Resumes Are Weird; You Must Network to Find a Job

When it comes to picking a movie, who do you trust more: your friend or an online movie critic you’ve never met?

If you picked movie critic, perhaps you need new friends. Just sayin’.

In most cases, we trust the opinions of our friends over strangers.

Our friends know us and we know them.  We have grown to value their opinion. They have our best interests at heart and would tell us the truth.

We believe them when they tell us we would enjoy the film.

The same principle is true when it comes to hiring new employees.  We believe our friends and trusted colleagues know us well enough to suggest good candidates for job openings.

This is one reason networking is crucial to your job search.   You must use your network to provide personal recommendations when it comes to securing a job.  

This video by Domics Animation is a clever demonstration of why networking is so important.  He’s right: hiring managers tend to hire someone based on the recommendation of a trusted friend or colleague over hiring a stranger.

The creator is clearly not a fan of resumes, stating “Resumes are weird”, although I believe a good resume is necessary since most of the time we all have to apply for jobs via the company’s website.  May as well make it the best it can be.

And I disagree with the author that young people don’t have networks to help them find their first job.  Even kids in high school have classmates, teachers, and friends of their parents to tap into to help find a job.

Remember: Even with a recommendation you still need to bring you’re A-Game to the interview and to the job itself.  With privilege comes great responsibility; you need to prove your worth.

The important point is to build your network and use that network when searching for a job.

Take a look!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ4NdEtc29o