After 6 odd months of trying to look for the perfect job which would align to what I want to do long term and 2 months of helping other people find jobs my biggest reflection is that the only thing that matters while job hunting is who you know and your social networks (thread)

Your resume can be the best in the world, your qualifications maybe through the roof, you maybe the MOST skilled person the the sector, you could be smart as a whip but none of that matters unless you know people and have strong networks

I have seen orgs function externally and internally and resumes and CVs just lie in their careers email inbox or in the inbox of the HR with no one who opens them or gives them the time of the day UNLESS someone within the org helps push your resume further

Of the 35-40 odd jobs I applied to, I got responses (rejects/next round/not suitable) from about 3-5 orgs. The other 90% didn’t even bother to respond to the cover letter or the resume

In the 5 orgs that I did get ahead I did because
a) I knew someone and asked them if they could check and they did and got back
b) it wasn’t an advertised position but a role being created for me from someone I knew within
c) I wrote directly to the person I would report to

Another good friend applied to a role in an org for which he was the absolute right fit but they didn’t get back so I did some sleuthing through someone I knew in the other org and found out that his CV had not been opened despite them desperately looking for people

HRs of most orgs are bloody inefficient and that’s the hard truth. I am yet to meet an HR department whose focus was to get the right people on board and do efficient hiring and not focus on Diwali celebrations and team building

The org may be desperate to hire someone like you and fill your position and maybe advertising the position on every possible channel BUT you still won’t get a call because HR is inefficient and you will only get a call back if you know someone who genuinely cares and will help

The only orgs which have strong ethical efficient hiring processes are the one where the hiring managers themselves do the hiring and either don’t have an HR or don’t rely on them. But very few orgs actually do this!

Imagine what this means for someone who has no social capital and is not part of the ‘right’ networks and is not upper caste upper class looking for a job in sectors dominated with upper caste/class people. It’s a bloody nightmare!

There is a reason why most white collar jobs and most top jobs in good orgs are occupied by upper caste upper class. It’s because UC helps UC and hypes UC up for positions and perpetuates the horrible cycle of keeping all sectors staffed with UCs at top positions!

I am TERRIBLY privileged. Not only am I upper caste upper class but I legit know hundreds of people at all levels in the sector I work in and am passionate about. I can find out about any org because I know people in almost every top org in the sector

And still it took me 6 months!!! And it’s not like I was inundated with offers and had to make a choice and hence it took time. I just didn’t fucking get a response! So I kept thinking how horrible and unskilled I was (hello imposter syndrome)

And I was flexible about location and willing to move anywhere and by the end if I hadn’t gotten the current job I have I would have even settled for a salary much lower than what I think I am worth (thank goodness I didn’t!)

But the reason why it took me so long despite me knowing people is because I wasn’t asking people i knew in these orgs for favors. Had I done that I am pretty sure I could have gotten a job much earlier

The point of this thread is to say a couple of things
1) don’t let rejections/silence get you down. You are worth much more than what you think you are
2) stop fretting about resume and cover letter and start building your networks and expand the number of people you know

But MOST importantly if you are employed and in a decent position in a good org, then help people who don’t have the networks and capital to get a way in! Help people who don’t have the privilege of knowing the right people

And if you are looking for a job, by pass the HR if you can. They wont help your cause. See if you can cold email someone about the role(respectfully) and get them to speak to you or if they are willing to look at your resume

Good luck if you are looking for jobs! And reach out for help from your connections and people you know and remember to hype and help not just family and friends but also people who don’t have access to networks!