Networking: Building a network

People like to live and work with people like them. This seems obvious on the surface, but many people neglect to consider how this axiom should influence their job search.

I call this the PLU phenomenon, where PLU is short for "People Like Us". While we can debate the potential merits and pitfalls of this aspect of human behavior, such a discussion is beyond the scope of this blog. We're here today to talk about how to take benefit from this system, and what it can mean for your career.  After all, only 20-30% of jobs are published in any medium - online job boards, Linked In, newspapers, company websites, etc.  How can you use knowledge of PLU to find the majority of positions? Fit with the culture.

Every company has a culture, and good HR departments understand that hiring for "cultural fit" is key to reducing employee turnover and getting the highest performance out of team members. Hiring people who "fit" into a company will also pay ongoing dividends through high quality referrals that will fill new positions without having to hire outside recruiting firms or build up a large in-house recruiting team. For you this means that if you "fit" in, the company is more likely to hire you than someone else who may not fit in as well.

Let's look at some examples:

• Company A has an individualistic culture because the executives believe that "iron sharpens iron" and they review employees individually on a fixed bell curve distribution each year to determine who gets promoted and who gets fired.
• Company B has a team oriented culture because the executives believe that "the whole is more than the sum of the parts" and they review employees each year to determine who has made the greatest contribution to making others great. Non team players are shown the door.

Which company sounds the most interesting to you? There is no right answer here, only what is the best option for you and your personality. I used polar opposites here to make the point that cultural fit can and should affect how you select companies to pursue in your job search. Websites like glassdoor.com provide company reviews that can help you find a company culture that fits you.

Some questions to consider:

1. How do people dress at this company? 
2. What do they do for fun, outside of work? Do they play video games or go sailing?
3. Are they prone to working on weekends? 
4. Do people often work from home, or are they usually in the office?
5. Do they head to a dive bar after work for drink specials or are they more family oriented?

If you do not match the company culture, I do not suggest pretending that you fit in. You will probably tire of the subterfuge at some point, and they will decide that you are a "bad hire"  and either limit your advancement or "manage you out" of the organization.

If you believe that a particular company culture matches your interests and personality, then the next step is to find and connect with the people who work at this company. We'll talk about that in the next post, but in the meantime, remember that companies interview for skills and experience, but they hire and promote for cultural fit.