Quintin E. Primo III
I get lots of questions from readers asking about the effectiveness of job boards and online job searches. I urge job seekers to aggressively pursue all such job listing services, while allocating at least a third of their time to old fashioned one-on-one networking.
A Chicago business leader quantified the importance of networking in his Q&A responses in this week’s New York Times’ Corner Office column. Quintin E. Primo III, co-founder and chief executive of Capri Capital Partners, says 80% of new employees at the firm come recommended by current employees.
“The likelihood of you getting a job at Capri is low if no one knows you,” Primo says. “You must have an internal advocate. You must have someone who has worked with you, or knows you.”
Most PR agencies and corporations encourage employees to recommend friends and acquaintances for job openings, giving finders’ fees to those recommending individuals who are hired. These fees — sometimes sizable — are still less than the cost of hiring an executive recruiter. Therefore, getting to know individuals who know “hire authorities” remains the best way to land a job. In most cases with job postings, you should immediately go through the prescribed application process. If you know individuals within the agency or company, you might want to start with them. This gives the internal employee a vested interest in helping steer your resume through the hiring process.