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Getting people involved in your search is called networking. It means using personal contacts to get information about job leads and contacts. Regardless of the type of job you are looking for, building a network will help you tap into the hidden job market. You never know where the best job lead will come from. The figure below will help you to consider those people you should involve in your effort to find work.
Start building your network by making a list of all the people you know. Do not limit the list to people who know the work you do. The people on this list are your primary contacts. They do not have to be people who know about possible job leads, they just might be people who know other people that have knowledge of job leads, occupational information, specific employer contacts, etc.
Before you begin contacting the people on your list, decide what type of information you want from the contact. You may be looking for:
- information about a particular company, industry or line of work;
- a referral to someone who might be able to help you; or
- advice on conducting your job search.
In many cases, you will want to ask to set up a brief meeting with the person. It is not a job interview. . . but it may bring you a job lead. Always have plenty of resumes available.
If you feel awkward or embarrassed contacting people to ask for something, remember:
- most people like helping other people;
- many people have been in your shoes and remember how hard it was; and
- some people will have a job opening, or know of one, and feel that fate brought you to them!
Begin your networking by calling the people on your list you can talk to most easily and work up to making the calls that are more stressful. You may have to force yourself to make the first few calls, but it does get easier with each call! |
