Jobs (Part 8): Summary + Major reason for expanding your network

Finally, a new post under the "Jobs" series! It has been quite a while since Jobs (Part 7), which was posted in May 2013.

This series was intended to help diploma and undergraduate students with giving some advice on looking for jobs. Just to recall your memory about this series:
Part 1 and Part 2 looks at the types of jobs and the areas or industries where those with psychology diploma or degrees can work in. As mentioned, for diplomas and degree holders, there may be a lot of jobs for you to choose from, however they tend to be more general and of a lower status level and pay.
Part 3 talks about the compatibility of yourself (your character, personality, interests, etc.) to the type of jobs you can try to do or may be suitable for.
Part 4 and Part 5 discuss on why jobs are so hard to find, and the reasons for why psychology students have issues finding jobs. Don't worry too much, because Part 5 comes with some advice. They include furthering your studies, or networking in your psychological area of interest (which is the topic of this post!!), and / or even volunteering in some psychological-related work.
Part 6 looks at why employers tend to so strict in their selection criteria and explains it from a ethical point of view. "In conclusion: Do no harm."
Part 7 gives advice and options for what you can do if you have just graduated and have yet to find a job. Look at No. 5 (which happen to be my favourite):
Expand your knowledge of psychology as much as possible!
The question here is "how are you going to expand your knowledge?"  This question has already been discussed before in a 2012 post.  One previous suggestion was to attend more conferences and events.  Do note that there are several events held in Singapore this year, including the 5th ASEAN Regional Union of Psychological Societies (ARUPS) Congress and World Federation For Mental Health (WFMH) Regional Congress 2015.

Other than just listening to the talks or going to events, one very good way that you can get jobs is to expand your network.  This includes knowing (a) your peers, (b) other students from different universities, (c) lecturers, professors and researchers in the area of psychology that you may be interested in, as well as (d) other professionals that might require psychological services.
This is all for one simple reason.
Expanding your network  =  More job opportunities
You never know who you will meet one day and make a lasting impression on.  These people that you meet for a couple of days over a conference (or even on a one-day symposium) might be your employer one day.  So make sure you try to meet as many people (and friends) as you can in your psychological journey, as this will definitely help in your (present or future) job seeking process!!

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