Welcome back (to reality) from Thanksgiving break, scholars! While you’re still shaking off the turkey-sleepies, we thought it’s time to wind down this year-starting with little things to end 2015 with a BANG! Below is a piece from a former NSCS TEAM member, who through getting clear on a vision & her Facebook friends, found a new life in DC:
“Washington, D.C. is new, exciting and I know hardly anyone. Here I am over a thousand miles away from where I grew up, went to school and have worked for the last few years. It seems odd that I would be writing about networking but that’s exactly how I ended up here a thousand miles away from my core network.
I was on a vacation when I decided that I loved D.C. and had to make it my home. Granted, I’ve been many places I loved and vowed that someday I would move there, which resulted in sending a few résumés with little success. D.C. was different, I REALLY wanted to live here, but I was at a time in my life where just moving wasn’t the best option. It had to be the right position and I had to be taking my career the right direction.
It was shortly after my vacation that I noticed that someone from my college network mentioned on Facebook that her company had job openings in Washington, D.C., and I felt like it was fate. After contacting her about the open position, there it was, the perfect position for me: Coordinator, Member Benefits. It was the exact area I wanted to take my career, in the city I wanted to move to and I had someone I trusted saying they loved working for the organization.
In a tough job market looking for a new job is daunting for everyone, not just new graduates. Networking is the very best way to get your foot in the door. You’ll have to stand on your own merits once you’re there, but nothing puts you on ahead of the pack like a personal recommendation from someone in your network. It’s important to look at all aspects of your life to grow your network. That’s why I love my job at NSCS. I help NSCS members utilize a powerful network and make sure they have (and are actually accessing) their member benefits for a lifetime.
So that next time you think about the people in your life, don’t forget that they can form part of a great career network. Who knows, someone you know from college, or another walk of life, might be part of the reason that you are living in an exciting new town. Go out and explore your network and start your own story!”