Create a Network and Catapult Your Job Search

Networking is still known as a great job-search strategy, yet it eludes some individuals simply because they don't know how to go about it. Individuals also tend to shy away from networking because it's time consuming. Unlike online résumé submission or folding a résumé, stuffing it in an envelope, and adhering a stamp, networking requires far more time and dedication. The results, however, can be quite different than those experienced from traditional résumé submission.

Your network incorporates everyone around you, such as your preacher, doctor, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and/or fellow committee members. The object is to talk, ask, brainstorm, and seek the assistance of others that know of an opportunity or contact that you do not. Have you heard of Stanley Milgrim's theory of "Six Degrees of Separation" (more popularly known by the movie, starring Kevin Bacon)? His theory states that there are only 6 people separating you and someone you'd like to meet or get in touch with, such as a hiring or human resources manager.

Like anything critical in your life, you must be prepared to network. Hold a small portfolio to house several prints of your résumé along with other pertinent material. Collect business cards from everyone you meet and make notation of the place and date on the card. This information is needed should you speak with this person again. You'll make an impression by referencing your previous conversation, along with the date and occasion (e.g. name of seminar or conference).

The card will also be handy when you're given a job lead. Generally the intro paragraph of a cover letter will reference something like, "When I spoke to Sarah McNeil on August 1, 2002, she mentioned that you are looking for a clerk typist and suggested that I contact you." Obtaining a person's card will keep you from misspelling the person's name and remind you of the person that gave you the lead. Effective networking will cause your card portfolio to fill up quickly and make it difficult for you to keep names and companies straight in your mind. BTW, don't forget to give your lead a small gift or handwritten thank-you card if you land the job. Small gestures, such as a job lead, can oftentimes be forgotten.

As I mentioned, networking takes time; but the results can be more rewarding than résumé blasting (sending your résumé to anyone, if not everyone). Steven R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote, "We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen." This statement applies to everything in our lives, especially those affecting our careers. Networking (although time consuming) can change the entire face of our beings and open the door to more opportunities than we ever dreamed possible.

Even when employed, your network should be tended. Keep in touch with select individuals through thank-you cards and e-mails. Offer your services and knowledge to them should the opportunity arise - anything that will make his or her life easier.

I also recommend that you present individuals in your network with key opportunities that may come across your desk in the future. The best way to get is to first give. Give your acquaintances the chance to be quoted in an incoming article or book - or opt to purchase products or services from them. A $15 purchase will show that person that you care about their success.

Another great aspect of networking is to find new friends that will strengthen your network and challenge you to succeed. Within the first three months in business, I met two individuals that I associate with now four years later. One has a degree in journalism and is incredibly smart concerning the English language, and the other is a technical guru that I call immediately if I have trouble with one of my computers. Both are incredibly skilled in their fields, and ultimately make my business stronger because we each look out for the other. We talk, we negotiate, and we bounce ideas off each other. Now that's a network!

About The Author

Written by Teena Rose, a certified and published resume writer with Resume to Referral (http://www.resumebycrpw.com) and author to "Resume Designs & Job-search Strategies for College Grads" (published by CareerEpublications) --forecasted to release September 2003.

