Well, there is some truth to the "It's not what you know, it's who you know" school of thought. However, I would have to say, friends/business contacts may be able to get you in the door, but you have to know a little to stay there.
A little over a year ago, a friend of mine knew I was looking for a job. She called me up and convinced me to come on board as temporary that would be hired full time. Six weeks into the ten week temp job, I was hired full time. At six months, they gave me more money. A year to the week I started as a temp, I was promoted to supervisor.
The job before that, I got by answering an ad in the newspaper. The one before that was retail. I was there for ten years; I worked my way up from cashier to working at the corporate offices.
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