Welcome to the second entry in my series on job
As I ponder over what to write for my second entry on job hustling, I am listening to the opening theme song of one of my favorite series ever: Game of Thrones.
(Pardon the digression, but I am really more into the book series than the TV series. The former is a lot richer in detail!)
Ah, Game of Thrones, the series that is essentially about hustle albeit hustle taken to extreme lengths. In the hopes of planting an arse on a spiky metal
Back to job hustling. The job market can feel a little like the battleground of Westeros, what with loads of candidates competing for coveted jobs and some people resorting to dubious tactics like lying, forgery and sleeping around to get ahead. It's hardly a level playing field either; people getting employed due to their familial ties is not something unheard of. All's fair in love, war and job hunting eh? I'm definitely thankful summoning monsters and dark sorcery do not come into the picture of the real world! Given the competitive job market, what is the best way to hustle and get ahead (without doing anything unethical of course)?
Network. Tap into your existing network and find ways to expand it. It may be a dog-eat-dog world out there, but you cannot be too proud to ask around for help when you need it and be ready to reciprocate to the people who helped you. Remember, friendships, love and kindness are not extinct even in the hostile world of Westeros. Heck, it is often what keeps many of the characters (still) alive!
Why is networking important? Because it is usually not just what you know that matters, but who you know as well. Did you know, for instance, that more than half of job vacancies are unadvertised? Would it not be great if you just happen to know someone in a particular field you are interested in who could give you a heads up on any opportunities and perhaps vouch for you as well? My own job hustle, while not successful yet, would never have come this far if not for the leads I received from folks I know who either happen to be in fields I am interested in or know other people in such fields. Knowing people is especially important if you are trying to break into a new field. For instance, one of the fields I am interested in is PR, but I do not know any PR professionals within my network. Recently, I did manage to get an interview with a PR firm (the story of how I managed to pull that off successfully despite no PR experiences whatsoever shall be shared another day ;) ). Through talking to the interviewers (PR professionals themselves who are enthusiastic about their field), as well as visiting the office, I gained loads of insight from people who lived and breathed the profession. I plan to meet more PR folks through an upcoming networking event this month. Even if there are no job opportunities available, I can still learn a lot about the industry: upcoming trends, skills in demand, what hiring managers look out for etc.
You may not always get the leads you want from within your network (you might have to expand your network to get those leads). Don't let that stop you from even trying though, as awkward as it may be to ask for help. Pretty much everyone I turned to for help has offered support and advice in one way or another. One friend, a Japanese gal I have known since my first semester in university, tried to help me land a job in PriceWaterhouseCoopers 's Singapore office. She got her current role in PWC's Japan office through a referral from a friend, so she offered to help me out by asking her Japanese colleague based in PWC's Singapore office to forward my CV and interest to the Singapore hiring managers. Unfortunately, her colleague was unable to help as she did not know the relevant hiring managers. Nevertheless, I'm grateful to my buddy in Japan for trying to help me out by asking on my behalf, all the way from Japan. It's support and encouragement like this that keeps me going through my darkest hustling days. Remember, though, that while people usually like to help, they don't like to be used! I make it a point to thank every one who has helped me so far, and when I finally get a job, I'd thank them again!
Don't be a lone wolf hustler. Trust me, it is not productive and if things do not work in your favor for a long time, you will end up with this bitter me-against-the-world feeling that can turn you into a soddy douchebag. Kind of like Viserys Targaryen. And we know what happened to Viserys Targaryen in the end. So, don't be too shy or too proud, seek help from your network and be kind in turn!
Image by BeAware8 from here
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