Networking The Path to Career Success

In her speech about career to students at The University of Texas at Dallas on April 18,
2013, Ms. Duy-Loan Le, the first woman and the first Asian to be elected Senior Fellow of Texas
Instruments, asserted that networking is the smartest way to success in ones career. Reality has
proven her statement true. According to statistics from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70%
of job opportunities are found through networking (Bureau of Labor Statistics). With the large
and growing number of college graduates each year, the demand for job opportunities increases
gradually. Nonetheless, the world economy recession has decreased the number of job
opportunities. This problem creates a complicated question for both policy makers and job
seekers. Meanwhile, social networking has proven to be a smart and powerful strategy for entrylevel applicants, not only to solve the problem, but also to succeed in their future career.

Traditional Job Search Method

Traditional job search is still a relatively effective tool to land a career because there are
still people getting hired using this method. A traditional job search includes searching for and
applying to advertised occupations by means of on-grounds interviewing - coordinated by
University Career Services through an online database listing full-time and internship
opportunities; career fairs; direct application on a company website, internet job boards websites dealing specifically with employment and career and are designed to allow employers
to post requirements for a position to be filled; and employment agencies - intermediary agencies
that find employers or employees for those seeking them (Center for Engineering Career
Development). When using traditional job search method, candidate will submit his resume and
cover letter and wait for an interview offer. However, this is the tough way to a career path. To

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exemplify, only 30% of job openings are actually posted. Moreover, the pool of candidates will
be much larger for these advertised opportunities. For example, for a single position of data
analyst at the UT Dallas Career Center posted on their website, there are 115 applicants.
Therefore, the process is extremely competitive when using this traditional method.

Non-traditional Job Search Method/ Networking as a Smart Approach to Career Success

The scarcity and competitiveness of professional opportunities that the traditional job
search method create call for an alternative job search method. In his book The Facts of Business
Life, Bill McBean addresses the idea that among many factors building up a successful career,
networking is the most important one (McBean 36). The benefits brought by networking are
undeniable.
Before discussing further about networking, the definition has to be clearly understood.
The term networking derives from the term network in computer science, which refers to the
connectivity between different computers with the main purpose of sharing data. In the field of
career, networking can be understood as the connectivity between different people. In other
words, like Michelle Lederman says in her book The 11 Laws of Likability, networking is about
building relationships that support, connect, and enable people to prosper in every aspect of their
lives (Lederman 11).

Benefits of Networking
Job opportunities
When participating in professional organizations, job seekers have the chance to attend
many networking events where they can meet not only people sharing the same goals, but also

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their prospective employers. These events are the best opportunities for people to present their
skills and abilities that might impress employers. Moreover, during the events, they can also
listen to advices from the guest speakers prospective employers so that applicants will have
more information about what qualities employers are looking for. That is, despite external factors
such recession and high unemployment rate, one can still get hired if he possesses knowledge in
a particular field and smart networking methods.
Connections
Besides getting job opportunities, there are many other benefits that applicants can
receive from networking to prosper in their career. Gaining connections within a profession is
one of those benefits. Because people usually have a tendency of working with people they are
familiar with, connections are advantages (Lederman 11). The connections applicants have can
take them to many other connections that will benefit their career. For example, as Lindsey
Pollak mentions in her book Getting from College to Career, her fellows in a nonprofit womens
business organization that she was working with took her to a local Rotary Club meeting. There,
she had some conversations and got to know about a scholarship to study abroad provided by the
club. The more she learned about the scholarship, the more she found the opportunity interesting.
Finally, Pollak decided to apply for it. Considering this, Pollaks connections indirectly give her
the scholarship to a master degree program in Melbourne, Australia, which she had never
thought about (Pollak 15).
Support
One of the main benefits networking gives job seekers is support. When participating in
professional networking, they have the chance to receive advices from experienced people within
their field. Discussing about common interests opens them to many valuable opportunities. For

