A networking tale

I received good news yesterday. About four months ago, a friend of mine, Ken, asked me if I could introduce his former intern to some folks at a publication here in town. "Intern Y" had done great work for him, and had always been interested in the media industry. I respect Ken's opinion, so I made the introductions and we went to lunch.

It went well, and the folks at the publication were able to provide some good advice for continuing the job search. She was recently out of college, and it boiled down to a)networking, b)targeting her job search focus and c)considering some of the realities of the publishing industry.

Some time passed. A project manager left. The hiring manager needed to bring someone in. Former Intern-Y was not a traditional fit - she was highly organized, but had a fine arts background. However, she got the first interview because of the power of that connection, made a month or two before.

Then, she hung in there. She made sure to explain her strengths - detail oriented, organized, and provided examples. She also sent along a demo she had done of a website - for her sisters wedding - but it proved she could move between mediums.

And, it paid off yesterday when she got the job offer. :)