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Health & Fitness

Effective Job Networking is Also Free

Networking opportunities are all around us, and it's never too late to maximize those opportunities.

Networking is one of the most successful methods of finding new employment. A conservative estimate shows that at least 60 percent of all jobs are found through networking.

While employment websites serve their purpose, simply conducting that type of job search is not effective. Spending time networking is a valuable tool that needs to be utilized by the job seeker.

Staff at Workforce Development Centers are often asked “How do I network, I’ve never done that before?”

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Just asking that question is networking. Talking to people about your job search is all it takes. Friends, family, former (or current) co-workers, relatives, neighbors — these are all individuals that may provide networking opportunities. Anyone can be helpful with your job search — often times employment leads can come from surprising places, and unless people know that you are looking, they cannot help you with your search.

Networking groups are a great place to start for those who are unsure about their networking abilities. There are networking groups and organizations right in Ozaukee County that are free and open to the public.

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The Workforce Development Center hosts a networking group from 9 until 10 a.m. the second and fourth Thursday of every month. Starting with a topic of interest — resumes, elevator speeches, researching companies, this group provides interaction between Workforce Development Center Staff and job seekers.

Attendees gain contacts for job leads while also hearing about the challenges and successes that other job seekers have encountered.

Social networking is becoming an integral part of contact making and company research. The most popular, and arguably most effective, is LinkedIn. This site gives you the ability to connect with current and past contacts from every walk of life and every corner of the globe. Important company research can be conducted based on the information compiled by the millions of LinkedIn users. LinkedIn is being used more and more by businesses to do research on the job seeker as well. Companies have their own pages that can be operated at little to no cost internally. For this reason, you can find job openings that may be unavailable elsewhere.

All of the resources mentioned in this blog are free to interested individuals. As with every aspect of a job search, you will get out of it what you put into it. Thoroughly flushing out all networking opportunities maximizes the chances of hearing about openings, and completing a LinkedIn profile puts your skills and abilities out there for others to view. Now is the time to sharpen your job searching skills, so try to utilize all networking options and take advantage of the unknown job market!

Looking for assistance with your job search? Contact the Workforce Development Center in Ozaukee County at 262.238.2880, or 262.335.5300 in Washington County to learn about workshops or other job seeking assistance.

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