Job hunting? Nothing beats human networks - here are 8 places to start

"In a previous career, I served as director of a professional association, called the Administrative Management Society, which produced events, publications, and research for its 12,000 members across North America. The membership consisted of IT, HR, and finance managers, who joined to advance their knowledge and connect with colleagues. It is here I learned how networking -- the human-to-human kind -- is the key to career advancement in this world. And this holds true more than ever as we journey into the digital age."

"It's that golden rule -- the more you know, the better your employment-advancement prospects. But the more people you know, the more those prospects expand. Nothing is more powerful than the networks you build. If you have a problem with a certain technology, you can contact someone who may have experienced the same issue. If you need a well-vetted professional to fill a job role in your ranks, you can call a colleague for recommendations."

"A job is actually a need. Most needs are not advertised on online job-search sites; they are gaps or deficiencies into which many companies plug their overworked staff. Yes, there are some great job-search tools out there. But you won't see most of these opportunities on those cold, featureless, AI-infested online job-search sites -- although you may hear about such opportunities through your networks of colleagues. You could even potentially design your own job as you learn about unadvertised internal needs."

Most job opportunities never appear on public job boards, because many positions arise from internal needs, gaps, or overloaded staff. Networking provides the most powerful job-search advantage by connecting professionals who can share leads, recommendations, and problem-solving experience. Professional associations and user groups exist for virtually every technology specialty, offering events, publications, and peer contacts. Greater technical knowledge improves employment prospects, and broader personal networks expand those prospects further. Relying solely on AI-driven, impersonal online job sites misses many unadvertised openings. Professionals can sometimes design roles by identifying unmet internal needs learned through their networks.

Read at ZDNET