60.

Identify an Organization's Informal Structure

The informal structure of any organization is usually how things really work. It's based on relationships and connections—doing favors for and taking care of the people who have your back. If you work inside an organization, no doubt there are the official, proscribed means of communication (forms, requests, procedures, etc.). But if you really need to get something done, it's your relationships with co-workers that grease the wheels and produce the results. The personal connections you've formed with people are what cut through the red tape and speed the process, saving both time and energy.

How this relates to finding work is that while you may be looking for work via traditional means (answering job postings, filling out online forms, and sending in your résumé, cover letter, letters of reference, transcripts, and other supporting documents), you're simultaneously chasing the people you know in the company—and the people you know who know people who work there—to get you in the door.

When Robert F. Kennedy was the campaign manager for his brother, John F. Kennedy, during his run for the presidency in 1960, he described his campaign strategy as, “on all fronts at all times.” I never tell a client or a student not to pursue the traditional route—you still can find work that way. But it's no longer the most efficient means of doing so. So you try both. Most likely, however, you'll find that the “new” way—via the organization's informal structure, or your network of relationships—will be your best bet.