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instance, they can get quality referrals from their connections. Also, networking is the fastest
way for job seekers to find help if they want to start a something new. The successes of big
companies and corporations have proven this true. As an illustration, when Mark Zuckerberg
founded Facebook in 2004, he had nothing but an idea about a social network to connect students
at Harvard University. However, with financial, technical and mental support from his college
roommate Eduardo Saverin and some other fellows, he quickly developed Facebook and made it
become the most popular social network within 2 years. In 2012, Facebook had over 1 billion
active users from all around the world (Woog 24). As can be seen, the support people can get
from networking is enormous.
Skills
Individuals can improve many important skills such as interpersonal skill,
communication skill, public speaking skill and leadership skill when networking. These skills are
very crucial to the development of their career. The more they network, the more mature and
knowledgeable they become. Therefore, possessing these skills can help them grow their
reputation and thus attract other people to network. As a result, their path to career success will
become easier (Misner 137).

Strategies
Make networking a hobby
Networking can be fun and treated like a hobby. Usually, people are afraid of networking
and try to avoid it because they consider it too serious. They forget that networking is something
they do everyday communicating with others. When it becomes a hobby, people will do it with
all of their passion and inspiration and thus, will attract others to network with them. By being

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willing, open, and thoughtful to everyone, they will gain a positive impression the first
important factor can create successful management of a social network (Ford 79).
Present skills and abilities
Before connections can help people succeed, they must give their associates a chance to
understand them. Presenting skills and abilities is the fastest way to make people understand
their proficiency. People can accomplish this by provide specific things they are able to do to
help prospective employers reach their targets, such as connecting sellers to customers,
recommending friends to job positions that are available or sharing helpful tips in a particular
field (Lynch 84). While helping others to achieve their goals, those who network have created a
positive image at the same time. By building up a positive image, they are open to many
opportunities that before they might have never expected.
Ask wisely
There will be times that job seekers might need help from their relationships. Asking for
help effectively is one of the most crucial skills that they need to master. If doing it wrong, they
will wreck their relationships. If not doing it, their relationships will become wasted. The only
solution is to do it right. Before asking for help, they must analyze the help from the other side.
That is, to predict whether their request for help can be accepted, they should put themselves to
the situation of people whose help they are going to ask. Mentally, people often consider two
factors when considering their request: how easy is it to complete and what are the benefits? Job
seekers should be able to answer these two questions properly in order to ask for help effectively
(Lynch 99). Finally, a thank-you note is always helpful.
Keep in touch

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Although when applicants have accomplished their goals, it is still important for them to

keep in touch with their connections. As mentioned above, networking can always lead them to
better opportunities that they have never expected. To make networking effective, people have to
do it regularly. There are some simple tips that they can use to maintain their networking such as
interacting on social networks, sharing helpful information, making a date for coffee or inviting
for company to a social event (Lynch 93).

Closing thoughts
Theory will never be useful without being put into practice. Although networking offers
tremendous benefits, not many applicants utilize it to facilitate their path to career success. It is
time for people to leave their resistance and start taking serious actions on networking to prepare
for their future. With its great convenience, networking is a promising method that will continue
to prosper and support peoples career.

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Works Cited

"Business Employment Dynamics Summary." Bureau of Labor Statistics. N.p., 01 May 2013.
Web. 2 May 2013.
"Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Job Search." Center for Engineering Career Development. N.p..
Web. 2 May 2013.
McBean, Bill. The Facts of Business Life. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. 36. Print.
Lederman, Michelle. The 11 Laws of Likability. 1st ed. New York: American Management
Association, 2012. 11. Print.
Pollak, Lindsey. Getting from College to Career. 1st ed. New York: Collins, 2007. 15. Print.
Woog, Adam. Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook Creator. 1st ed. Kidhaven, 2009. 24. Print.
Misner, Ivan. Networking Like a Pro. 1st ed. Entrepreneur Press, 2009. 137. Print.
Ford, David. Managing Business Relationships. 2nd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
2003. 79. Print.
Lynch, Liz. Smart Networking. 1st ed. McGraw-Hill, 2009. 83-99. Print.