by teamrecNetworking today, is fast becoming a powerful tool to identify a decent job / opportunity. Reports say, about 85% of the jobs nowadays, are being filled through word of mouth or Networking. Though, I personally don’t agree with the statement fully and think it’s exaggerated, still, one cannot discount the role of Networking in these times of increased communication channels.
Broadly, one can classify three categories of job getters; those, who have never used networking, secondly, who have got one or two opportunities through networking, but have got other jobs by applying through alternative methods or more traditional methods, and, those, who have got their jobs only because they knew someone, only through networking.
At a time, when recession has hit people and organisations hard, social networking sites like Apnacircle.com, Linkedin.com, and ibibo.com etc., are giving a tough competition to job portals like Naukri, Monster, and Timesjobs etc. which have a cost attached to it.
For students too, who are passing out, the future looks a bit brighter with easy access to professionals and organisations through networking sites. They have access to these sites and most of them have their profiles displayed and are making a conscious effort to build contacts or Network. The Institutions and students, have both woken up to the role of the Alumni and are making an effort to network with the majority of them, hence opening up a vast number of opportunities. The Networking sites are aiding these processes with easy access, low cost and minimal time lag.
A benefit of networking is that many employers / professionals often visit various career oriented groups and communities on these sites to enhance their knowledge base. It provides the opportunity to build up a professional network, where prospective employers and employees come to connect and build relevant contacts. Various job openings are also listed in a section from where one can look out for job opportunities. So, it is easy to make friends and connect with them and to build one’s contact for the future.
In this context, would like to share a personal experience, I had a month back. I have been connected to quite a few of my associates, seniors and college mates on one of the Networking sites. In addition to this, am also a part of various Alumni and professional Groups / Association. One of my Networks at a senior position, working with a medium sized organisation was looking for a Sales professional which he mentioned on his profile. I happened to notice the same in the Updates which are provided by the site. The profile was matching with that of one of the other Networks and I asked them to connect and it worked out within a fortnight.
It is also a fact that the number of fake profiles and fudged resume is significantly lower on networking sites as skills and achievements of a person are seen by many others including current colleagues, so the scope for exaggeration is reduced.
Additionally, the professional and social stigma attached to the floating of a profile on a job portal means letting others know that one is seeking a job, which has kept senior and middle management professionals away from associating themselves with job portals, is not there with networking sites.
Although the networking sites these days are indisputably emerging as a formidable platform for recruiting middle and senior level professionals across industries, the HR industry is divided on whether the share of hiring through networking sites is actually eating into the business of existing job portals or tapping into a new universe within the online recruitment pie. Internal employee referrals also remain an important channel for recruitment in major companies even now, as the drop out ratio is low for these candidates.
Getting a job through a networking site is considered very incidental in nature. For recruiters also, networking sites help particularly when looking for candidates having niche skills or for roles-based in alien geographies. When working on a project based recruitment or bulk recruitments the results are yet to be seen. In totality, one would still have to look at concrete figures rather than go by hearsay.
So, while networking can certainly be a huge help while one is looking for a stable job, it is important to use other channels, including job listings, job fairs, employment agencies, etc. In addition to the fact that many positions are not widely advertised, especially at senior levels, finding a job through networking often means there is less competition as compared to other channels but finding positions can be incidental too.
A clear picture can only emerge once time is given for the process to evolve and the result analysed with concrete facts. Networking has a strong case as an alternative tool for recruitments but how potent ………. only time will tell. It has yet to be seen to hold an independent identity in the long run, or whether, it slowly merges as an alternative to the existing players in the Job Portal segment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar is currently working as Assistant Professor & Associate Head (Training & Placement) in Academy of Business & Engineering Sciences (ABES), a Ghaziabad based Institute (ranked number 3 amongst self financed institutions affiliated to Uttar Pradesh Technical University, Lucknow). He has over nine years of exposure in Campus Recruitments, Staffing Solutions, Client Servicing and Business Development.
He holds Master of Business Economics (MBE) in Marketing from DAVV, Indore and PG Diploma in HRM from IGNOU, New Delhi.
He specialises in designing and implementing strategies related to campus recruitment drives, which focuses on the four M’s (Place More Students to More Companies at More Salaries and More often). As a proactive planner with a flair for adopting emerging trends and addressing industry requirements, he successfully achieved organisational objectives on year on year basis.
Recently, he has successfully organised Faculty Development Programme (MISSION10X) in association with WIPRO Technologies Ltd.
