Happy Friday!
I wanted to share with you a note from one of our long time members and active committee volunteers:
After 7 great years with a Dallas hedge fund, structural changes in the firm and subsequent right-sizing of the business forced me to look for other employment. With many local hedge funds contracting and closing, I was nervous about my prospects in the Dallas job market. In the first phase of my job search, I reached out to my core group of industry contacts, mostly built through my years of networking in various industry organizations and events, including TXWSW. On a Wednesday evening, around 7pm, I sent out an email to around 70 people. By 11pm that night, I had set up my first interview. At the end of the next day, I had received more than 40 calls and emails from all sorts of people offering assistance…to forward my resume, tell me about an opportunity, offer to meet for lunch or coffee to discuss possibilities and brainstorm, etc. I was overwhelmed and humbled by the response.
In the subsequent 3 weeks that followed that email, I had 12 interviews (for 12 very different opportunities) and received 2 terrific offers.
I began my job search concerned that I had only a month to find a new job and ended up concerned that I had only a month to wrap up my work at my prior firm! I attribute 100% of the ease and swiftness of my job search to networking. It was my core group of contacts and their willingness to forward my resume to their contacts that expanded the scope of my search. I met with one fund manager who told me that he had received my resume from three different people…that is the power of a good network.
Networking is important in any field but it is vital in a close knit industry like the Texas investment community. Over the past 5 years, I have focused on strategically building my network. I made it my personal goal to get plugged in and stay actively involved in the Dallas investment industry. My recent experience certainly reinforced my belief that networking is key to career advancement and success.
For every person searching for a new opportunity, there will always be someone brighter or more qualified than you. What will set you apart is the people that you know. Your network is the true key to opening doors for you. Never underestimate the power of having others advocate for you. You may not be able to get a seat at the table unless someone you know is willing to pull up a chair.
How good is your network? The time to start building it is when you don’t need it! See you all at an event soon!
See you all at an event soon!
Kind regards,
Christine
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