59.

Identify an Organization's Formal Structure

The formal structure of an organization deals with the relationships between authority figures and subordinates. It's often outlined in an organizational chart (“org chart” for short), which illustrates who's in charge and who reports to whom. This chart is hierarchical and includes job titles and clear lines of authority. It's the “official version.”

If you're looking for a job in the traditional manner, your résumé and cover letter will, hopefully, journey through the hierarchy described in an org chart. Its first stop will be a subordinate in the human resources department (“the place where résumés go to die”). Then, if you're lucky, it may go to a subordinate in the department where you want to work. Next, after a successful interview, it might proceed to a mid-level person in that same department for a follow-up interview. It's usually a long and slow process, like a paper salmon swimming upstream. And all too often, your résumé—and your chances—die along the way. Why? Maybe because the company hired someone internally. Or maybe the CEO's niece just graduated from college and needed a job. (Don't ever discount nepotism.) Whatever the reason, your chances of getting work using this route—the formal route—are not good.

If you talk to people who've been in the working world for any appreciable length of time, 95% of them will tell you, “I got my job because I knew someone.” I want you to be one of the people who “knew someone” so you'll be the one who gets the job. The way to do that is often by avoiding the formal structure in the organization for which you want to work altogether or by opening a second front.