A number of people have landed jobs through connections of a friend of friend. An ExecuNet survey revealed 70% of executives landed their job through networking. The more people who know you are looking for a job the better your prospects. Here are five tactics to spread the word about your situation so that your network can actually help you:

1. Help your network to help you – share what you can specifically do for an organization and the types of organizations that you can contribute to. Your network cannot really help you unless they specifically know what you can do for a company.
2. Leverage your online network – update your LinkedIn profile, less is more does not work here. Make sure your profile/bio clearly shows your value to a prospective employer and don’t forget to include a summary of your accomplishments and results for each position. Answering questions posed by the millions of LinkedIn users enables you to demonstrate your point of view, knowledge and/or expertise in topics ranging from professional development, law and the financial markets. Always check out the “People you may know” recommendations, whether you are working or not, it makes sense to actively grow your network.
3. Show appreciation – keep your network up to date during the highs and lows of your job search.  It is surprising how many people do not connect back to say thank you or acknowledge that they have followed through on a referral.
4. Meet contacts face to face or pick up the phone – resist the temptation to sit behind the computer and look for ways to help your network and connect them with other people in your network.
5. Do something different every week, this increases your chances of meeting new people and nips the doldrums in bud – spend a couple of hours volunteering at a shelter or a soup kitchen. When you meet new people, follow up and connect with them via LinkedIn, xing or plaxo.

Your network is there to support you through the good and the bad. If you contribute, cultivate and treat your network well, you will discover that the value you gain from your network is directly proportional to the value you offer.

In what ways have you contributed to your network?

Tags: LinkedIn, networking, online networking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Career Management, job search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.