Power of Connections

i used to hate the word "networking". i guess i still do. it carries the connotation that i need to be somewhat fake and look all interested in getting to know that person when really im just hoping that they'll offer me a job. i always thought, how am i any different from a gold digger?

my recent "project" has been to take over the first round interview process from my boss to hire a new candidate to join our team. sure i felt honored that my boss would even consider me to do such thing. little did i know that interviewing people is one of the most complex, time consuming, bureaucratic process ever. it's not just asking a set of pre-determined set of questions and chatting with the candidate. it's like going through your first date in a professional setting. you have to ask questions that pull out the true characteristic of each candidate and subtly sell the position so they want to be in your team. you have to be a quick thinker so you can carry on a conversation and be an active listener so you can bounce off questions from what they say. not to mention, you have to know your company inside and out because they have the right to ask anything and you dont want to look clueless.

but the point i actually want to make is not the perspective of what its like to be on the other side of interviewing. it's about the power of connections. after interviewing couple candidates, i decided i wanted to refer my long time friend with a finance degree to my team. she didn't need a spectacular resume. i knew she would fit right in the team. some people are just not given the opportunity to shine because of the tough criteria society puts on them and my friend was a sure victim of it. i talked to my boss, highly recommended her and despite the obvious bias, my boss decided to move her on, and on, and on.. and on.. until she ended up being hired among the many other qualified candidates.

if i were to be pessimistic, i could say that my two months of countless resume analysis, time spent during lunch/after work hours interviewing candidates, post interview feedback reports, one on one meetings with my boss were... a waste of time? but of course i dont. i am nothing but happy for her and i am super excited to have her on my team. she is someone ive known since five and how often can i work with someone like that? i later asked my boss what made her pick my friend and she simply replied, i very well know how you work and if you think she's a good fit to our team then i want to give her a try. power of connections.