I got to class a bit early today and sat there reviewing my notes while I was overhearing a group of undergraduate students talking about internships that they landed for next summer.

“[Company Name] is coming to campus soon but thank God I don’t need to worry about it! If your dad wasn’t the hiring manager, I wouldn’t have gotten that internship for next summer!”

I just happen to know [Company Name], and that [Company Name] doesn’t even have job postings for available for summer 2010 internships. This brings me to my little … rant …, assuming that what these students are saying is true.

I have to admit, I get agitated by people who have “connections” with companies. I always thought it was an unfair advantage, and hate having to resort to using “connections” myself. But all to often now, I’m hearing more and more that a person with direct connection to a company, whether it be by friend, family, co-worker, or any other odd combination of the three, has a better chance of getting hired over a more well-qualified applicant.

You can have the most amazing background, education, and experience yet you could be virtually unnoticed. I had a friend in college who was a had a CGPA of a 3.9 in our Aerospace Engineering curriculum. A 3.9, where the graduating class average CGPA was a 2.8! He could good oral and verbal communication (worked at the school’s Writing Center and did MUN), was an RA, was a club president, and had previous working experience with an internship. And yet, for nine months that consistent of fall and spring semester, left and right our classmates were finding jobs (including the most UN-qualified druggies landing jobs at big name companies) and he had nearly faced graduation without a job until he got one at the last moment with a small contractor.

I understand that Human Resources folks have to deal with hundreds of resumes a day, and I understand that by networking you could have a better chance of having your application at the hiring manager’s desk. Because of this, job searching seems to have manifested into this game where on the applicant-side, where

1. You need to network
2. You need to network
3. You need to network
4. You need to network
5. You need to be good at what you do

I say this because from me looking at the outset, I see people who have strong networks or connections getting hired into a company. At the same time, I see (and have worked with) people who absolutely no nothing about their job duties. When I ask myself, “How on Earth did this person get hired?” it usually leads to me thinking, “Oh, wait.”

Obviously, there is a problem with the process. I don’t have a solution, yet I feel that there could be a more efficient way to find quality candidates versus what it seems to be like “let’s do a job posting and let applications come in, but let’s focus our attention on people who have connections”.

These undergraduate students talking about their summer internship next year is a good example of this. One person’s dad works at [Company Name] and even before the hiring process starts, he takes in his child and child’s friends’ resume and hires them without considering potential applicants whose applications still have yet to come in once the jobs are posted.

Equal Opportunity Employer? I don’t think so.