admin@resumetoreferral.com


More Resources

Job Search: Time Management
There is an old adage that "Looking for a job is harder than working." How true! The rigors of job search are magnified by the turmoil we experience: lack of self-confidence, humiliation, financial pressure, and the undercurrent of emotions that color all we do: fear, anger, depression, anxiety, loss.
Shades of Grey
A paperweight sits on my desk, etched in silver the message: Life isn't always black and white. It serves as a reminder there are few absolutes at work (or in life).
Job Search - Understand Employers
Think like an employerTo be successful in your job search campaign you must think like an employer or a recruiter. If you are going to do this right, you need to appreciate the ways that employers sift through the flood of resumes.
Searching for an IT Job
Looking for an IT job is one of the easiest to perform due to the incredibly high demand in the IT field. As the Internet grows, corporations network through Intranets - even the advancement of science has the demand for anyone with IT skills at an all time high.
Unlimit Your Life!
Do you have a tendency to think in absolutes?Is everything good or bad, black or white?This type of thinking can severely limit your options. Or worse, prevent you from getting an accurate picture of what'spossible.
Kick-In-The-Pants Job Search
Believe it: three obstacles will hold you back from your ideal job -- your résumé, you, and your job-search methods. There's no hidden formula; there's no bribery needed; there's no one standing in front of employment - other than YOU!You've probably heard all the excuses, or used them yourself.
Sweeping Up Worms
With the opening of a new venture and numerous reporters arriving in an hour, it felt like one of those "chickens with heads off" days. We were close, but not ready.
Get Your Dream Job!
Anyone who is a jobseeker knows that looking for a new job or career is a job in itself. Once you have completed the laborious task of writing your resume and submitting it to various companies, you now have to pass the screen test to get the job.
Applying for a Job in China
Working in ChinaWorking in China is very common now. Either you are sent to China by your company or you apply for a job to be stationed in China.
Job! Money! Career!
Feel somehow your life is stuck in MS-OFFICE - The reality of life for MBAs is Excel or PowerPoint , I heard Google is catching up at campus. Having gone through this myself, (I am still not out of it!), having had the nightmare of freshly minted MBAs reporting to me every year ( 90% of MBAs in their first job believe that their first Boss in Incompetent) and struggling to manage their transition to reality, guess I am now in a position to give some Gyan on assessing your job and career moves.
War Time Hiring: 5 Steps to Attract Top Talent
A recent report, titled "The War for Talent" stated that over the next 20 years, employee talent will be what differentiates successful companies from those going bust. The late 90's gave us a glimpse of the talent war, but was nothing compared to what's ahead.
Seven Tips to a Job-Winning Interview
These days, interviews don't come easily. When you get The Call, make the most of your time -- and go for it!1.
Is Your Resume Doing ITS Job?
Is it opening doors to new opportunities? Does it compel the reader to think, "Hey! This applicant can ?put that one on top of the 'call in for an interview' pile!" Does it showcase what you have accomplished for past employers as well as what you can accomplish for the potential employer?Your resume is your personal marketing tool that must immediately convey to the reader that you CAN and WILL be a positive driving force to further their organization's mission. They have a need to QUICKLY get thru all the resumes received in response to their job posting so you've got to QUICKLY grab their attention.
Preparing For An Interview
When preparing for an interview, you need to know your skills, experiences and achievements, and how to answer interview questions.Your SkillsBecome an expert about yourself.
What to Do if You are Over 40 and Have Lost Your Job
Unexpectedly loosing your job can be a very traumatic and distressing experience at the best of times. If you are over 40 and can't find the job you deserve, you will need great inner strength and self belief to come out on top.
Recruiting Excellent Job Candidates
An independent recruiter, recruiting agency or executive search firm is charged with tracking down excellent potential candidates for available job positions. Despite the fact that there are innumerable people seeking positions of employment in the 21st century, it often seems to a typical recruiting agency that qualified men and women are few and far between.
How To Write The Perfect Cover Letter: Be Brief--And Be Gone!
The best cover letters are 'one-page wonders.' Why? Because they suit today's busy employers who are already overloaded and often overwhelmed.
Hair Dressing as a Career
Since the world started hair has been a very important aspect of individual personality and with the change in time hair has emerged as a big form of self expression for both men and women.In todays world everyone wants to look beautiful, everyone wants to get compliment from their friends and its a well known fact that when you look good you feel good and then you work better.
The Global Work Marketplace - The Revolution Of How Work Gets Done
Will cubicles be a distant memory for today's workforce? Will the expense of office space and the tremendous burden of employee benefits be a thing of the past for modern day businesses?The reality is, for thousands of people, this change has already occurred. Internet based 'Service Auctions' now abound where businesses can post their ongoing jobs or one-time projects to a global market of freelance professionals, a.
Take the Personal Out of the Workplace: Leave Your Troubles at the Door!
Bringing your emotional baggage into the work place is inappropriate for all the reasons you may imagine. Yet employees, managers and business owners do it all the time.

