Successfully building a long-term professional network
Successfully building a long-term professional network
MEMBER STORY | Written by SDCN Alumna Surabhi Mishra
It all started on a Tuesday, the usual day of our weekly Career Support Group organized by the Stockholm Dual Career Network, where I was volunteering to help the team with their events and communications. It was also a depressing Tuesday as the previous night I received an e-mail from a prospective employer that I did not pass their qualifying test and thus they would not proceed with my application. The fact that I was not eligible to apply to any other positions in the company for a year made the whole deal even more disappointing. However, I had time to sleep on it, collect my thoughts and so was calmer in the morning, ready to start a new day and break the news to my anxious colleagues at SDCN.
“While Laure and I were discussing the qualifying test and the way forward regarding my professional path, I noticed that Sophia slipped away for a while. We continued to talk by the coffee machine when suddenly Sophia breezed in and started talking to me –”
I arrived early to the office and shared the latest updates with Laure and Sophia (my colleagues and friends at SDCN). The utter dismay on their faces took me by surprise, albeit a pleasant one! They were more disappointed with the results than I was. While Laure and I were discussing the qualifying test and the way forward regarding my professional path, I noticed that Sophia slipped away for a while. We continued to talk by the coffee machine when suddenly Sophia breezed in and started talking to me –
Sophia: Do you know that we had introduced one of the members of SDCN to our professional network that was helpful in drawing the attention of many relevant people to his profile?
Me: No, I didn’t know about this.
Sophia: Do you want me to do something similar for you? I can write a short reference for you and introduce you to my LinkedIn network. Would that work for you?
“Work for me? It would be an honor to receive an open recommendation on an open networking platform.”, I thought. More than anything, I felt that there was something that I was doing right that got me positive attention from my colleagues.
Me: Yes, that would really be helpful, Sophia! Thank you very much for the thought and the gesture!
Sophia: Of course!
And that was that! Laure and I continued talking as we walked into the conference room to commence our Career Support Group. By now, the participants had started to pour in and before we realized it, both Laure and I had already begun discussing respective issues that the participants had with respect to their CVs, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and more!
“I went through the note quietly and trust me, the confidence and self-esteem that I felt at the time were unparalleled and I can safely say that it was my first professional achievement since I moved to Stockholm!”
About three hours later, after wrapping up the Career Support Group session, I hurriedly went around bidding everyone goodbye with the thought of the crowded subway troubling me. By now I had almost forgotten about my conversation with Sophia concerning my introduction to her LinkedIn network and went by to her desk to say goodbye. But, she had something else to show me –
Sophia: Hey Surabhi, I have written a short description of you and your professional background for people on my network to read. Have a look and let me know if you would like to change anything.
Me (overwhelmed): Oh! Thank you, Sophia, for putting it together so quickly!
I went through the note quietly and trust me, the confidence and self-esteem that I felt at the time were unparalleled and I can safely say that it was my first professional achievement since I moved to Stockholm!
Sophia: Do you want me to change anything here?
Me: No! I think it is perfect. Thank you for all the nice words and your recommendation!
Sophia: That’s not a problem. It’s my pleasure! I will now post it on my timeline and see if we get any response.
Me: Yes, thank you.
And then I left engrossed in my thoughts and secretly happy about my very first professional success in Stockholm.
This is how the post looked like on Sophia’s timeline
After the previous day’s post on LinkedIn, I had hardly slept because of the hourly urge to check for updates. And, yes, I had received one from Sophia the following morning. It was a request from a professional in her network who had read about me and got in touch with Sophia. The person in question knew of a position for a communicator in an organization and they needed someone to urgently fill it. So, Sophia passed on the information to me and suggested I looked into it.
“Wow, so it works “, I thought to myself and went on to check out the position. It fit my profile, however, it wasn’t a 100% match. I did lack some requirements, which I thought were essential for the position. I was in two minds and thought I should discuss it with Sophia before I sent my application.
I was attending an event later that day which other SDCN members so, during the coffee break, I caught hold of Sophia and told her about my dilemma., “So what?” she replied. ”You are a 100% match for the rest of the criteria, right?”
“Yes, but the other two criteria seem to be quite important for this specific job. Do you think I should email them and inquire before I submit my application?”, I said.
“Do that and let me know what happens!”, she said.
I inquired that same afternoon.
I received a response from the company the next day informing me that in order for my application to be considered, I did indeed need the above mentioned criteria. And, there, the door closed as quickly as it had opened up.
