Beyond the Résumé: Landing a Career Through Local Community

Twenty-three people commented on a Facebook post, but Liliana Hetherman took a different route: she sent a direct message. That single act of initiative turned a local neighborhood request into a full-time role as a project manager at PDS Development, bypassing the automated traps of modern job hunting.

Hetherman’s path to the Brooklyn-based real estate firm began in a community group called "Park Slope Together." While peers relied on standardized digital applications, she leveraged a local connection to secure remote tasks during her junior year at Smith College. This relationship evolved over two years of background work, eventually leading to a full-time position upon her graduation last May. Her daily responsibilities now include sourcing sites for charter schools, managing loan financing for nonprofits, and building the very human networks that launched her career.

This experience highlights a growing disconnect between digital job portals and actual hiring outcomes. While many applicants struggle with the anonymity of online platforms, Hetherman found that proximity—both physical and personal—remains a powerful tool. By attending industry events and actively seeking mentorship, she moved beyond the screen to build real-world rapport with brokers and developers. Her trajectory serves as a reminder that professional opportunities often reside within existing, overlooked circles of neighbors, alumni, and community members rather than in the impersonal queue of a job board.