Guest contributor

Are you embarrassed to tell people that you are unemployed? Get over it! Informing people that you are looking for a job is one of the most effective methods of job-hunting. In our parents’ or grandparents’ day, being unemployed may have had a stigma attached to it. Today, millions of people share your plight – unemployment is a sign of the times. You may take comfort in the fact that you have plenty of company out there, but it also means that there is plenty of competition for every advertised job. However, as any human resources professional will tell you, networking can give you an edge by reducing that competition because you may discover positions that have not yet been advertised or meet potential employers who realize they could use your skills. 

What is “networking?” It is anything from attending a party with friends, to dropping by a Business After Hours gathering, to talking with your neighbor across the street. I was picking up a video at the local Redbox movie rental today, and ended up talking to an acquaintance in line behind me about my job search and what type of work I was hoping to find. Networking. 

Networking is the best excuse for socializing that you’ll ever find. Case in point: I was feeling like it was time to leave the company at which I had worked for several years, when my mother received one of those cards in the mail inviting her to attend a cocktail reception at a local bank. She didn’t feel like going alone, so she invited me to tag along. While Mom was “shmoozing” with the bank officers, I grazed at the hors d’hoeuvres table and sipped some wine. Somewhere between the guacamole dip and the veggie crudite, I started talking to the president of a company and mentioned that I was looking for the next step in my career path. After talking for a few minutes, the president asked me, “Would you consider working for our company?”

She invited me to drop by with my resume, and we parted ways. No job was advertised, but there must have been a “spot” to be filled because I ended up working for her company for four happy years.

“Networking” doesn’t have to mean the job hunter does all the work (if you call going to cocktail parties work!) A few years ago, my friend’s husband found her a job by talking about her in a training course he was taking. His instructor happened to own the company that was offering the course, and was in need of an office manager at the time. My friend was 8 ½ months pregnant when her husband came home and told her that Mr. T. wanted to interview her. “He’s got to be kidding!” she laughed, as she told me the story. “The man hasn’t even met me. Nobody’s going to hire an 8 ½ month pregnant woman who wants to take maternity leave before she even starts a new position!” She went to the interview and started working for Mr. T. two months later. 

Another friend of mine ran into an acquaintance at the grocery store and proceeded to expound on the accomplishments of her daughter, as any loyal mother would. The man, who happened to run an organization, listened attentively. “Have your daughter call me,” he suggested. Next thing the mother knew, her daughter was working for the man’s organization. Moral of the story: “Encourage your relatives and/or spouse to brag about you.”

Short of walking around town wearing a pin stating, “I’m looking for a job,” networking is the best way I know to beat the crowd of applicants to an employment opportunity. In these days of online job searches and applications, networking gives you a chance to stand out as an individual in a sea of applicants.

Gup-Mathews invites readers to send thoughts regarding unemployment to her at “The Write Impression” at www.writeimpressionmaine.com.