Fred Schindler
IMAGE LICENSED BY INGRAM PUBLISHING
I was recently talking to someone who had just started a job search. He was looking through online job postings and sending out his resume. That’s not a great way to find a job. It’s not a great way for an employer to find an employee either. Yet this has been the baseline approach, seemingly forever. Job postings used to be in printed publications. Now, they are on websites and on LinkedIn.
I’ve had a successful career. I’ve had a summer internship, full-time jobs, and consulting work.
Even though I have occasionally responded to an advertisement, none of these jobs came that way. They all came through networking. Over my career, I’ve developed an extensive network of colleagues and acquaintances. I stay in touch with as many people as I can. I don’t do this because I want to exploit them for the benefit of my career. I do this because they are my friends.
I started my career with an engineering job right after I finished my bachelor’s degree. Companies sent representatives to our campus so that they could screen prospective candidates. Those of us who showed promise were invited to visit a company facility for a full interview. I participated in the process and was invited to visit the facilities of a handful of company locations. I received a few offers and accepted the one I thought was best. It was a good job, at a good salary, in a location I liked. It was a great first step in my career.
For a long time, I thought that I had found that job all on my own. But I probably didn’t. A family friend was a manager in the company that hired me. He wasn’t in the same facility that hired me. He wasn’t even in the same division of the company. But eventually, I came to realize that his influence helped me get that job offer. I hadn’t intentionally made use of my network, but my network helped me land that job.
Years later, I was able to move to a different job within that same company. That job gave me great technical and management opportunities. I was able to get that job because the manager of that organization knew me. That was also a matter of networking. When it came time to leave that company, it was for a company I knew and where key people already knew me. Networking again.
It’s been that way for the rest of my career. I had two other full-time jobs. One I sought out. Some of the leaders there already knew me. The other one came out of the blue. A friend called me and asked me to consider a position. It was a great opportunity, and I’m grateful he thought of me.
I’ve also done quite a bit of consulting. I’ve promoted my consulting services and reached out to some companies to explore opportunities. But, in thinking about it, virtually every consulting project I’ve worked on came through my network.
Networking works both ways. My network has tapped into me. I’ve hired people who I already knew. There is one engineer who I hired three times! I’ve also connected people in my network. There have been cases where I knew capable people who I was not able to hire, and I also knew people who were trying to hire good people. I connected them. Some of my friends got good jobs, and others got good employees. I didn’t have to make those connections, but that’s what networks do.
There are people in my network who market technology and who sell products. I’ve never worked in sales or marketing—I don’t think those roles fit my personality. But I have friends who are good at it. I’ve worked closely with some of them on proposals, projects, and products. I’ve also worked closely with some as a volunteer for the MTT-S and IEEE. They have sometimes contacted me to discuss technology developments and needs and to offer me products. These, too, have been positive interactions. I’m sure I’ve helped them. But I’ve also learned of innovative products early and been able to make purchases with favorable terms. Good networks work in both directions.
When I began my career, there was no Internet, and I was a couple of decades into my career before LinkedIn appeared. Virtual networking is useful. I was an early user of LinkedIn, prompted by the suggestion of a former boss. I find that it is most useful as a way to stay in touch with my physical network. I try to connect virtually with most people I know. That way, we don’t need to keep track of each other’s e-mail addresses. We can always get in touch. I also have a completely virtual network—people I know only via LinkedIn and other social networking platforms. To me, this is a secondary network. My physical network is also part of my virtual network. My purely virtual network doesn’t often bring people into my physical network. There is no reason for it to be so, but physical connections are closer, and the interactions are more substantial.
Either way, my network is my community. It’s my professional social group. It’s why, when I attend IMS, it feels like a reunion. It’s an opportunity for us to share our personal and professional lives. There are benefits to building a network, tangible benefits that can help find work, products, or sales. But the greater benefit is creating communities.
For those of you who are starting out in your careers, make building your network a priority. You already have one, even if you don’t realize it. Classmates, colleagues, instructors, and friends are part of your network. When you meet someone at IMS, including me, follow up with a LinkedIn invite. And remember, you only get as much out of your network as you put into it.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2023.3242519