Why should you network in the first place?

The value of personal connections when building your career (or seeking out other opportunities) has for many years been captured in sayings like ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know.’ More recently, research has confirmed the importance to one’s career progression of making personal connections: by some estimates, up to 60 per cent of jobs are never advertised, belonging instead to what recruitment experts call the ‘hidden job’ market.

Such hidden jobs are usually filled by candidates who catch the attention of recruiters through personal referrals or by making a strong impression at a networking event. This gives them an enormous advantage beyond being considered for an unlisted position: according to one survey, referred applicants are five times more likely than average to be hired, and 15 times more likely to be hired than applicants from a job board.

To read more of this article by Jaymes Carr, click here.