But, the doors were not meant to remain closed forever! Within a couple of days of this incident, I received a message from someone that I had met very recently at an SDCN event. Her name was Aleksandra and she was one of the members of the network who had been through the challenges of finding a job in Sweden and was now on the other side of the table. She had read Sophia’s post and wanted to tell me about a probable position in the Marketing department of the company she was working for and inquire about my interest. That was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss out on! I therefore told her I was interested and shared my CV with her. She forwarded the CV to the relevant people in her company and mentioned that they would get back to me as soon as the position opened up.
“Oh! So, there was no open position yet!”, I thought to myself, but there was no harm in expressing interest. I informed Sophia about it and all we could do was wait and see. While I waited for a response from Aleksandra, I decided to get back to my usual routine of finding relevant open positions, applying for them, going to the SDCN office and learning what I could to help myself crack the code of the Swedish job market.
It was almost three weeks since my message exchange with Aleksandra and I wondered whether I should follow-up. I let that week pass by, but being unable to contain my anxiety any further I wrote to Aleksandra requesting an update.
She replied sooner than I expected “I have forwarded your CV to the concerned department but, it might be a while before they take a decision on this. Meanwhile, I plan to build my sales team and was wondering if it would be something you would be interested in.”
“This sounds interesting and I would like to explore the possibility, however, I am not sure if I have the relevant experience.”, I replied.
Aleksandra said: “Yes, I see that your area of expertise is not a direct match, but, if you are open to it we could discuss it further.”
I thought a little about it and messaged Aleksandra that I would meet her to discuss this further. We decided to meet a week later.
Of course, Sophia and the team had to know about it!! Yes, that one post of Sophia’s had certainly set the ball rolling and I wanted to thank her again. Although I wasn’t sure of what I could anticipate as an outcome of the scheduled meeting with Aleksandra, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I could begin my career in Stockholm. I told Sophia about this and we kept our fingers crossed.
After what seemed like a long wait, it was time to meet Aleksandra and discuss possibilities. I had researched the company and broadly knew about them, but, I still had many questions. So, when we met, I let Aleksandra walk me through the company’s profile and explain more about the role they were looking to fill. We spoke for about an hour and it all sounded interesting to me. However, I still wasn’t sure and wanted to know more and meet Aleksandra’s colleagues to get a better understanding of the workplace. At the end of the meeting, Aleksandra suggested she would discuss our meeting internally and would get back to me in a couple of weeks.
“What? Interview?”, I thought with a racing heart. It was finally happening!”
Unexpectedly, the next two weeks went by in a jiffy and it was already time to expect the next message from Aleksandra. I waited until the end of the week and when I didn’t hear from her, I followed up. And, she finally wrote saying that her Managing Director wanted to meet me and if I could drop by for an interview. “What? Interview?”, I thought with a racing heart. It was finally happening! I said ‘yes’ and we fixed a time and date for the meeting. Now, I had to share my excitement with someone and without a second thought, I went to my team at SDCN, who had been by my side all this time.
I did a lot of research on the company, made notes, and prepared myself for the interview. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned, so, I decided to discuss pointers and practice a bit for the upcoming interview with someone who is already in the Swedish job market and understands the system well (I didn’t want to falter on the ‘cultural dos and don’ts’ front, you see!). A small interview practice session was scheduled by SDCN the morning of the day of my interview and I participated in that last-minute brush-up that left me a little more confident for what was to come.
After the final preparations, I left for the interview and after about an hour of meeting with Aleksandra and the Managing Director and as I was about to leave, Aleksandra mentioned that they were evaluating candidates and they would let me know the results by the end of the following week. It was time to wait again!
I waited until the end of the following week and thought of following -up but, this time I already had an e-mail in my inbox, which I had not yet seen. And there was good news!
They offered me the position and mentioned that I would soon receive a detailed offer letter. Phew, finally! I felt a lot lighter than I had felt since I arrived in Stockholm almost two and a half years ago. This was news to be shared with my colleagues at SDCN (obviously) and the excitement, happiness, and positivity that they expressed made me happier.
“The turning point was when I applied for a voluntary position at SDCN in early 2017.”
Sophia and me
It might all seem like one small lucky incident had made this job possible for me, but when I think back, it certainly was a long process that required patience, perseverance, and willingness to consider even the smallest opportunity to showcase my capabilities. In this case, the turning point was when I applied for a voluntary position at SDCN in early 2017. At that time, it was the best way I could get the very first access to the Swedish job market. During the nine months of my engagement with SDCN, I honestly and genuinely gave my best to the network earning my colleagues’ confidence in me, which in turn led in them professionally vouching for me. The real cherry on top was when I got to know from Aleksandra that Laure recommended me positively which was one of the strong determining factors for the offer I was given. The recommendations wouldn’t have been possible had I not volunteered to work at SDCN.
