I thought about the above statistic as I read a new book called The 11 Laws of Likability: Relationship Networking . . . Because People Do Business with People They Like.
My favorite chapter was one on “The Law of Perception” that discussed nonverbal body language and how important it is in a job interview or in business dealings. Making eye contact, standing tall, and pausing at the right time can all lead to positive perceptions whereas lack of eye contact or staring, slouching and coming off as insincere and fake can give a negative impression that loses you a job interview or potential client.
I used to think it was unfair that people had to get others to like them or had to know someone to get a job but I realize that this analysis was unfair itself. Why would someone want to hire someone or do business with someone who is not recommended by a person that you think highly of? Is a complete stranger with no known background a better bet? I doubt it.
Fair is a word of the Left – is it just is the right question, and that’s the question you answered.
And this is the core of ‘why’ 2d or more generation welfare people cannot find jobs. First, the EXAMPLE of a family/friend going to work on a regular basis just doesn’t exist. And Second, they have no ‘connections’, family or otherwise, to smooth their way into a first job.
Government ‘seminars’ and etc cannot be substitutes for ‘connections.’ But then, no government ‘service’ can substitute for family or friends.
I hear what you’re saying. However, as a community college instructor, I’ve had quite a few students in that situation. Those who prove they can work hard get a recommendation from me. Education is a much better proving ground than some government agency because the students have to put in the sweat equity.
Letters of introduction used to be very important, very necessary, things. One was careful of giving them out, because one’s own name could suffer. Even introductions at formal parties were important. They would not even talk to you without one. A joke to highlight this:
An American man and a British woman met on the first day of a cruise, and hit it off immediately. They spent the whole week together, and had sex frequently. They parted after the cruise.
A year later, the American ran into her at a soiree, and started talking to her. She interrupted him and said, “I beg your pardon, but have we been introduced?” His response was, “Last year, we spent a whole week together on a cruise having wild sex!” The woman then said, “And what makes you think that THAT constitutes an introduction?”
Social customs can be taken too far, but if they are relaxed too much, then the structure disappears entirely. Employees and employers struggle to connect. Also, there is no incentive to maintaining a good name. That also means one less reason for self-restraint for individuals.
That’s so true. Another stat is that only around 20% of available jobs are advertised. The first thing employers do is ask their contacts for referrals–posting a job opening is a last resort.
My husband was recently laid off for the third time since 2003. First thing he did was tap into his extensive network of colleagues and former co-workers. He has an interview tomorrow, with a company which has not advertised its two job openings.
this has a corollary- help people. don’t be envious. encourage people to pursue their dreams, even at a slight inconvenience to you. in clear language- help your employees if they seek better jobs. at some point, they might be able to hire you, at a higher pay. encourage your friends to meet professionally. help them build a network of referrals- you’ll be in the middle of it. encourage them in their dreams and pursuits- tell them to get certified- help them with studying- see how you can help people or introduce people or encourage people. eventually the virtuous cycle raises you up, too.
Just remember: no good turn goes unpunished.
It’s not only that the employers gets a recommendation from someone they can trust, it’s also that the hiree now has extra incentive to perform. E.G. if your best friend recommends you for a job, you will not want to perform poorly at it and make your friend look bad.
What a bunch of BS – I’ve had over a dozen different jobs in 35 years of work (I retired at age 50 many “moons” back) and none were referals. I sought out five because I wanted to do that type of work, and to make money. Most of the rest were answering adds in the paper. I worked my way up from kitchen crew at a Boy Scout Camp (age 15) to a Master Scheduler and Production Control Manager in the hi-tech environment of Silicon Valley. I was hired because of my skills, education and experience. Well, OK, my father (a retired Navy CPO)had to sign for me at age 17 so I could join the Navy, after that it was me 100pct.
Jim,
You were lucky. It’s not BS, you are just one of the 10%. I’ve been in the tech business for 25 years and only one position came from answering an ad. Every other one was through a referral. I finished my last contract in May and a client I was scheduled to work for in June cancelled the contract at the last minute. I landed a 60 day gig through a friend and now I am lined up for an interview with a big firm through a referral from a former employee of mine.
Having heard this stat before I polled about 15 of my friends, all 6 figure salary people with 20-30 years experience each. 13 of them had never had a job that wasn’t referred. The other two had one or two jobs early in their career without referral, but none had taken a job in the last 10 years without referral.
And yes, the job I’m going to go in for was not advertised.
Jim: Even if you *you* never tapped your network, you can bet the hiring managers in Silicon Valley did.
When I find someone that I think I might want to hire, the first thing I do is tap *my* network and find someone who worked with you (or who knows someone who did). It’s been years since I had someone except for a few straight out of school) who I couldn’t find a connection to in under an hour.
I’ve DQ’d several people based on finding out that someone I know thinks they’re a a bad hire.
I hate to be a negative nancy here, but your author needs to provide citations and maybe not use old data. Large companies fill roughly 30-40% of their jobs through employee referrals. And the definition of informal networking isn’t particularly well defined, if you know what I mean?
I’ve spent 12 years in employment, 7 of them writing about how to get a job and how to hire, and I hear it all the time, that informal contacts are how you get work. No one ever backs it up. They talk about one study down back in the 70′s.
It varies by company size, profession, and where you are in your career. A job at the family restaurant is not a job as a CEO is not a job with Pfizer or at a university. If a large company hires too much from employee referrals, they are probably guilty of disparate impact, an odius legal term for quotas. There are also OFCCP violations for hiring based on personal contacts. Smaller companies find they hire from referrals until they grow large enough, and their pool of employees is too shallow to grow. This is as true with small businesses who use family for counter help as it is large companies hiring BSA’s and developers.
There is a large universe of recruiting and HR blogs to draw information from. And while the author has an important point to make about non-verbal cues, getting to a point where they matter is a different skillset.
Here are two links. http://www.stlrecruiting.com/2011/08/scheduling-a-coffee-isnt-helping-you-get-a-job.html, this one a comment about asking informal networkers to coffee, and the second a video blog explaining the role of selling in staffing (salespeople in staffing go out and find jobs, like job hunters are supposed to do).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9kglPbdwo
If I come across as dismissive, it’s because the idea that informal networking gets you a job is sadly out of date, but it’s the easy thing to hear. That’s maybe 20% of what you need to know. For other resources, check out other blogs like “I’m On LinkedIn Now What,” Fistful of Talent,” and Recruiting Blogs.com.
There is something to this, although it may be somewhat exaggerated.
Exaggerated or not, this is why so-called “Affirmative Action” is such a shipwreck for non-minorities without connections. Affirmative Action does not bring about fairness, but rather a share of the unfairness.
Jim, I’d never hire you for a position where an understanding of probability was needed. Why? Since when did “60% to 90%” mean “all”?
I’ve done a lot of hiring across multiple industries and I can see where some people can be confused by this topic. Almost every hire I’ve made has come through my network (noun), but none have come through networking (verb). I didn’t attend networking events except when I was trolling for dates in my single days and don’t attend them now for any reason. From the hiring manager’s perspective, networking events are about the worst place to look for people.
Don’t give up hope though, some of the best hires I’ve made have come in over the transom. It can happen.
I’ve had a much different experience. I work as a software engineer. In 33 years, I had 12 jobs, starting with a student job found through a school aid office. The next two were through contacts. While working at my next big job, I did a series of small contracts,all through referrals. But starting one before that big job, all my mainline series of jobs have come about through recruiters. Two companies, one large and one very small, did their own recruiting, but the rest (5) have been through agencies. First contact with the recruiters came from them seeking me out. Three times, recruiters landed me in jobs that were, or became, full time permanent jobs.
I know a lot of people don’t like recruiters and agencies, but in software, they can work very well. I see it on the hiring side in my current job, too; unposted jobs are available first for employees to make referrals, but hired candidates ended up being candidates from agencies.
Like anything else, there are good agencies and bad ones. The good ones get you interviews for jobs that match your skills. The bad ones place you in weird interviews, if they get anything at all. You learn to tell the difference quickly. When you find a good recruiter, be a resource to them, and make their life easier – be a friend to get a job.
Although I go to a technical user group,successful networking there is pretty rare. And as Jacknut said, networking meetings are about the bottom of the pit,with unemployed people talking to other unemployed people.
Two cents worth, now worth more as copper.
This sort of monkey behavior means missing out on hiring competent people who detest this stupid monkey socialization. It is but one step up from picking at each other’s fur for nits.
Someone putting their word on you is worth more to me than your resume. Someone can forge a resume very easily, but can you forge a trusted associate’s word?
Interviewing can be a crapshoot too. I’ve seen a number of people who interview horribly who are excellent employees and quite a few people who interview great but are the worst employees you can hire.
