Comments on: Getting Referrals from Powerful People (We All Know Someone)

By: dr haleema sadia

dr haleema sadia — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:53:07 +0000

I completely disagree with the writer .Such articles are going to promote favoritism and neglect true talent.
Believe in your capabilities and talents ,jobs will fall naturally.

By: Floyd Burgoz

Floyd Burgoz — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:25:16 +0000

Correct on all counts!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:45:44 +0000

I agree totally, my first job after getting out of the Navy was because a classmate of mine, liked the fact that I was going to school at night to further my education. He took my information, and I was called a few days later by a company that had already turned me down. I arrived for the interview, the manager informed me that the wrong person had looked at my resume and that they wanted to offer me a job. I accepted and it was a while before I ran into my classmate at work and could thank him. Flash forward several years later, I’m working as a network tech for the phone company. 911 happened and I was called back to active duty along with several of my o-workers for a tour in Afghanistan. When we returned we had a Veteran’s Day Cermony and we were all in our Desert Uniforms. The CEO was present and so were alot of other important people. I had dragged my children to the event, and introduced them to everyone. Then a year later when I needed to get my daughter a real job, I was able to make some phone calls and get her hired into a department that had a waiting list to get in from both inside and outside the company. She went from working part time in a deli to working full time with benefits including a 401k and nice salary. Soon she was bringing home more in her pay then her mother and my new wife, who had both worked in nice jobs for several years. One for an accounting firm and the other for the hospital. It all came down ‘knowing the right people” and helping them out when they needed it, as in fixing customer troubles whenever called, so when I needed a favor it was granted with pleasure. I’m a firm believer that you need an inside man to break into most companies these days. Being top of the class while an honor in itself, does not open the doors it used to open anymore. Have a nice day everyone and network, network, network.

By: Len

Len — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:42:55 +0000

I liked your article. I agree that it is often with who you know that can get you hired.
What can you do if you have been self employed for 16 years in the real estate and mortgage industry and are seeking a base plus commission job? I ask this because I have applied to over 200 jobs. My coursework is heavy, as is my work history. I have great references and my education is strong. I am humble and focus on what is at hand.

I just thought I would throw these ideas at you at 5:45 in the morning. :)

By: MaryBeth

MaryBeth — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:56:57 +0000

The old adage “it isn’t what you know but who you know or who knows you” is a truism. The more connected you are, the easier it will be for you to get a job. This has been true for generations, and it is no different now.

I do disagree with the implication that graduates of 4th tier law schools are dumb and/or incompetent. Not everyone who goes to law school can attend one of the Ivies or one of the 1st tier law schools in the midwest or west coast. Admission to law school is still very competitive, even for people who went to “good” schools for their bachelors’ degrees and who did well academically. Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago, Stanford, and other 1st tier law schools simply receive far more applications for admission than they can possibly admit. Excellent students are denied admission to these schools all the time, and if they’re serious about becoming lawyers and don’t want to wait another year to re-apply, many opt to attend a 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th tier law school. Still others may decide to attend a 4th tier law school due to finances–they may decide that the amount of debt they would have to incur to attend a 1st tier school isn’t worth it. Still others may have to work and attend school part time, and many of the 1st tier law schools do not offer part time evening programs. Like any program, but particularly in law school, you get out of it what you put into it, and in law school you do a lot of the “teaching” yourself.

Obviously, in this article, the young associate was struggling, but there is another matter Mr. Barnes did not address–law school does not teach you how to practice law. You learn the law, but when you get out, you have likely never written a will or a trust, written a complaint, a deposition, interogatory, a contract, or any other legal document. You learn how to practice law in your jobs, assuming that the attorney(s) are willing to show you the ropes. Stuggling with basic legal concepts is one matter, but if the young, well-connected associate was struggling because he didn’t know how to prepare for a trial, that is entirely another matter. Law school would have taught him (or he would have taught himself) the former, but not the latter.

By: Dina Staple

Dina Staple — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:25:04 +0000

The article, “Getting Referrals from Powerful People (We All Know Someone)”, provides alternative means for acquiring jobs. However, it is unrealistic, particularly for those who are not privileged to know or have access to highly powerful people. Moreover, the article, by emphasizing the failing associate’s educational background and law school ranking, sends the erroneous message that graduates of lower ranked law schools do not have the ability to practice law. I have encountered many practicing attorneys who graduated from a variety of local NY, non-Ivy League institutions. These attorneys are outstanding practitioners who get excellent results, some of whom are AV rated.

By: ian wru

ian wru — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:11:44 +0000

Not every graduate of a 4th tier law school is a 4th tier lawyer. Sometimes choice of school is a matter of economics. That law firms presume competence or lack there of based on school is illogical, lazy, and very much like lemmings.