Building connections

Who are your connections?

Your connections are people you know well. These could be your present and past colleagues, your classmates from the schools and colleges you have studied in and other people you know, such as your friends, clients, vendors and acquaintances.

Why build connections?

Referrals are the most preferred mode of recruitment for many companies today. That means that you stand a much better chance of getting an offer from a company if somebody known to the company or working in that company knows you and recommends you.

For companies, referrals is a great source for getting the right candidates because employees know exactly what kind of people their companies need. Plus, referred candidates are by and large genuine candidates with good credentials.

From your point of view (as a jobseeker) too, referrals work great. If you had friends inside the company where you are applying, you will know exactly what is expected out of you and you will have inside information that will help you decide whether it is the right place for you.

In order to be referred, you need to know someone in that organization who can recommend you. Obviously, it is not possible to 'magically' find such a person just in the nick of time. As marketers know, you need to cultivate your network now in order to be able to find the right people when you need them.

Bottom line: Referrals work - for you and for the companies. Referrals require contacts. Contacts that you have to build/renew now, to be able to reach later.

How to build connections

The best place to start is to connect to your classmates, past and current colleagues, and then move on to friends, acquaintances and other people you know.

Start now. You'll probably need them sooner than you think!