by Regan McMahon (Observations from the On- and Off-Ramps at Mommy Tracked)
A highly successful financier told me he could have a stack of 100 applications on his desk, placed there by the HR department in response to an ad, and if one of his staffers popped his head in the guy’s office and said, “You should interview my buddy Jim; he’d be great in that job,” Jim will not only get an interview, he’ll have the edge on being hired. “What’s going to carry more weight with me,” my friend asked rhetorically. “The 100 strangers in the stack, or the proven quantity recommended to me by a person I trust?”
Makes sense. My problem is I don’t seem to have a network to nudge. I worked for years at the same place, and most of my colleagues in the media are either employed at a place that’s experiencing layoffs or unemployed and competing against me for the few jobs there are. I managed a stable of freelance writers, but none I can hit up for a job.
The key is said to be setting up informational interviews. But when I know in advance there are no openings at a place, and that a hiring freeze is in effect, it seems pointless. If the theory is that the guy will remember me weeks or months down the line when the thaw comes, is that a realistic expectation?
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Regan McMahon is the author of Revolution in the Bleachers: How Parents Can Take Back Family Life in a World Gone Crazy over Youth Sports.
