Your Healing Space: How to Build the Relationship Habit for Career Success

Wellness @ Columbia

Your Healing Space is our weekly newsletter that focuses on YOUR health and wellness.  We hope you'll be able to put these ideas and practices into good use in support of your education and life goals. Your physical and mental health MATTERS.

How to Build the Relationship Habit for Career Success

When you decided to come to Columbia College Chicago, you most likely wanted to pursue a career as a creative leader, an artist, an entrepreneur, or some combination of these roles. You want opportunities to apply the skills you are learning in class, and you are looking for internships, or you might be ready to pursue post-graduation opportunities. So you should start with your resume, right? 

Well, that depends. First, are you interested in a job you saw posted on a company website or a job search site like LinkedIn or Handshake? Then yes, having your resume reviewed by someone at the Career Center is a good idea.  

However, suppose your job and internship search starts and stops with resumes, cover letters, and job postings. In that case, you are potentially missing out on many opportunities. According to the Jobvite 2019 Recruiting Benchmark Report, almost 50% of all applications come from Job Boards, followed by Internal Career Sites (35%). However, less than 1% of candidates who apply for jobs through job boards and career sites are offered the position. 

19% of candidates offered positions got their resumes directly to a hiring manager. The rest were internal candidates, referrals, and other people with an existing relationship with the company.  

This statistic is for jobs in primarily conventional industries - think hospitality, education, corporate, and health care. But for creative fields, I bet that about 99% of positions are offered to someone connected to the hiring person, especially for gig-based roles like film productions.  

Creative work runs on relationships. The most beautifully written, well-formatted, and incredibly designed resume will never top a recommendation or a referral from a trusted friend or acquaintance.  

Creative industries run on relationships because many of the roles in these industries are gig-based vs. employment-based, and gig work requires quick hiring. Take cinema and television, for example. When production on a film or television show starts, there is no time to post a position, collect resumes, have interviews, and make offers. When hiring for crucial creative roles, such as costume designers, cinematographers, and sound engineers, producers and key decision-makers have a list of professionals in mind for a project. This list is crafted based on who they have worked with before, people who have worked with someone they know, or people who create work they admire. Even for employment-based roles, there is a lot at stake in creative industries, which makes relationships necessary for the hiring process.  

If you are an introvert like me, the thought of building a professional network may be overwhelming. Instead of thinking of all the people you need to know to meet your goals, think of the habits you can build to create a more robust professional network.  

Start by asking yourself: What actions can I take daily, weekly, and regularly to be a person with a strong network?  

I recommend the following small, low-stakes habits to help you build your social network and confidence.  

Simple Habits to Meet New People 

1. Commit to participating in an activity that will connect you with new people. 

2. Attend student organization meetings related to your major and interests. 

3. Start a study/work group with people from your class, residence hall, or just people you enjoy. 

4. Attend campus events, performances, and lectures. Extra points if you invite someone to join you (more on this later). 

There are even more opportunities to meet people off-campus: 

1. Research local professional organizations related to your field. Follow them on social media, sign up for their newsletter, and look out for events you can attend. One of my favorite events for creators is Creative Morning Chicago. Creative Mornings has chapters all over the world. They have a monthly Friday morning speaker series in fabulous locations all over the city, and registration for these events is free.  

2. Look up Eventbrite for events, workshops, and performances related to your interests.  

3. Get involved in volunteer opportunities for causes that align with your values.  

4. Join online-based groups that host in-person events or promote in-person opportunities. Facebook groups and MeetUp.com are great places to start. 

Simple Habits to Stay Connected to People 

1. Create an accountability text message thread related to your goals and invite people to join. This does not have to be elaborate or time-consuming. For example, if your goal is to write a page of a short story a day, take a screenshot of the page or word count, and text it to your group. 

2. Reach out to people with a direct or text message (not a comment) when they share good or bad news on social media.  

3. Instead of Google, ask a friend. People feel more connected to us when they can help us. Ask someone to recommend a restaurant, movie, store, or anything else, and thank them later when you try it out.  

4. When you see an article or social media post related to someone's interest, send it to them. 

More Advanced Habits to Stay Connected with People 

1. Those fantastic events that you found out about during your research? Invite someone to attend with you. 

2. Did you get along with people at a former school, workplace, faith-based community, or another group? Plan a reunion, either virtually or in person.  

3. Start a group. It can be a group based on your interests, values, or shared goals. 

4. Stay in touch with former supervisors, instructors, advisors, mentors, and others who have experience with your academic or professional qualities. Doing so will come in handy when you need recommendations, job referrals, and other opportunities.  

Like all worthwhile things, building a network requires consistent action and intention. Start with these small habits, and you will be on your way.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Chakka Henderson is a Career and Internship Advisor at the Career Center. Chakka has worked as a producer and creative writer for over a decade. You can contact Chakka via email or on Instagram at @ChakkaCCC