The Ins and Outs of Job Search Networking Groups

One small silver lining to being unemployed in this particular recession is that there’s a lot of company, so you don’t have to go at it alone! At present, I attend 3 job search networking groups on a fairly regular basis. One meets weekly, another bimonthly and yet another monthly. I also have at least 2 others I try to attend monthly, time permitting.

 

Certainly, the weekly support group has brought me the most reassurance when it comes to the job search steps I’m taking along the way. This group has existed several years and has solid ground rules for participation. I joined about a month into my job search, once I felt my resume was fairly robust. My resume was actually one of the first items this club helped me with. The multiple pairs of eyes were able to pick some of the fine nuances that I couldn’t see even if I stared at the resume until the cows came home.

 

One key rule of this weekly group is that you have to show up weekly. These job search support groups are only viable and helpful as long as the membership is fairly consistent and thrives off the interplay of its members. Of course, if you land a position, you are excused from weekly attendance. In fact, you get a mini-party from the group once you secure a job.

 

Another great guideline I really enjoy seeing in action is that you have to ask the other group members how they can specifically help you each week. This request for help gives you the additional tool and/or momentum you need to continue your job search for the subsequent week. When it’s your turn to ask for job search help, you have to be forward-thinking and not use the air-time to vent or gripe. Given the diversity of job functionalities in this group, you receive many unique points of view that are often spot-on in their guidance. And with the frequent cadence of the meetings, your personality and background are fairly well-known in short order.

 

The bimonthly job search networking group was started by a job seeker who didn’t find his discipline well-represented in an existing club. As a result, this job support group is focused on a functional skill set with members from a wider geographic draw. This group meets in various local libraries that offer free community room usage. One meeting a month is a classic support group-style meeting, and the other meeting of the month typically has an outside speaker to bring various helpful job search hints to the table.

 

In between meetings, this group stays tied together with a supportive and humorous email chain. We often share job leads and postings on an almost daily basis. While one person’s job opportunity may not be a good fit, it may be another person’s prize position. The one thing you can’t do in this group is sell any services to other members. That behavior belongs in the open market, not in a job support group.

 

The monthly group is more of a professional organizational group. They focus very heavily on the networking part of the job search process and hold events designed for that objective. For example, one was called “Martinis and Self-Marketing.” Once in a blue moon after many rejections, a martini sounds like a good idea. Even if there is a featured speaker, the networking part of the meeting comes first and lasts a solid hour. I always remember to bring lots of self-branded business cards and even once came close to running out given the wide variety of networking opportunities that stemmed from this meeting.

 

Whether the group meets weekly, bimonthly or monthly, I always find golden nuggets to extract from each gathering. How have such groups been helpful to your job search?

 

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