The Insider Guide to Careers
Insider information, secrets and tips about getting hired and building careers. For employees and job candidates.
If you are fed up with networking on LinkedIn, here are other options to consider:
1) Meet people directly:
In Bangalore, San Francisco or Mumbai, you will find tech employees and leaders in many hang-out spots like restaurants, gyms and Starbucks. Strike up random conversations with people, and you will be surprised by what you find. One of my IIT mentees lost his job and used to frequent a WeWork space in Bangalore. He was desperately looking for a job. After a couple of coffee table conversations, employees he met were happy to refer him for jobs in their companies. So even if you do not have a job, be in places where tech employees get together. You will never know what will turn out if you are outgoing and friendly.
I have heard of people who meet top business leaders in gyms, tennis courts, jogging sessions, etc. and become good friends. You can also meet up with people at places like incubation parks, PanIIT events, meetup.com, local get-togethers, etc. Another of my mentees who wants to be a project manager meets other business leaders through PMI chapters in different cities.
When volunteering for roles, do not go in thinking that your single goal is to find a job. Genuinely help people and gain trust through hard work. People themselves will ask you if you need any help from their end.
Another place to meet top people is at industry events, conferences, and trade shows. Most job seekers are scared to be in these places, but it is easy for a brave person to meet business leaders who are enthusiastic, happy, and gung-ho about meeting new talent. There are yearly events like SAASbhoomi, SAAS Devcon in India (to meet company founders), DEFCON in Las Vegas (hacker convention), RSA Conference (Cybersecurity), and others.
2) Student events:
If you are a student at a US university, you will have a bunch of options:
– Every university career development centre has an alumni directory. You should be able to access the information and get either phone numbers or email IDs. Direct emails typically go to the spam folder, so try to get the phone numbers. Never call directly. WhatsApp or SMS the person with a respectful message asking for an appointment.
– There are campus career events where many companies come to your college campus and try to meet students all across campus. Do advance research about the company, prepare a one-minute introduction and give a genuine answer as to why that company is a perfect fit for you. You will meet people from HR and the business. Try to get business cards and then email them your resume. You can also request follow-up meetings and sense if the company is hiring. If the company is hiring, you can then shoot for a referral.
– There are national career fairs like National Black, ROMBA, etc, targeting specific diversity groups like Blacks, Hispanics, LGBTQ, Veterans, etc. All these fairs I have mentioned are for MBA hiring; therefore, do similar research for MS and PhD hires. Go there if you identify with these groups. When I went to National Black in 2015, every friend said it would be a total waste of time. Nevertheless, I went there and got an internship offer from Dell within 10 minutes of talking to companies. National Black seemed to be a place where all MBA students were present, including white people from elite universities. I have even seen senior people, such as managers and senior managers, come to National Black. So, it is not only for MBA students.
I met the hiring team at General Mills at National Black and joined them for happy hours in the evening. This played a major role in my being shortlisted for interviews when I applied to General Mills for a full-time position later because the hiring team knew about me in detail.
– Talk to Professors and Deans. Most of them regularly call people from the industry for events on campus. The Professors are happy to connect you with their extended contacts if they feel that you are a good fit. Hence, do not forget the role that Professors can play. Rajat Gupta, the global head of McKinsey later in life, could not find any job after his MBA from Harvard. He even got rejected by Mckinsey. Rajat Gupta asked a Professor at HBA for help, and that referral helped him get a role at McKinsey.
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