How I networked my way into a job

“After leaving university with a journalism degree, I was looking for my first full time position. While I applied for jobs through Seek, I made sure I was also speaking to as many people in my network as I could about my job search. The people I spoke to included friends, family, contacts at university as well as a tutor from one of my subjects. They all worked in areas where I had skills and interest.
 
While I looked for a full time position, I also continued to do some freelance writing both online and in print to keep improving my skills and adding to my experience. I knew that my best option was to aim for short term contracts as that is the nature of the work in my field. Short term contracts are also a good way to get a foot in the door and can often turn into something more permanent.

I spoke to a university friend about my job search. The company she worked for was building a new website and was looking for someone to write content for the site while they got it up and running. As they needed someone urgently, they asked her if she knew someone rather than putting the job ad up on Seek. I was the first person she thought of for the role.
 
I received a call from her asking if I was interested and went in for an informal interview. With my previous experience in other freelance writing roles, and because I was available to start the next day, I was offered the job straight after the interview.
 
The position was initially for four to six weeks and six months later I am still working for the company. I have learned a lot from the role and have taken on more responsibilities as the role has grown. It’s even inspired me to go back and do further study in IT, an area I would never have thought of entering before this job.
 
While many of my peers are still waiting for advertised roles to appear, I have moved from graduate to communications professional and am building on my skills and experience.”

Networking really can make a difference. So get started and you might be able to tell your own success story.