• Life After College in Detroit •
Important,
ut who yo now
may get you the job.
JULIE WEINGARDEN
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
B
afore you mail your resume
en masse to every chief ex-
ecutive officer in the Detroit
metropolitan area, know
that a little human interaction
may put you ahead of the compe-
tition.
It's called networking. Simply
defined: Making contacts and ex-
changing information to further
your career. More people who
know you means more people who
can help you: to the salary, bene-
fits and 401k package that you
want.
"If you are in a hiring position,
who would you want to hire —
someone you know [something
about]," perhaps even how they
work, or a stranger? asks Walter
Tarrow, corporate consultant of
the corporate opportunities pro-
gram at Jewish Vocational Ser-
vice.
Most people would probably fa-
vor the person they know (as-
suming he comes with the
appropriate qualifications and
competency).
So how do the people you know
—be it family, friends or parents'
acquaintances — become famil-
iar with your work? That's where
networking comes in.
"An artificial concept of people
forcing themselves on [each]
other and handing out their busi-
ness cards saying If you hear of
anything ...' is not networking,"
says Tarrow. 'That's prospecting.
Networking is not meeting peo-
ple for no apparent reason, the
wrong reason or a hidden reason;
you have to have a clear purpose
for a network contact to be
made."
You can network for advice,
mentoring and counseling, not just
to find a job, advises Steven Stone,
president of Boulder Financial in
Bingham Farms.
"Some people think network-
ing is schmoozing with people and
knowing everyone, but it's actu-
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ally about building relationships,"
he says.
Networking can also provide
different opinions. "Your family
and friends may not have the best
advice for your professional fu-
ture," says Stone. "Networking
helps you get advice from people
who have fewer biases."
Still, making cold calls or work-
ing a room can be intimidating. "I
think college graduates are afraid
of rejection," says Bob Raitt, an at-
torney with Gursten & Koltonow,
P.C., in Southfield. "This is an area
of trying to advance in life where,
if you are a little cocky and try to
take the edge off, it will help."
Building new relationships
means moving out of your comfort
zone, says Stone. "A 22-year-old
comes out of a fraternity and all
of a sudden finds himself talking
to presidents of companies. It
scares them, but they should be
trying to seek advice. There is no
such thing as a stupid question."
Women tend to have a harder
time stepping out of that comfort
zone, says Arlene Frank, program
coordinator of the Womencenter
at Oakland Community College's
Orchard Ridge Campus. 'Tradi-
tionally it's harder for women to
be assertive in networking. Soci-
ety expects women to speak with
softer voices and sees women with
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loud voices as aggressive, when
they are actually being just as as-
sertive as men."
If you can push past the fear,
you can strike a common bond.
Perhaps the person sitting next
to you on that plane ride enjoys
soccer or bird watching. Learn-
ing of similar interests gives you
something to talk about — and
could lead to more serious dis-
cussions.
"Don't think of it as job hunt-
ing — you are farming," says Tar-
row. "You are cultivating these
relationships, and then you har-
vest. You are not hunting where
you stalk your prey."
If you've had internships or
other work experience in your
field, then chances are you're al-
ready on a networking path.
Keeping in touch with those peo-
ple will help you learn about op-
portunities.
It's also a good idea to join pro-
fessional organizations and at-
tend conferences. Getting
involved in academic and social
organizations also expose you to
professionals in your prospective
field.
Raitt says volunteering time
to charitable organizations is an-
other way to meet people. "Net-
working is like pretending you
WORKING page
59
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3337 Auburn Rd.
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948-1060
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