Everyone knows--or should know--that networking means creating (and maintaining) relationships and (hopefully) forging strategic partnerships. Networking does NOT mean contacting every single person in your address book to tell them that you are out of a job.
You may not even realize that you are, in fact, networking but every time you engage in a casual conversation at the supermarket, hardware store or dentist’s office you are actually performing a networking function. When you pick up your child after his baseball game or attend a dance recital with your 8 year-old ballerina, you are creating links or bonds with others. When you participate in community activities as a volunteer or attend various social events, you are networking. Even when you’re are out jogging and stop to chat with a neighbor, this too, is a form of networking.
In short, anything that puts you in front of people and compels you to impart information about yourself and your life, is, in fact networking. These days, the ultimate way to connect with others is via e mail, social networks or chat rooms.
When you are job hunting, you can reasonably anticipate that if you consistently engage in social chatter—aka networking—you can materially increase your chances of landing a position. It’s all a matter of talking to the ‘right’ people. Now, exactly who, might you say ARE the right people? Well, this is where it gets complicated because you never know when someone else you come across can serve as the link to your new job.
For this reason, you need to have a brief paragraph of information about yourself—kind of like a commercial—that you can trot out when the conversation turns to jobs. And don’t overlook anyone in your circles. Whether you are speaking to your dry cleaner or your child’s teacher, there is always a chance that he/she will have a contact that you can utilize to catapault yourself into a new position.
A word to the wise, however. Don’t forget the person(s) who made it possible for you to get hired. Stay in contact with them, and should the occasion ever materialize when YOU can do something for them, by all means, jump on it. A network doesn’t just exist in isolation. You have to constantly cultivate it by calling/e mailing/ writing/ communicating with its various members.
The bottom line, though, is that it is by far the easiest and cheapest way to find yourself gainfully employed once again. Use your sources well, and wisely, and reciprocate when you can.
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