The power of networks.
The power of networks. When I was younger, despite being as strong academically than any other applicant and has superb extracurriculars, I was turned down again and again because I didn’t have a network. As a second generation Canadian, I couldn’t ride on the coattails of my parents like my peers.
Despite that, I continued to manage to enter and graduate from the one of best and well known graduate schools in the country, and I started to see the power and potential of a network.
I remember towards the end of my graduate studies, my dream job came out. It was a position at a the government for the specific branch that I had sought out. It was my goal in the summer to work there in three years. People in the sector said those that get in were creme de la creme, as they were not only smart but they also held the most amount of power in the province. As someone who aspired to work in health policy, I saw this as a career goal. I told myself, within three years, I’ll amount my success enough to get into that branch. And yet, towards the end of my studies, the branch had came to my program to hire new grads.
They were hiring up to 3 new grads. I applied, and so did my classmate. When I heard two of my classmates had gotten selected for interviews, how did I feel? I felt like crap. Why? Because I didn’t have a network again. This – the one thing I thought I was getting away from – was failing me again. One of the classmate that had gotten the interview had spoke to the hiring manager after a guest lecture. Despite this, I was furious that he has gotten the interview. Why? Because I thought he was undeserving. He didn’t want to work in the public sector. He didn’t aspire to create a better and healthier world. He didn’t have the markings of a good public servant. I thought I was a better fit. I knew I had the passion and desire to create a better world, and I really, really wanted to work there. He didn’t. He only wanted to work in the private sector and because of a hiring freeze and poor job market then, his position at the firm that he thought he was going to continue to work for fell thru. He kept applying for other private sector jobs but none were ringing his phone.
So, with the fiery fury inside of me, what did I do? I reached out to my network. I reached out to the small, little network that I had. I reached out to one of my preceptors from the summer and mentioned I had applied to this branch, because i knew she was friends with the manager. At an program event, I spoke with an alumni who I knew was friends with someone who was a lead at the branch, and that lead was at the event too.
To my surprise, these people helped me. My preceptor has said she was having an upcoming breakfast with the manager and would ask her about my application. The alumni introduced me to the lead, and we chatted for while before I told her about the app. What did she do? She immediately pulled out her blackberry and jotted my name to remind herself to ask the manager about my application.
A few days later, I got an email. I got an interview! I reached out to my networks again to ask about the quirks and liking of the manager and how I should prep for the interview. I studied every government document produced by this branch, and any rumours and overall strategies created by those that they manage. I was nervous, I was excited, and I was overjoyed when I heard that others thought my interview went well and they probably liked me. I got the job in the end and I was so happy. The goal that I set out to meet within 3 years was met right after I graduated. I made it. I was now working at the branch that’s creme de la creme. That everyone in the province knew about.
But despite my success story in the end, this is also a failure story. It’s about how people that are without networks or their own for various reasons are confined to be undermined. Despite my hard work with extracurriculars, academics, and previous student jobs that people would say you’d need to be successful in getting big boy/big girl job, none of that mattered. What mattered most was the power of networking. I – and my classmate – would have never gotten the interview and position without networking.
The true heroes to this story are those that helped me when I reached out. Especially the lead – whom I was a stranger to her back then – that acted on a whim based on the recommendation of her friend. This is a reminder that if anyone ever reaches out to you, you should help. Especially if you know they’re a good person based on the recommendation of someone else or you knowing them personally. You never know how much brighter it’ll make their day or their career for that matter. For me, the job at this branch mattered a lot. It helped me get interviews at other prestigious programs and other job prospects. It built skills for me that people 10, 20+ years more experience would never get. It allowed me to become a stronger candidate today.
