Making a New Network after a Move

I recently answered a question from a woman who had moved to California for better job prospects after a divorce.  However, although she was well-qualified, she was having difficulty finding a job, and she was sounding desperate, contemplating yet another move for better prospects.

The problem really was 3-fold:  Her job search was unfocused, she had cut herself off from the network of people who knew her in her home, and she hadn't established a new network in her new location.

First, she needed to define the job that she wanted, and then she needed to develop a list of preferred potential employers, so she could focus her search and her networking efforts.  It's hard to hit a target when it keeps moving (or when you keep moving it yourself).

Then, she needed to establish a new network in her new location:

• Locate local members of the "old" network:
  
  Ask her friends and family to see if they know anyone who now lives in California, preferably near her new home.
  
  Also, check out LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Classmates, etc. to find old friends, former colleagues, and others from the past who might live in her new location, too.

• Develop a new network:
  
  Check out her college's career center.  Most schools have caught on to the benefits of helping alums as well as recent grads, and they often have a network of alums scattered across the country who help other alums.  She can contact those people to ask for advice, preferably from someone in her target industry, profession, and/or one of her target employers.
  
  If she had joined a church, synagogue, etc. in the new location, she might find a job search support group there that would help her network.  These networks are usually very helpful, as long as they aren't all that you do.
  
  There are also many independent job search support groups run by local governmental agencies, non-profit organizations like the Jewish Vocational Services, career coaches who offer free or low cost services as part of their outreach, people who just like to help others, etc.
  
  She could also contact local professional and/or industry organizations where she could meet people who work for her target employers.  Volunteering in those groups is a great way to meet people and establish credibility at the same time.

Of course, the most important thing to remember about networking is to help others, to give as well as receive.

Bottom Line:

People with good networks don't often find themselves job hunting, because when they are ready to move, they tap into their network for new opportunities (or the new opportunities tap them).  If they do need a job, unexpectedly, they land one relatively effortlessly.

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Comments

[Entry Level Blogger]

Here's a rub for you:

What if your network does not help? Does that mean you have a weak one? You need a bigger one? And where do you draw the line between faithfully using a network as a benefit to both connections and becoming a job-seeking nuisance?

Basically, what I'm saying is that a network is good, but there's gotta be something there to influence the network into giving you a job or helping you get a job. It's not just like one will magically appear to you because you have professional friends, which is, unfortunately, how many "networking gurus" and the like portray a network to be.

[job search]

Networking is essential to getting a good job. Great article.

[Gustafson]

Don't forget to check your local unemployment agency as they keep a list of networks like this to help those seeking employment...

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Gustafson
http://www.theviewfromhome.com/thejobhunt - my job search notes