Nepotism-Its who you know gets you the job!
Nepotism is a life and practiced every day in USA, Canada as it is famous in the middleast, Africa and Asia. I have a friend who have a daughter that graduated from SAT X-Ray program top of her class and was doing her practicum in one of the hospital in Calgary along with other 3 girls in the program. When this girl graduated and done the CAMRT the national exam she passed with fine color and the other 3 girls have failed the national exam. Logically she should get the job in the hospital as they need techs. but the hospital and Union selected the other 3 girls and they kept them working under eligible to write the exam again. What a peace of crab is that!!!Those who know some one that know some one who can get you the job should have no value in today society. It is harmful for every body for the patients and for staff and for the student moral. Why you hire those who failed the exam what are you trying to prove. but this is Calgary for you and I am sure your city and town is almost the same.
A man was talking about how he got his job as a manager of marketing and advertising job in one of the medical centro in town. One of his relative, a share holder in the clinic helped him to get in. He was young punk, rude and without any social skills. Later he was let go due to his lack of knowledge by the President of the center. He explained how a family friend had got him a job at the place.
Is this kind of story becoming increasingly common in today’s market? In your clinic and hospital, in your bank and private business?
In the board game, Life, you start by choosing one of two paths – Go to school or go immediately into the workforce. The path of school takes longer, but it comes with greater rewards. What’s not built into the game is networking.
The reality is that having a vast network drastically tips the scales. Although education and credentials are still highly valued, most jobs never get posted to the public. If a job opening comes up, the first thing a company will do is ask, “Who do you know?” or “Do we have someone that can do this?” Or hire someone who can be a horse work and ass kisser, the yes sir men, or the low cut skirt female front desk worker.
Hiring is a huge burden to a lot of companies with no guarantees of what you are going to get. A familiar face who is already ensconced in the company is much more likely to get that job than Jen or Joe, outsider who have the right qualification and good experience but without knowing anybody from the inside.
That is why networking is so important. The larger your network, the more access to opportunities you have. It shouldn’t be that way, but this is the reality of the work place and it is the most unfair and most stupid way to do things and in my book it should be illegal.
Mark Granovetter of Johns Hopkins University published a paper called “The Strength of Weak Ties” and his research found that weak contacts, even distant acquaintances, are often more powerful sources in our network than close friends. According to the study, in more than 80% of the time, people found jobs through weak connections.
The Goals of Networking are to:
Meet new people
Maintain connections
Create opportunities
Do something for somebody
I was talking with a friend at a dinner party that was full with doctors, managers, supervisors and technologists design to recruit people. A female tech was in this place, she was fully engaged in the conversation, when I start to talk about something she jump and interrupt, and I politely pull myself and leave to different group and start new conversation that all enjoyed. I looked at other side and seen her quiet in her corner as she don’t have new idea to talk about. Then she move to my area and push herself in and start rubbing shoulders and again interrupt me when I start the conversation with one of the managers, and I leave her again and go somewhere else. Many did the same looking at each other and talking about how desperate this lady was to find the right connection. While some managers were talking to her in our circle, she wasn’t focusing at them at all, she kept looking around, almost as if she was looking for someone more important to talk to. This is considered rude and offensive. When you talk to people, be engaged, develop a rapport. Good eye contact is important. Good networkers don’t assume anything, and they never judge a book by its cover.
Networking is not about strong-arming people into talking with you or collecting as many business cards as you can, be subtle about it.
Being a good net worker involves being a good conversationalist, and not just a good interrupter of other people conversation, it is easy to add point than to star one.
You don’t always have to talk about business, ask questions and demonstrate an interest in the other person. This will develop a good rapport and may allow you to learn something new.
Be interesting, have things to talk about, have opinions on things, stay up to date with current events, be a good listener. Essentially, be the type of person that you would want to meet at a party or event. Selling yourself does not mean that you just talk about yourself and boast about your achievements; this will actually do more damage than good.
Topics of Conversation to Avoid:
Politics and religion (unless your views are similar),
Kids (unless you both have them and want to talk about them,
Intimate details of your personal life or their life. Any topic lead to discrimination, prodigious , human rights violations etc.
Have a good introduction – Introductions, establish your credentials and tell others what makes you or your company interesting or unique. Keep it short, simple, and memorable – a good introduction will be 20 seconds or less.
Address people by their name – addressing people by name not only allows you to remember it, but it also creates a positive, friendly feeling. When someone remembers and says our name, we feel flattered. Be polite and respect other people privacy, do not be backstabber and gossiper, don’t be a witch. Don’t be ass kisser.
If you cannot remember someone’s name, the best thing to do is confess, say something like, “I’m sorry, could you please tell me your name again.” Do this before you get too far in the conversation. or remove yourself from the conversation as soon as possible. That’s why it is good habits that people in the seminars wore a tag name. Give easy nick name for yourself, if your name chaikofesky call yourself chuck, who cares. If your name is mahadarajakumari call yourself Maha etc.
Greetings – Really good net workers always say, “Nice to see you” or “Great to see you”, to avoid the awkward and embarrassing problem of saying “Nice to meet you” and already have met them before. Be Genuine – People do business with those they know and trust. Being genuine helps to develop a rapport.
Some social events, such as an alumni meeting, give you the ‘permission to network’ while other social events, such as an intimate house party, does not. You never want to be too abrasive that you rub people the wrong way. Join organizations that give you ‘permission to network’ .
One of the most important things you can do to network is to go to events. Accept invitations, host your own events, buy tickets to events, just make sure you show up to as many as possible. Your first instinct should be to say ‘yes’ to things. This will allow you to establish a good reputation and be well respected. Attend convention and seminars, workshop and classes.
Many people expect immediate results when they network and it just doesn’t work that way. Just showing up to events doesn’t guarantee anything. It takes time to build relationships. Instead of being discouraged saying, “I didn’t meet anyone worthwhile.” You should ask yourself, ‘What did my contacts gain from meeting me?’
I follow up that noisy lady who was interrupting every one after the seminar and I saw her going with some old man, a hot shot and drove to nearby hotel, I knew then she will get the job and sure enough she did until this day.
If you immediately hit it off with someone, you don’t have to wait for the next function to see them again. Invite them out to lunch. If you’ve initiated the invitation, it is customary to pay. This is also a way future engagements happen – the other person will likely want to treat you next time.
Don’t beat a dead horse. If your follow-up email goes un replied, don’t continue to harass them. Before sending communication to a budding acquaintance, ask yourself, “Is what I am about to send going to add any value to this busy person’s life?”
Steve Ramsey.