The Old Boy Network
Over the years of my professional employment I have found myself sought out by employers at the requests of friends. I have applied for positions before but nothing like what I’m doing now. A cluster bomb of resumes and application across the plains of employers. In the past, jobs would come at the request of a friend or colleague. Time has proven to me that the people you know today are the best resource for the careers of tomorrow.
It’s seems, throughout the years, one thing that holds true in society is a reliance on hope that we seek and sometimes find in our social groups. Could it be possible to impact current unemployment rates if we, as a people, were to form stronger social and loyalty bonds with each other? Can we rekindle the true healthy working relationships between employee and employer; where the employee is not seen as an expendable feature on a corporate balance sheet?
I find it interesting that our country was the strongest economically when our front doors were left unlocked throughout the night. The urban areas of America were clean and had less crime. I want to point the finger at corporations that twist laws and the system to their advantage, but I then remember that the people behind these corporate desks are people and they have been instructed to be untrustworthy and greedy. They are doing their jobs well.
It wasn’t always like this. For example; in 1951 an IBM executive described, to Fortune Magazine, his company as “Pro-Family.” IBM proudly sponsored year-round events for the employees and their families. Christmas parties, picnics, baseball and football leagues, special clubs for children, and the best health care money can buy. Why did so many major corporations do so much? They were buying our loyalty. Our loyalty was worth something to them. Of course, time changes everything and in the early ‘90s, IBM slowly pulled the plug on all of these programs. Because company loyalty was not worth more than corporate profits anymore.
A phrase runs through my mind when I think of finding a job. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” It’s very true, but in this time of technological advances, people are seeking out contacts through such social and professional online networks as Linkedin.com. But if you ask people about such online communities they are hesitant to trust anyone on them. So, does an online professional network really work? I doubt it. There is still a strong need in our communities for trust. And more people still hold the value of a handshake than some digital “poking”.
The old boy network was a byproduct of our social communities. How strong is your social network? Remember, that no matter what you do in life, you’ll always need other people to buy, sell, and trade your goods and services. Or you’ll need a strong reference for your next line of work. Reach out and make contact with old work buddies, email your professors, call your former boss or supervisor talk to people face to face and remember to show your respect with a proper handshake.
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