18 Apr 2016

‘Networking’: the word that every driven young person trying to navigate the employment world needs to know (and stop being so terrified of).

“It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know,” they hear. “It’s all about putting yourself out there”.

But what exactly does this mean? How easy is it to “put yourself out there” when you have no family contacts and no opportunity at university or high school to skip ahead and meet the employers directly?

First thing’s first, you have to figure out what industry you’re interested in. Do you want to start your own business? Work in accounting? Manage events or work with dogs? Write down your end goal and think of the avenues to get there.

Secondly, master the way you introduce yourself. Have a solid handshake, enunciate all of your words and have a pile of questions on the back burner (quick tip: everyone loves to talk about themselves).

And finally, get connected. How?

1. Register yourself on LinkedIn

Make your profile look snazzy, fill out everything you possibly can (yes, that includes job summaries) and keep close tabs on industry professionals in the area you’re interested in. Follow their articles and like their posts. Keep your name floating about and you might just have an in with some of the big dogs in the industry.

2. Look up communities and groups that exist in your area

You’d be surprised what’s out there. Cities are full of co-working spaces and those spaces are full of entrepreneurs that are either ready to dole out advice, or in need of people with specialties in something. Are you a genius with web developing? A pro with graphics? A master with numbers? Often your skills don’t need to be proven with a piece of paper, just passion and action.

3. Attend events

The great thing about Facebook is that all of these once exclusive meetings you had to be ‘in the know’ to hear about are publicised. Head along, make use that solid handshake you’ve got and try to get to know people. It’ll be hard to strike up a conversation at first, but the more networking events you attend the better you’ll get. And if all else fails–free food and booze!

4. Don’t be afraid to ask

Want a job in writing? Slide it into conversation, start talking like you already do it. You never know where that news will trickle down to–whether into the hands of an employer, or someone who knows someone who knows someone. Fake it til you make it, ya know?

I came to write for Year13 because I mentioned I was interested in business to a guy who picked me up hitchhiking from Byron Bay to Sydney. He introduced me to a business page on Facebook and I found Year13 through that. I sent a blind email, mentioning the very faint link between us and it worked. I didn’t need my degree, I didn’t need a resume, I simply needed drive and passion.

This drive and passion usurps qualifications in this developing world. If you and I recognise that it’s about who you know, we need to adapt to the system and start looking out for opportunities ourselves. It’s easy to sit on our butt and complain about it, but you’ll be kicked to the outskirts and it’s inevitable that you’ll have to adapt.