Getting doors to open for you is one of the hardest parts of the job search process. When job hunting, the EasyApply button is no longer your friend. The old adage, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know" is brutally accurate in today’s competitive hiring market.

At Raven Road Partners, we believe deeply in leveraging networks. We’ve built our business on them. Not only do our networks serve our business, they serve our clients and our candidates.

We make introductions whenever we can to help clients explore new career paths, advance to higher levels, and open doors to more meaningful work.

I graduated college in 2008. If you recall, the job market was a mess in 2008. It was difficult to find any job, let alone a job in my field, as a fresh graduate. I ended up taking a job at an ice cream shop making $9 / hr and worked my way up from there. From there on out, I said yes to any offer I got, no questions asked. I was grateful to have a paying opportunity to support myself, and I didn’t think I had control over my career path.

I couldn’t wait to leave my last really bad job. I was having panic attacks on a weekly basis, working around the clock, and nothing I turned in was ever good enough. When Thanksgiving came around that year, I felt like I had nothing to be thankful for.

But, despite the toxic work environment, the worry, and the fear, I did get some things out of that job. Not just a paycheck and unlimited time off, but things that helped me progress to my next job. And today, I am thankful for the experience.