How do I find a job when my network is tapped out?
When your professional contacts are exhausted, applying through standard job boards often leads to endless ghosting while your savings run dry. People trapped in this situation resort to piecing together precarious gig work or side hustles just to pay bills, making it nearly impossible to land stable full-time employment.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1working as a part-time consultantDid this help you?
- 2exhausting personal contacts and network for referralsDid this help you?
- 3Networking at industry mixers and panelsDid this help you?
- 4Framing previous background around production accounting parallels like budget tracking and variance analysisDid this help you?
- 5Looking for production accountant or assistant production accountant roles to get a foot in the doorDid this help you?
- 6Relying on personal connections through friends or familyDid this help you?
- 7Using professor connections to have them reach out to firms directlyDid this help you?
- 8Cold calling employersDid this help you?
- 9Attending trade schoolDid this help you?
- 10Learning how to socialize and taking communication or public speaking classesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“When people say they get jobs off of networking/connections, what percentage actually comes from going to events.”source ↗
“I feel like when people talk about connections they’re talking about their best friend that knows a friend that has a dad that owns a business…”source ↗
“It seems like they are not really open to taking new applicants most of the time. No one even takes resumes nowadays, it’s just “scan the QR code.””source ↗
“Also seems like they are just there because they are forced to and probably tired of hearing the same “what qualifications do you look for” “what do you do in a day to day” blah blah blah”source ↗
“What are your experiences in getting into the work field as a business major?”source ↗
“I'm not in college yet, but I know I am not a social person/ I can work in teams and all, but networking is my worst enemy.”source ↗
“Do you guys actually think I have a chance at getting a job without many connections, or should I get over myself and start socializing and making some friends within the industry?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 19Why do accountants take the first job offer after unemployment?
- 5Finding professionals to interview for a class project without connections
- 6Why can't I get a job as a generalist?
- 3Why am I getting ghosted after great career fair chats?
- 23Why can't I find a job after being laid off at 50+
- 43How to handle the financial and identity drop after leaving a career