Connections Count: Leveraging Networks in IP Recruitment
A recent study by Harvard Business Review has demonstrated the importance of building a wide network when searching for a job. This research aimed to discover what type of relationships are most useful when job hunting, and came to a surprising conclusion.
After analysing data from more than 20 million LinkedIn users, this groundbreaking study concluded that strong ties – such as those between friends or family members – are actually the least useful for finding new opportunities. In fact, relationships between business contacts, acquaintances, and mutual friends that are most useful when finding a new role. Harvard Business Review highlights that this research has implications for all professionals – in order to find the ideal opportunities and maximise your chances of being hired, it is vital to cultivate an expansive network. Particularly within a niche and selective industry like intellectual property, knowing the right people can be crucial to professional success. There is a reciprocal relationship here too: a large network also means exceptional candidates are a lot easier to find when hiring for specialised positions.
Building a network that is both substantial and useful within your field is a task that can take years. However, this is exactly what we have spent years cultivating at MWA. With more than 65 years of collective experience recruiting top professionals within the IP space, we have built up an extensive network of hundreds of genuine relationships throughout industry and private practice. When engaging our services, our clients and candidates gain access to this completely unique resource. But what tangible effect does this really have
For candidates,
We can facilitate introductions to departmental leaders – many of whom we might have even placed in their current positions. After an initial conversation to determine the goals for your career move, we can utilise our knowledge and expertise to help ensure your candidacy stands out and to facilitate introductions with potential employers. We can also keep your profile in mind – thus, when we handle a role that aligns with your qualifications and goals, we can prioritise presenting you to the client.
For clients,
During a hiring process, our clients gain access to our professional network. This certainly makes finding exceptional candidates much easier, but it is our relationships across the sector that are truly invaluable. In the age of LinkedIn, you might be able to find an exceptional candidate, but if that person doesn’t happen to be actively looking to change jobs, it’s unlikely that they will respond to a cold approach from a hiring manager. We have built a reputation for investing genuine thought and care into our headhunting processes. We know that the fit between a candidate and a role is crucial, and we only recommend a role we think could be of genuine career interest to a candidate. As such, we only engage in meaningful career conversations with highly relevant candidates.
In conclusion, having a substantial and relevant network is vital to both hiring and job seeking – and recent research reveals that it is not the depth of the relationship, but the breadth of the network that might be more important.
Building a broad and highly relevant network is a substantial endeavour. At MWA, our genuine network of talented IP professionals – from trainee patent attorneys to heads of departments and managing partners – is something we are proud to have cultivated through our reputation and excellent team. If you would like to arrange a conversation about how our connections might help you, get in touch with one of our consultants here:
