Your Network Will Soon be a Job Qualification

October 22, 2008 at 11:14 am | In Career Development, Networking, Personal Branding, events, social media | 13 Comments

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Web 2.0 and the need to be hyperconnected

Right now, we live in a world, where we can almost “touch” anyone we want. Instead of six degrees of separation, we are at three degrees. It has never been easier to meet someone, especially when we see whose friends with whom on Facebook. People are revealing their information on their social networks and websites. Basically, people want you to email them, or call them on Skype or comment on their blog. The web has taken networking to a whole new level.

We used to be limited with who we could connect with, but now, web 2.0 has eliminated communication barriers and put everyone on common ground. Since this happened, you are free to interface with professors, reporters, celebrities and executives ON THEIR TURF (which is sometimes your turf too). Before web 2.0, you had to meet someone in person to either befriend them or get a new client, but now, you can reach thousands of people in a very short period of time. All this hyperconnectively has given rise to what I believe will be a new job qualification, your network.

You have to have a large network now – no excuses

If anyone ever told me they only knew 20 people, my jaw would drop. I’ve learned over the past few years how easy it is to reach out to people (don’t be afraid) or have people contact you directly.

“A blog is like a mousetrap, catching people who are passionate about your topic.”

There is starting to be an expectation that you have a large network because of this accessibility. There are no excuses! It doesn’t even make sense to me that people don’t consider using social tools to network.

Human resources demand “a large network”

So you thought having work experience and a relevant skill set was enough? Nope. Businesses realize that a strong network means better and faster business results.

  • When you have a large network inside a company, you have more resources and can get work done faster.
  • When you have a large network outside of a company, you have expertise available to help you do your job better, plus some “job security” and credibility or “relationship equity.”

Think about PR firms for a second. Many people are hiring based on experience with writing press releases or pitching media, when those factors aren’t as important as the person’s network. Who would you rather hire for your PR firm, someone with 5 years of work experience or someone who is friends with all the journalists in your clients industry? The PR expertise can be learned on the job.

It’s obvious and goes to prove that, especially in external communication functions, you need to weigh the person’s network. Years ago, it was impossible to really understand this, but today it’s as simple as a Google search. By using LinkedIn and Facebook, you can verify if someone has a strong network or not and let’s face it, a large network can put you ahead of the curve.

You’ll be seeing this more and more as we move forward. It’s been my prediction for a while. Your network, is not just your net worth, but a job qualifier!

13 Comments »

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  1. I liked your perspective on the PR firm hiring situation and the fact that we now only have three degees of seperation between everyone, hadn’t really thought of that before. It will be interesting to see how social networking begins to factor into the hiring process for individuals. Maybe a minimum number of Twitter followers or something!

    Comment by Brett Tilford — October 22, 2008 #

  2. This is an interesting perspective. I don’t disagree, but I wonder how much social networking online can ever really factor into things like the hiring process, especially considering the fact that most people still haven’t completely embraced the concept of networking online.

    You say “It doesn’t even make sense to me that people don’t consider using social tools to network” — personally I completely agree with this point, but the fact remains that most people haven’t gotten into the online presence concept yet. What do you think holds these people back?

    Comment by Nisha — October 22, 2008 #

  3. @Nisha – thanks for bringing that up. People hold back because of insecurities, because they are scared of this new medium and because they don’t know what to say and how to say it. The tools are available, but like everything else, the people who are ambitious are the ones that use them.

    Comment by Dan Schawbel — October 22, 2008 #

  4. Nice article Dan! I was recently chatting with someone who pointed out that in most firms there are 2 types of people- those that are focused on delivery (the actual work/product) and those that are focused on relationships (building networks and making sales).

    Most people can learn a tool or task fairly quickly, but developing soft skills typically takes much longer.

    Clearly, who do you think is more valuable? This is yet another point against those who push for simply working long hours making widgets (or PowerPoint slides!) Ha ha!

    Comment by Ian | OfficeTricks.com — October 22, 2008 #

  5. I partly agree with you.
    Yes networks are more and more available and we can approach more and more people. Yes people are more open to help, to spend times, etc.
    Nevertheless, the capacity to network is not exactly the same for everyone.
    In my opininion there are 2 factors :
    > the network size : number and the level of the people you know
    > the social ability : which is the ability to active your own networks. That is key, how do you turn a friend or a contact into an active members of your community.
    In fact with the democratisation of networks, comes the valuation of the social ability.

    Comment by stetoscope — October 22, 2008 #

  6. Good points!…it’s hard to measure the 2nd one though

    Comment by Dan Schawbel — October 22, 2008 #

  7. Dan, this is exactly it. It has always been a valuable asset to be connected to resources that will help your company – but with social media, it is now easier than ever to create connections with potential employees, business partners, etc. And the divide between those who have really built their personal brands with their community and those who have not is growing wider. Having a large and connected network will be a personal brand differentiator for those who really master social networking.

    Comment by William Arruda — October 22, 2008 #

  8. William Arruda has spoken! Thanks for commenting.

    People need to start paying attention to networking or they will be in severe shape in the future.

    Comment by Dan Schawbel — October 22, 2008 #

  9. I agree but the importance is in proportion to the job in question. When I look to hire a blogger, their network is already a job qualification for me right now. That said, it’s less important for my network administrator (although it can obviously still be helpful to have).

    Stumbled this for you, Dan:
    http://jobmob.stumbleupon.com/review/26765241/

    Comment by Jacob from JobMob — October 23, 2008 #

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