Is it who you know, or what you know?

There are many qualified individuals that are able and willing to fulfill job openings. Then why don’t they get the job? When all is said and done getting a job comes down to who you know, not what you know. In my personal experience I didn’t have the qualifications to work in a cabinet mill, but my woodshop teacher recommended me to the owner of a company and without an interview or resume I was given the job. He never once asked me what I knew about woodworking, but went off the recommendation from someone we both knew and hired me on the spot.

Networking is vital in today’s economy. With more and more people getting college educations and degrees in every area of expertise, it is important that people build those relationships with others if they want the upper hand in the job field. You are more likely to purchase an item that you or a close friend have owned in the past, than to just go out and buy it without any prior knowledge. It may satisfy everything that you need it to do, but without that backing from a trusted individual it is a harder decision. This example applies when going into the job field. An employer is more likely to hire someone who has been “tested and proven” than to risk getting a “dud”.