LegalJob met with a job candidate recently who demonstrated effective networking. She was not pursuing a legal job (for now), but her approach should be helpful to all job seekers. Details are provided below.
Facts: She was interested in working at a non-profit which did not have any openings posted. She talked to various people to determine the objectives of the organization, how she could be help the entity meet those objectives, and who she should contact to pursue this interest. She was given a couple of names of people to contact, including people on the board of this organization. She found out about a reception the non-profit was hosting and she crashed the party. She made use of every minute at the party by skipping the food and drinks at cocktail hour and walking straight up to board members and other influential people at the company and making her case for why (and how) she would be effective at the company. She obtained several business cards, including those of decision makers at the company. She followed up the next day by express regular mail with her materials and her short but effective cover letter making her case. She was asked to interview with the company within one week. At the time of this posting it is not known whether she had her interview.
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