Learning the power of networking, Ryan T. secured an internship, which became his full-time job.
“My first job was not posted on Indeed.com or a company website,” says Ryan Tannenbaum of his recent internship. It was through the power of networking; Ryan learned this most valuable job-search technique from his Career Development Specialist, Frank Halpin. Drawing on his own professional network, Frank took Ryan to a professional meet-and-greet, providing him with the opportunity to interact with fellow businessmen and women at professional functions. Moreover, the networking exercise yielded a very positive result: an internship as a Financial Auditor at Affiliated Monitoring, a company in Union. Better yet, that internship became a full-time job for Ryan!
The internship was an excellent match for Ryan, who is studying Accounting at Kean University. “Learning about a business on the inside is really important to me.” Although the job is in the Finance Department, the two fields are related. As Financial Auditor at Affiliated Monitoring, Ryan was able to save his employer a considerable sum of money when he discovered the company had an unnecessarily expensive service contract on one of its special elevators. His supervisor took the findings and negotiated a new deal on much more favorable terms. “It’s really interesting to see how a business works on the inside,” says Ryan.
Networking, moreover, continues beyond public events. Ryan explains, “Frank also worked with me to create business cards for more such events in the future,” adding that a professional LinkedIn profile is another key part of one’s professional presence, both in person and online. All this will be of great importance to Ryan in the future, after he graduates. And networking is a critical part of searching for a job that fits within one’s own career objectives. “If you have enough people with enough contacts, you will find the job or internship you want,” says Ryan.
“I am grateful to Frank for getting my foot in the door. I really appreciate all the work he has put in for me,” says Ryan. “I’d definitely recommend Advancing Opportunities and Frank for anyone who needs help with finding a job.” Nevertheless, though Ryan received valuable career advice from Frank, the objective was independence. “Do your own work in looking for a job,” says Ryan. “Do not fear the bad, especially if you do not hear anything back,” he continues. “You cannot get discouraged when looking for a job.” With hard work and determination, the effort is certainly paying off for Ryan.
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