When Looking For a Job it is All About Who You Know

When looking for a new job it is important to remember that almost as important as what you know is who you know. My baby sister recently got an AWESOME JOB working for an Internet company with whom I have many interactions. The pay is great. The insurance benefits are some of the best I've ever heard of, there is college course reimbursement, lots of room to move up, stability, and stock options. She heard about the opening because her boyfriend's brother works for the company. She applied but three weeks later had not heard back. When she mentioned this to her "brother-in-law" he made a trip over to human resources and told them they should pull her file. This was crucial in her getting an opportunity to interview for the job. It turns out that she was just one in over a thousand applicants who had applied. With that many applications it is easy to get looked over. Her "brother-in-law" made it possible for her to get an interview, than she used her skills to land the job. It reminds me of my days as a student. There was a job board at our school but it seemed like every job up there had either already been filled or was quickly filled by a friend of someone currently working the job. After six months of looking for a job that's how I finally landed mine. My roommate was an afternoon secretary. When the morning secretary quit she told me to apply. I remember my interview. I went in to meet the department chair. He looked at my resume and said, "So I see you are a zoology major. I'm reading this great book about Jane Goodall." And then we spent the rest of the interview talking about Jane. He never asked me how fast I typed. He didn't question my filing, phone, or computer skills. We simply spent twenty minutes talking about Jane and chimpanzees. After I left he asked my roommate if she liked me. She told him I was great and next thing I knew I had the job. Friends and family are a great resource when looking for work. They can let you know about job openings, they can make sure your resume gets noticed, and in the end they can be your number one reference. Just a reminder on one of your best resources when looking for work.