More Careers & Employment Information:

Related Articles

How to Receive Multiple Job Offers After You're Fired
Ask survivors of the most popular reality television shows and they'll tell you "If you have to eat a cockroach, don't spend too much time thinking about it." Keep focused on the end-game and move on.
Self Describing Skills - Key Strengths
You need to be the best you can at describing your best qualities; particularly your key strengths. In my coaching practice I generally, at some point, ask my client: "What are you good at?" purely as a means to establish if they have already thought through this most important question.
The Interview - A Few Tips for Making a Great First Impression
Searching for employment is one of the most nerve-racking activities to engage in. As if the direct need for income is not stressful enough, the process of writing a résumé, networking in your industry, and applying for jobs can leave anyone shaking in their tracks.
Those Little Things
Moving to another state meant finding a new dentist. I tried one a neighbor recommended who seemed friendly, competent and eager to please.
Searching for an IT Job
Looking for an IT job is one of the easiest to perform due to the incredibly high demand in the IT field. As the Internet grows, corporations network through Intranets - even the advancement of science has the demand for anyone with IT skills at an all time high.
How to Become a Successful Freelance Translator
After completing their translation training programmes at higher professional education or university level, many students can't wait to set up as a freelance translator. However, gaining a foothold as a freelancer in a very competitive translation market may turn out to be a pretty complicated business.
3 Reasons To Hire From Outside Your Industry
While at times it may prove comfortable and convenient to hire from within your current industry, often the best candidate for the job comes from outside your "comfort zone". How can that be? As a recruiter focused on a highly regulated and competitive industry experiencing significant growth nationwide, here are 3 reasons to hire from outside your industry:1.
Resume Writing and Preparation is Free Online
Creating a strong resume is a very important part of applying for a job, either online or off line. There are many resume writing services that will help you build an impressive resume for job interviews.
Using Recruiters: How To Get A Step Ahead Of The Crowd
When there is an opening to fill, a company has four basic approaches at their disposal:? Advertise the position on Internet job sites? Network? Probe the Internet for viable candidates? Use recruitersWhen a company advertises an opening on an Internet job site, they receive hundreds of resumes. It simply is too long of a process and financially prohibitive to review every resume and move through each step of the interviewing and selection process to fill the opening.
The Dog Days of Job Hunting
Does a headline like this scare you? it should because the consolidation is not over yet.Don't despair just because we are in the "dog days" of job hunting there are action items you can do now to keep yourself primed for.
Getting Started: 5 Things You Need to Decide When You Get Started with a Job Search
There are few things more frustrating for a headhunter than asking a person basic questions that revolve around what you as a job hunter are looking for in a job and being given uncertain answers. I'm not talking about salary; that's a question where a wise person states a target objective and is flexible enough to let the market decide their value.
The Top 10 Ways to Achieve Balance in Your Life
1. Define Success for YourselfClarify and write down what success means for you.
Job Interviews -- How to Follow Up Effectively
Getting a job is not just about your performance in an interview. The post-interview follow up you do has a critical role in a successful job hunt.
So You Want A Promotion - What Do You Need To Do To Get the Champagne Corks Popping?
The champagne corks have been popping to celebrate your promotion.You have a well paid job you love - its really interesting.
Do Dream Jobs Really Exist?
More than four out of ten thirtysomething professionals want to change careers, but feel trapped and don't believe that they will, a new study shows.More thirtysomethings than ever before are feeling disillusioned with their careers and openly acknowledge that they'd like to move into something more rewarding and fulfilling.
Kick-In-The-Pants Job Search
Believe it: three obstacles will hold you back from your ideal job -- your résumé, you, and your job-search methods. There's no hidden formula; there's no bribery needed; there's no one standing in front of employment - other than YOU!You've probably heard all the excuses, or used them yourself.
Your First Summer Work in the UK - Picking Strawberries The Right Way
Most jobs on farms in the UK involve picking strawberries or berries in general, raspberries and possibly other berries with which I have not have the lucky chance to pick.Picking strawberries is very demanding and hard work and if this being your first summer job, then it will take lots of patience and clear mind.
Employment Law: Attendance Rewards - Legal Ramifications
If you were thinking of offering your employees special rewards as incentives for having good attendance records, then you must read on. In fact, employers that offer attendance bonuses may find themselves falling foul of the law.
Successful Job Seeking - The Importance of Your Cover Letter
As an employer I receive many job applications each week. Some cover letters are so well written that I am compelled to review the attached resume even if our company is not currently hiring.
I Just Lost My Job: How Am I Going To Tell My Kids?
One of the responsibilities of a human resources professional is to let employees know that their job has been eliminated. It is seldom easy to do and often painful for the person who is hearing the news.