I worked with a guy in the summer of 2007 that should write a book called How to Get a Job. I just did a Google search, and I don’t think a book with that exact title exists, believe it or not. I really think I’m going to encourage him to write that book. We were both clerking at the same place, and there were no more spots for clerks once he decided he’d like to work there. He was just a first year law student, and wanted to make sure he had something. So he offered to work for free. I met him at an orientation session. He warmly introduced himself to every person he encountered throughout the day. He smiled, shook hands, and acted genuinely interested in anything being said to him. Ever the skeptic, I suspected that he might secretly be recruiting people to join his cult or something. He wasn’t. He was just a genuinely nice a polite person.
He took it one step further. He did great work while working for free. He didn’t assume that everyone would be grateful that he showed since everything he did was free. But he made an impression on the people he worked with. People remember a person that walks up introduces himself without fear or insecurity. People remember a person that acts genuinely interested in what they’re saying. At the end of the summer, he wrote thank you notes to every person that he directly worked with, handwritten, that thanked them specifically for helping him and being so nice to work with.
Some people might think of this as overkill. It isn’t. It’s exactly how people should handle an internship. People remembered him. They knew who he was. Plus, he was likeable. People liked having him around and being around him. I’m happy to say that he and I became friends. Our office invited him back to work again the next summer. I was already employed full time as an attorney, though in another office, but he kept winning people over. People in my division, working in the office he was, mentioned to me that this friend sent them thank you notes. I asked the Chief Counsel of the Division he was in if she knew him, and she said that everyone she had talked to was “very impressed with his work.” Needless to say, he got offered a full time position when he graduates.
An internship is really just an extended job interview. It’s an opportunity for people to decide (a) whether they like you and (b) whether you can competently handle the tasks they throw you. If those two things are true, and you show up on time looking decent, there’s a good chance they’ll offer you a job when the time comes.
The fellow I’m talking about is a born “networker.” For some people, networking is a way of life. Except he wouldn’t call it that, and I personally hate that word. I hate the word networking because anyone who talks about getting a job will tell you that it’s key. It’s true, networking is truly the way people get jobs. But the idea of networking is overblown. It isn’t about going to cocktail parties handing out business cards – that’s just annoying. Networking is about genuinely becoming friends with people. It’s about not being afraid to approach people at work and be nice to them. It’s about presenting yourself every day. Anyone that worked with this guy would help him get a job if they could. Because he did good work. No one wants to hire some guy or gal that gave them a business card at an art show (unless you really did something to knock their socks off). Network by putting yourself out there and doing a good job. Meet people when there’s a genuine opportunity, but don’t push yourself (or your business card) in inappropriate situations. If you’re looking for a job, good luck, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Thanks for reading.
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Great post! I am going back and reading all the blogs I ever missed. It is really cool. It’s like your journal, as I read, I keep thinking I remember that. The way you describe this guy is just like you described him to me what was it now three years ago? Or was it two…? Who knows, but either way I loved this blog. I agree about the networking thing. It is more than making an appearance at social events…its being a good friend, hard worker and reliable employee. I too hate the word, networking;)!