Connect With Gatekeepers in Your Industry to Open Your Network
In our free market society, we paint a picture of a world in which anyone can come up and get any job as long as they are qualified. In fact, many industries have supervisors who decide who to hire. Try to get to know these people as you build your network .
As business site Entrepreneur points out, every industry has a well-established old guard that people are listening to. In creative fields it can be a big name, in others it is just an inner circle of leadership. However, it is these “gatekeepers” who have the clout to vouch for your work in an area that interests you. If you want to move up, find out who these people are in your field and impress them:
Are we doomed to fail if we don’t live in the right place at the right time? Of course not. But networks matter, perhaps more than we think. Vincent van Gogh’s work matured much faster when he met the French impressionists. Why not? He now had a field of gatekeepers who criticized and approved his work.
Gatekeepers are also not limited to the people who hire employees. Anyone who is renowned in the industry and whose opinions are universally respected can help you step in the door. If you are trying to get a job in a particular field, it doesn’t help to know some of the people in that field who recognize the quality of your work and can recommend you when the time is right.
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