Last updated 2018/11/05
MEMBER STORY | Written by SDCN Alumna Surabhi Mishra
It all started on a Tuesday, the usual day of our weekly Career Support Group organized by the Stockholm Dual Career Network, where I was volunteering to help the team with their events and communications. It was also a depressing Tuesday as the previous night I received an e-mail from a prospective employer that I did not pass their qualifying test and thus they would not proceed with my application. The fact that I was not eligible to apply to any other positions in the company for a year made the whole deal even more disappointing. However, I had time to sleep on it, collect my thoughts and so was calmer in the morning, ready to start a new day and break the news to my anxious colleagues at SDCN.
“While Laure and I were discussing the qualifying test and the way forward regarding my professional path, I noticed that Sophia slipped away for a while. We continued to talk by the coffee machine when suddenly Sophia breezed in and started talking to me –”
I arrived early to the office and shared the latest updates with Laure and Sophia (my colleagues and friends at SDCN). The utter dismay on their faces took me by surprise, albeit a pleasant one! They were more disappointed with the results than I was. While Laure and I were discussing the qualifying test and the way forward regarding my professional path, I noticed that Sophia slipped away for a while. We continued to talk by the coffee machine when suddenly Sophia breezed in and started talking to me –
Sophia: Do you know that we had introduced one of the members of SDCN to our professional network that was helpful in drawing the attention of many relevant people to his profile?
Me: No, I didn’t know about this.
Sophia: Do you want me to do something similar for you? I can write a short reference for you and introduce you to my LinkedIn network. Would that work for you?
“Work for me? It would be an honor to receive an open recommendation on an open networking platform.”, I thought. More than anything, I felt that there was something that I was doing right that got me positive attention from my colleagues.
Me: Yes, that would really be helpful, Sophia! Thank you very much for the thought and the gesture!
Sophia: Of course!
And that was that! Laure and I continued talking as we walked into the conference room to commence our Career Support Group. By now, the participants had started to pour in and before we realized it, both Laure and I had already begun discussing respective issues that the participants had with respect to their CVs, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and more!
“I went through the note quietly and trust me, the confidence and self-esteem that I felt at the time were unparalleled and I can safely say that it was my first professional achievement since I moved to Stockholm!”
About three hours later, after wrapping up the Career Support Group session, I hurriedly went around bidding everyone goodbye with the thought of the crowded subway troubling me. By now I had almost forgotten about my conversation with Sophia concerning my introduction to her LinkedIn network and went by to her desk to say goodbye. But, she had something else to show me –
Sophia: Hey Surabhi, I have written a short description of you and your professional background for people on my network to read. Have a look and let me know if you would like to change anything.
Me (overwhelmed): Oh! Thank you, Sophia, for putting it together so quickly!
I went through the note quietly and trust me, the confidence and self-esteem that I felt at the time were unparalleled and I can safely say that it was my first professional achievement since I moved to Stockholm!
Sophia: Do you want me to change anything here?
Me: No! I think it is perfect. Thank you for all the nice words and your recommendation!
Sophia: That’s not a problem. It’s my pleasure! I will now post it on my timeline and see if we get any response.
Me: Yes, thank you.
And then I left engrossed in my thoughts and secretly happy about my very first professional success in Stockholm.
This is how the post looked like on Sophia’s timeline
After the previous day’s post on LinkedIn, I had hardly slept because of the hourly urge to check for updates. And, yes, I had received one from Sophia the following morning. It was a request from a professional in her network who had read about me and got in touch with Sophia. The person in question knew of a position for a communicator in an organization and they needed someone to urgently fill it. So, Sophia passed on the information to me and suggested I looked into it.
“Wow, so it works “, I thought to myself and went on to check out the position. It fit my profile, however, it wasn’t a 100% match. I did lack some requirements, which I thought were essential for the position. I was in two minds and thought I should discuss it with Sophia before I sent my application.
I was attending an event later that day which other SDCN members so, during the coffee break, I caught hold of Sophia and told her about my dilemma., “So what?” she replied. ”You are a 100% match for the rest of the criteria, right?”
“Yes, but the other two criteria seem to be quite important for this specific job. Do you think I should email them and inquire before I submit my application?”, I said.
“Do that and let me know what happens!”, she said.
I inquired that same afternoon.
I received a response from the company the next day informing me that in order for my application to be considered, I did indeed need the above mentioned criteria. And, there, the door closed as quickly as it had opened up.
