Networking the key to your next job

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Chet Trybus was succinct. "The story of my last company is that they went bankrupt after 138 years." Dave Hoxie has "a broad background in telecommunications." And Steve Trott is a "writer, editor, proof-reader, desktop publisher."

They're all unemployed. And they met at Ken Soper's Thursday morning roundtable discussions, where the discussion is always on landing that next job.

It seems no one is safe. Trybus worked for a multi-billion dollar company. "After 138 years, you think you're stabel for the next 100 years, and all of a sudden, 15,000 of us lost our jobs."

He's been working part-time and working on making connections. "Researching, networking, groups like this I attend, connecting with anyone I know, even in the past."

Making those connections is what Ken Soper preaches. What many people don't understand, he says, is that landing your next job begins yesterday.

"It's all about who do you know? Are you part of your community? And a lot of folks don't realize that's what they should do," Soper said.

Hoxie is consulting part-time while looking for full-time work, and now realizes the value in networking. "I started getting the sense that I should have been doing this all along even when I was fully employed."

He said he's making networking part of his lifestyle now, getting proactive about networking.

"Build a network," Soper said. "It will take some time but you'll find a job, as I prefer to call it a work assignment, that better fits you."