Intensive Networking To Offset a Bad Job Market

Before coming to business school I was already aware of it and had tried to practice it.
Now while I’m at school there are various events or times in between events specifically for it.
Whenever I tell my wife about this she comments as though she has a bad taste in her mouth: “Oh, you’re doing that.”
What is it? Networking.
For me it has seemed like the necessary evil (emphasis on evil) of being in the business world. Some doctors have to stick their hands in unpleasant places, business people have to network. It’s our cross to bear.
So, when the Career Management Center advertised a three hour session on Intensive Networking I thought about switching professions (surely doctors don’t have it this bad). But, I was wrong.
Roy Cowell is an executive recruiter/transition coach based out of Chicago. He’s worked or consulted with McKinsey, BCG and several other companies (I couldn’t write them all down quickly enough to recount them here). Anyway, he’s been around the block and knows his stuff. How did we get him to come speak at UNC Kenan-Flagler…through Jeff Fischer’s network. Jeff is the head of our career management center.
We had probably 200 people at his talk last night and I am pretty sure that everyone entered the room with the same skepticism that I did. “Intensive Networking? Sounds like in-your-face-multi-level-marketing.” But the talk was really good, worth every one of the 180 minutes we were there. Roy systematically deconstructed the job market and explained why it doesn’t really matter that “the job market is so bad” and then explained (from a recruiter’s perspective) how most jobs get filled.
After giving us some great context to understand the landscape, Roy laid out a three step process for an effective job search, complete with explanation of how many people go about it wrong and how to do it right. He used stories from experience to describe various tactics and gave a lot of depth around each of the sub-steps involved in the main categories.
Now with this description I’m sure that this can sound like any old pep talk in a down job market, but this was different. What impressed me the most was something that has been present throughout my experience at Kenan-Flagler. Roy discussed/explained/disarmed networking in such a way that he explained some of the phenomenon that I have experienced in my working experience, he challenged some of the ways that I already thought about networking (“using” your network) and taught me several new tips in a framework of understanding that I hadn’t seen before.
It was a good session…long, but I’m glad that I went.
Jeremy Bergwerff

The Job Search

As a 2nd Year currently in the process of finding a post-graduation job, I feel compelled to tell my experience.

First of all, unless you had a great experience during your Summer Internship and you are sure to go back to this Company after graduation, there are a few reasons to continue the job search throughout your 2nd year:

Scenario 1: You had a riveting experience during your Internship and got an offer…but you’re still be interviewing for other positions just to see what is out there. You need to be able to conduct an educated negotiation on your initial offer, right?

Scenario 2 (My case): You had a great Internship and you wanted to go back to this company upon graduation. The only problem is that, for some reasons – the recession, in this case – said company did not extend offers to any of its interns. Well, life goes on and you need a job.

Scenario 3 (The Nightmare Internship): You thought you would love your project and the company…but it was the extreme opposite. You had an excruciating summer and realized that you did not fit with the company and could never relate to the company’s culture. That’s what Internships are all about, right? At least you could test the waters and didn’t make a bad full-time job decision. Still – back to square 1…

I am certain that you have all heard about the current state of the job market. Obviously, it is much easier to have an offer right out of your Internship and stroll through your 2nd Year without this sword of Damocles hanging over your head. But – let’s face it – not everyone is that lucky, especially in this economy.

Despite the doom and gloom, there are still plenty of jobs out there for MBAs, but you might have to make some concessions to get there: a lower pay grade, picking your 2nd or 3rd company choice, or relocating to Arkansas. The key is to keep looking and to network, network, network.

That said, I am off to applying to a dozen positions all over the US and Europe today. Wish me luck!

Alex