Grab and Go - Employment Developing Employer Network
ThinkCollege Transition Project
CUSTOMIZED EMPLOYMENT—DEVELOPING AN EMPLOYER NETWORK
Grab and Go Practices | Issue No. 10
INTRODUCTION
An important part of helping an individual find a job involves building relationships with the business community. Many job developers limit their job search to the larger, more visible companies, such as retail chains, fast food restaurants and large manufacturing companies (Griffin & Hammis, 2005).
However, by narrowing their search to these bigger businesses, they run the risk of overlooking job opportunities in smaller organizations. Companies with less than 20 workers make up 89.4 percent of businesses in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014) and can often provide greater job opportunities, especially when their work matches up with the job seekers’ vocational interests.
People in an employment network can help in many ways:
- Providing information about a particular industry.
- Introducing the student to people who work in a business or job field.
- Setting up informational interviews, arranging job tours, job sampling opportunities & internships.
- Providing inside information on the key decision-makers in a particular business.
IDENTIFY THE STUDENT’S EXISTING CONNECTIONS
To develop an employer network, the job developer can start by helping students think about the people in their life, the places they visit, and associations they have in the community. A relationship map will help document and give structure as to who may be able to help open doors to the business world.
Job developers, teachers, and coaches can add their own relevant contacts. The student should also ask other members of their team (family members, friends, community members) about any shared interests and places they go related to those interests. All of these groups can provide valuable information and connections.
There are 3 sections in a relationship map:
1. SKILLS AND INTERESTS
Help the student identify their skills and interest areas. Write down the names of people and places they know that share those interests.
2. COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
List the people and places the student is connected to in their community, such as churches, clubs, and civic groups.
3. PLACES/WORK/LEARNING
List the places the student frequents (e.g. cafes, gym, book stores or grocery stores), the workplaces of the people they know (former employers, family, friends), and the schools and places for learning in their community (counselors, past and present teachers).
DOCUMENT AND MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT CONNECTIONS
Keep track of your connections. A relationship map is one way to record this information. You should also develop a database (such as an excel file) to enter a contact’s name, title, company, address, phone number and email, as well as the dates of contact.
WHAT TO ASK FOR?
Remember that you aren’t approaching people specifically for a job, but to develop contacts and gather information about a particular job field. Be clear what the conversation is about:
- Describe the type of work the student has shown an interest in.
- Do they know of businesses or other people who do similar work?
- What are the challenges of doing this type of work?
- What steps would they recommend for building a career in this job field?
CONTACTING SMALL BUSINESSES
Small businesses rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing – know somebody who knows somebody – ask your contacts who they might know at various small businesses. Develop a relationship with a small business owner by becoming a customer. Many small businesses may be struggling and can’t afford to hire new staff; through getting to know them you may be able to show an employer how hiring your jobseeker can actually improve their bottom line.
OTHER NETWORKING STRATEGIES
- Develop a 30 second “elevator” pitch explaining who you are and what you do.
- Contact the college career services office for a targeted list of employers in the student’s community.
- Attend employer networking events and job fairs sponsored by the college’s career services office and the local Chamber of Commerce.
- Join a service club (Rotary) to meet local business leaders.
- Speak to people in the student’s community (e.g. people working in city hall).
- Meet with companies that your school or organization does business with to set up job tours and internships.
- Speak with members of the school community (school committee, teachers, school personnel).
- Use Facebook, Linkedin to identify people in a particular job field or in a specific company.
- Register at www.meetup.com to find out about different business networking events in your area.
People generally like to talk about their business and the type of work they do. If the conversation at one of these networking events is going well, you may end by saying: “I’ve never seen your business before. Would you mind if I call you to set up a time for a chat and a tour of your workplace?”
EXAMPLE RELATIONSHIP MAP
SKILLS AND INTERESTS
- Animal care (Christine)
- Shredding papers (Melody)
- Math facts
- Movie titles and trailers (Mark)
- Birthdates
- Foundations and funding
- Reading
- Golf
- All Hands Disaster Relief organization (Julie)
- TJ Maxx (Ross)
- Mahoneys Hardware (Barbara)
- Whaling Museum (Mark)
- Kool Kone (Tom)
- Buttonwood Park Zoo (Pat)
- Oxford Creamery (Sam)
- Nicks Pizza (Nate)
- Bristol Community College (Christine)
- Caddy Shack (Jodie)
- Angel Memorial Hospital (Chris)
- Cape Wildlife Sanctuary (Pat)
- Bourne All Pets Veterinary (Pat)
- Westplace Animal Sanctuary (Sam)
COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
- Town Hall (family)
- Church (family)
- Rotary Club (Sam)
- Public access cable station (Robert)
- Post office (Dennis)
- Habitat for Humanity (Jodie)
PLACES /WORK/LEARNING
See the relationship map example content in the source document image. This section appears visually as part of the example relationship map layout.
CONCLUSION
Developing relationships with potential employers takes time and thoughtful planning. Networking is a highly efficient and successful technique that can be used to expand your employer pool and to help get your foot in the door.