The 4 Connections You Need To Get Hired

The 4 connections you need to get hired This is not your ordinary career site. I help the corporate worker who toils away in the company cubicle make career transitions. You want to do your job well, following all the rules -- . The career transitions where I can help you center on three critical career areas: How to land a job, succeed in a job, and build employment security. Top 10 Posts on Categories In a job search, we hear a lot about connections. After all, we’ve all heard the statistics about how networking can help you land a job faster, more and more job seekers are using social networking,  and the list goes on. We’ve heard it all. However, it seems to me that we  really don’t have a clue with whom we should be  networking. All employers? All colleagues? Any old  LinkedIn Open Networker  who will connect with us to boost their profile  connection numbers? The key is balance. You should have a variety of connections from different, and relevant to you,  groups in order to make the most out of your networking efforts. Below,  I’ve compiled what I think are  the four most important connections you need to make to get hired: This one is probably the most obvious, and that’s OK. A decision-maker would be the employer or  someone at the company that interests you who  can make or  influence the decision to hire you or not. You’ll meet the decision-maker in the interview, but you can be proactive and meet them a whole lot sooner. Try looking them up online. Social media has made it oh-so-easy to connect with important folks like employers. Establishing a relationship early on will make it easier for your name to come up in the final decision. It doesn’t matter if you’re completely green or a seasoned vet, you still need a mentor. A mentor is someone who is more experienced than you, and someone who  can help guide you through your job search  or professional career. They might not have all the connections you could possibly want, but a mentor will be able to offer advice and their opinion when you find yourself faced with a tricky challenge. We all have a few choice words for the referee who misses a  pass interference call or allows a  reception when the ball gets  bobbled and hits the ground  during the big game. But, that is not the type of referee I am taking about here. A referee is the correct term  for the person to whom a referral is made, or to whom  something or someone  is referred.  One of your networking objectives is to be introduced to a hiring manager, decision maker…some influential person in the organization.   This is your referee. To get introduced to the best contacts with employers that interest you, you need a solid referrer.  This  is someone in your network who knows you and has at least a modicum of understanding of your industry or  profession, and ideally also  has  some idea about  your performance in one or more  roles. Top notch referrers can be professors (provided you still keep in touch), former supervisors, or colleagues. Last, but most definitely not least, is the supporter. It doesn’t matter if you are the most confident, rock solid candidate  of them all, everyone needs to have at least one person who has their back when they need it. Your supporter can be your mom (your very first supporter), a friend, colleague,  or maybe even someone in your profession that you’ve found online. The key is to make sure they are genuine â€"  not everyone is. What do you think? Which of these four types of connections  do you consider the most important in your job search? Share your thoughts in the comments below! â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" This is a guest post from Tony Morrison. Tony  is the Vice President of  Business  Development  at  Cachinko,  a unique professional community where social networking and job opportunities come together.  His roles include sales, marketing, and business development. He is passionate about building talent communities that result in valuable employer-job seeker  relationships.   He  brings this passion to Cachinko where he  helps job seekers to find their ideal job and employers to find, attract, and engage their next rock star candidates. Find him on  Twitter  and  Talent Connection. And, connect with Cachinko on  Facebook  or  Twitter. […] Scot Herrick: The 4 connections you need to get hired […] Reply This is not your ordinary career site. I help the corporate worker who toils away in the company cubicle make career transitions. You want to do your job well, following all the rules â€" . The career transitions where I can help you center on three critical career areas: How to land a job, succeed in a job, and build employment security. policies The content on this website is my opinion and will probably not reflect the views of my various employers. Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, Apple Watch and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. I’m a big fan.