Fire Your Boss by Stephen M. Pollan & Mark Levine

Author:Stephen M. Pollan & Mark Levine [Pollan, Stephen M. & Levine, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Psychology, Self Help, Business
ISBN: 0060583932
Publisher: New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers, 2004.
Published: 2005-05-03T02:58:32+00:00

Make It Personal

One of the themes I keep coming back to in this book is that merit isn’t enough to succeed at work anymore. It’s also not enough to get a foot in the door these days. I hate to say it, but in today’s job market it’s not what you know, but who you know. To get the multiple job offers you’re looking for in your job-fishing efforts, you’ll need to draw on personal relationships.

Let’s say there’s a job opening in your department. Your sister has been out of work for about six months, relying on her husband’s income and help from your parents to make ends meet. She’s qualified for the job…but so are the two dozen people represented by the file folder of résumés sitting on your desk. Do you tell your sister about the job and also do everything you can to help her get it, or do you simply treat her like every other candidate? Of course you bend over backward to help your sister get the job.

It’s human nature to give preference to those closest to you. That’s just accentuated when times are hard, as they are in the job market today. The people making the decisions on whom to meet with, whom to interview, and whom to hire naturally give preference to individuals with whom they have personal relationships. For example, during one of the last major economic downturns in New York a good friend of mine who was a part-time professor and actor was having a hard time making ends meet. I needed help in my office with general office chores and deliveries. Rather than hiring someone with experience, I offered the job to my out-of-work friend. I chose to hire based on personal connection rather than competence. I don’t think that’s unusual. That’s why I think the key to getting jobs in today’s work environment is to expand your personal network rather than your business network, and use the former not the latter to generate job leads.

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