But, the doors were not meant to remain closed forever! Within a couple of days of this incident, I received a message from someone that I had met very recently at an SDCN event. Her name was Aleksandra and she was one of the members of the network who had been through the challenges of finding a job in Sweden and was now on the other side of the table. She had read Sophia’s post and wanted to tell me about a probable position in the Marketing department of the company she was working for and inquire about my interest. That was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss out on! I therefore told her I was interested and shared my CV with her. She forwarded the CV to the relevant people in her company and mentioned that they would get back to me as soon as the position opened up.
“Oh! So, there was no open position yet!”, I thought to myself, but there was no harm in expressing interest. I informed Sophia about it and all we could do was wait and see. While I waited for a response from Aleksandra, I decided to get back to my usual routine of finding relevant open positions, applying for them, going to the SDCN office and learning what I could to help myself crack the code of the Swedish job market.
It was almost three weeks since my message exchange with Aleksandra and I wondered whether I should follow-up. I let that week pass by, but being unable to contain my anxiety any further I wrote to Aleksandra requesting an update.
She replied sooner than I expected “I have forwarded your CV to the concerned department but, it might be a while before they take a decision on this. Meanwhile, I plan to build my sales team and was wondering if it would be something you would be interested in.”
“This sounds interesting and I would like to explore the possibility, however, I am not sure if I have the relevant experience.”, I replied.
Aleksandra said: “Yes, I see that your area of expertise is not a direct match, but, if you are open to it we could discuss it further.”
I thought a little about it and messaged Aleksandra that I would meet her to discuss this further. We decided to meet a week later.
Of course, Sophia and the team had to know about it!! Yes, that one post of Sophia’s had certainly set the ball rolling and I wanted to thank her again. Although I wasn’t sure of what I could anticipate as an outcome of the scheduled meeting with Aleksandra, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I could begin my career in Stockholm. I told Sophia about this and we kept our fingers crossed.
After what seemed like a long wait, it was time to meet Aleksandra and discuss possibilities. I had researched the company and broadly knew about them, but, I still had many questions. So, when we met, I let Aleksandra walk me through the company’s profile and explain more about the role they were looking to fill. We spoke for about an hour and it all sounded interesting to me. However, I still wasn’t sure and wanted to know more and meet Aleksandra’s colleagues to get a better understanding of the workplace. At the end of the meeting, Aleksandra suggested she would discuss our meeting internally and would get back to me in a couple of weeks.
“What? Interview?”, I thought with a racing heart. It was finally happening!”
Unexpectedly, the next two weeks went by in a jiffy and it was already time to expect the next message from Aleksandra. I waited until the end of the week and when I didn’t hear from her, I followed up. And, she finally wrote saying that her Managing Director wanted to meet me and if I could drop by for an interview. “What? Interview?”, I thought with a racing heart. It was finally happening! I said ‘yes’ and we fixed a time and date for the meeting. Now, I had to share my excitement with someone and without a second thought, I went to my team at SDCN, who had been by my side all this time.
I did a lot of research on the company, made notes, and prepared myself for the interview. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned, so, I decided to discuss pointers and practice a bit for the upcoming interview with someone who is already in the Swedish job market and understands the system well (I didn’t want to falter on the ‘cultural dos and don’ts’ front, you see!). A small interview practice session was scheduled by SDCN the morning of the day of my interview and I participated in that last-minute brush-up that left me a little more confident for what was to come.
After the final preparations, I left for the interview and after about an hour of meeting with Aleksandra and the Managing Director and as I was about to leave, Aleksandra mentioned that they were evaluating candidates and they would let me know the results by the end of the following week. It was time to wait again!
I waited until the end of the following week and thought of following -up but, this time I already had an e-mail in my inbox, which I had not yet seen. And there was good news!
They offered me the position and mentioned that I would soon receive a detailed offer letter. Phew, finally! I felt a lot lighter than I had felt since I arrived in Stockholm almost two and a half years ago. This was news to be shared with my colleagues at SDCN (obviously) and the excitement, happiness, and positivity that they expressed made me happier.
“The turning point was when I applied for a voluntary position at SDCN in early 2017.”
Sophia and me
It might all seem like one small lucky incident had made this job possible for me, but when I think back, it certainly was a long process that required patience, perseverance, and willingness to consider even the smallest opportunity to showcase my capabilities. In this case, the turning point was when I applied for a voluntary position at SDCN in early 2017. At that time, it was the best way I could get the very first access to the Swedish job market. During the nine months of my engagement with SDCN, I honestly and genuinely gave my best to the network earning my colleagues’ confidence in me, which in turn led in them professionally vouching for me. The real cherry on top was when I got to know from Aleksandra that Laure recommended me positively which was one of the strong determining factors for the offer I was given. The recommendations wouldn’t have been possible had I not volunteered to work at SDCN.
Last updated 2018/11/05