Make connections to get a job

Job-seekers around the Charlotte region are gathering in restaurants and church halls, volunteer meetings and coffee shops, sharing setbacks and successes. There are former lawyers, accountants, IT workers – even stay-at-home moms – all there for advice on finding work in one of the toughest job markets in years.

As the recession has deepened over the last year, prompting widespread layoffs and a jobless rate of 12 percent for the Charlotte area in May, networking has become more important than ever, especially for newcomers.

Career experts say 80 percent of jobs are found through personal contacts. The area's growing number of networking groups are a place for new leads and, at the very least, to meet new people who understand what job-seekers going through, many say.

“Charlotte is a very welcoming community, but you need to make the first move and let people know you're there,” said Jeff Searcy, who leads the job support group at St. John's Episcopal Church, one of the city's longest-running. “You do this by networking.”

New networking groups continue to spring up in the area, hosted by local churches, career counselors and even Central Piedmont Community College. Many feature guest speakers and workshops on resume writing, interviewing and other skills, and most are free.

There were about a dozen groups in the area in January; now, there are more than 40, said Bill Crigger, a career consultant who runs the Charlotte Professionals networking group. That group's attendance climbed into the 30s this year from about 18 to 24 last year, he said.

“It's the power of knowing people,” Crigger said. “First, you find out you're not alone. Second, you find out that people really want to help.”

Experts caution about spending too much time behind the computer – but online social networking has become increasingly important, too, with more companies and recruiters are mining sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for qualified candidates.

Charlotte Internet marketing company Red Ventures used Twitter this year to spread the word that it was hiring 30 new workers, for instance. And local IT consultant Gary Zukowski recently launched TweetMyJobs.com, a site that uses Twitter to send job postings to users' cell phones.

For University City resident Dale Seng, who was laid off last year from an IT job at thread manufacturer Coats North America, networking was key to finding a new role at Goodrich, which started in March.

He cast a wide net at first, “and I told everyone I was looking for a job – friends, neighbors, acquaintances, store clerks, you name it,” he said.

Seng finally saw the Goodrich job posted online – and remembered that a former manager was now working there.

“A phone call later,” he said, “my resume was more than just words on paper in the eyes of the hiring manager.”

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