Interviewing, resumes, and having a good network are all a part of a complete system to build the best portfolio of human capital possible. Even if you don’t partake in this kind of behavior others do, and you may actually have been hired in some cases because of some person recommending you over another candidate without you knowing.
guys, it’s not just “who you know.” It IS what you know. So, if you know banking, or software, and you know other people who know banking and software,other people might ask “is this a good person?” or ” will they work hard?” And, you can go get a job with an unknown, and then your boss will call up and chat. I’ve been standing there when my old boss called up my new boss, and said ” I heard you hired A….” and the conversation went from there.
And, say, you are a manager who has a good employee, and you fight, or lie, to retain that employee, even when they want to go to a better, higher-paying, more in line with their life goals jobs. Let’s say they succeed. Which they probably will. When you try to move up, anyone who knows what a jackbooted jerk you were, won’t help you. they don’t want you being in charge of people they like- you might try to mess up their friends’ lives, too. Not just out of companies, but within corporations. I know a woman who had to leave town, to get a promotion- sell her house and leave, and probably switch companies after that- b/c she had tried to sit on two of her very, very, very talented employees. They got out from under her, they went to better jobs- they talked about her with their new co-workers- higher up the corporate ladder- who talked to her supervisors—and she was stuck in her own little puddle of blocked ambition.
Whereas- my husband encouraged one of his direct reports to go back to school, to interview for a job that took him out of orbit- and that guy, ten years later, is in line above him- and saying good things to his supervisors. My husband loves his job, and his place- but he gets recruiting calls every six months- from all the people he encouraged, and all their friends.
and, crafty hunter- not only do you have to hire, you have to work with- that person- so, yeah, monkey socialization is worth it. Nobody wants to be around Dwight from The Office.
It’s not just a game of “hire my nose-picking incompetent nephew” It’s : are you human? Can you make your bosses’ life easier- can you help him find the next excellent, hard-working, terrific, easy to get along with, person? He likes you and your work- she can’t Xerox copy you- but your friends and co-workers that you like- are mostly similar to you in work ethic, temperament, and possibly even attitude to learning new skills.
my mom always stressed the importance of remembering people’s names and writing thank you cards– this advice alone has advanced my career more than any schooling or professional training i’ve done over the years
Re: Crafty HunterThis sort of ‘monkey behavior’ is called socializing and playing well with others. It’s a necessary and in many cases the primary skill required to be successful at a variety of jobs. I am an engineer, and let me assure you that this sort of ‘stupid monkey socialization’ is as critical to me and my job success as it is for any salesman or bartender. If you lack these skills, or don’t bother to take the time to use them it will directly affect your ability to actually perform in most jobs – not merely your ability to secure a job.
There is a difference between a large company and a small privately held company. In a small company the owner of the business probably makes the hiring decisions. In a large company there is a Human Resources department that makes the hiring decisions. In the small company the company owner knows what he wants when he makes a hiring decision. In a large company a set of requirements for an employee are generated and passed on to HR. No one in HR has any idea how to do the job that the opening is for – in a small company the owner does know how to do the job – he is looking for someone to do it for him. HR wants employees to come from an employment agency because they think the agency will vet the employee for them since HR has no clue what the actual job entails or how to select a qualified person to fill the job other than the written criteria they were given.
It is not surprising that a professional HR person like Jim Durbin would see things only from a large company perspective. The truth is that most jobs come from companies that don’t have HR departments – for most job seekers the hiring process is very different than it is in a big company. Because of the fact that small companies hire the most competent people available, HR departments never see that highly competent end of the employee distribution and don’t know how to handle such people if they do see them. Doubtless Mr Durbin you think you are doing a good job of hiring, but the truth is the best employees will never work for your company.
Thank you Observation, but I am a headhunter and a small business owner. I’ve placed hundreds of people at companies big and small, and worked with thousands of candidates as well. I’ve seen tens of thousands of resumes, and have spent the better part of a decade writing about HR, hiring, and employment
Blanket statements about HR are as accurate as blanket statements about, well, blankets. We may not like the reasons behind the hiring system, but it is a system. Most complaints come from people who want something, but don’t know how to get it.
I spend my days getting it.
As for small companies hiring competent people. Some do. Some don’t. Many owners have no clue what they need, or how to go about finding it.
The important thing to take away is that having an attitude of HR sucks or small companies naturally understand hiring is the problem. Each candidate has to understand what they want and how to connect with people who can give it to them. Almost all are focused on just getting a job, because they aren’t prepared when unemployment comes around.