those who go through joblessness on their own without much support from friends and loved ones often end up depressed and feeling helpless. All they need really is a slight jolt by loved ones or friends to jumpstart that job search momentum again. If not, depression that goes unchecked for many months can lead to disastrous consequences.

Job searching is  mostly psychological and the person who  keeps believing in himself usually gets re-employed faster  than the one who is negative and always feel that he is not up to the mark. Employers will easily detect such negative body language and prefer to employ someone who is positive and confident looking.

For the breadwinner, prolonged unemployment is a dangerous state to be in as we have other family members who depend on us. This will add on to the stress of job searching.

In a society such as ours – whereby each individual needs to depend on himself for survival without any state welfare, the stress and burden a person goes through during prolonged unemployment is both deep seated and chronic.

So much for the negative aspects of unemployment.

So what can we do to network more in this tough time?

Firstly, move around by  visiting your ex employers, ex suppliers and even friends. Send out emails to your friends  informing them that you are out of work and need a referral from them.  Never stay at home and brood unhappily over  your situation – this is a sure recipe to depression.  Attend hobbies’ club activities and socialise as much as possible so that your circle of friends will widen.

I remember going to the gym during my unemployment period to exercise and met a few other health-conscious buffs there. We exercised together at the gym and became good pals over time. Though I did not receive any job opportunity from the sessions, my days turned brighter whenever I went to the gym to exercise  with them. They also took time to encourage me during that period and we became close friends after that.

 I know of many people feeling ashamed of their jobless state and avoided meeting people.  Frankly, you will be surprised to know that those whom you are going to meet in a  group setting may even be jobless themselves. Moreover,  unemployment has struck many people in Singapore and thinking that you are the only person unemployed is mere fallacy.

Remember   to touch base with  people whom you have met at a convention or party. By taking the effort to stay in touch, people will naturally remember you if there is a vacancy in their offices over  those who do not.

I always make an effort to keep my friends and contacts informed about  my current situation  so that they are kept abreast of my circustances.  Once there is an opportunity, they will email me as I have make sincere efforts to stay in touch with them.

 Lastly, networking is all about relationship building. When you take time and efforts to build rapport with others, some will reciprocate in return. When you give out of yourself unselfishly, the returns will flow back to you eventually.

 There is often in people to whom ‘the worst” has happened an almost transcendent freedom, for they have faced “the worst” and survived it. Carol Pearson

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