Manage Your Job Search

9 Network, Network, Network

In real estate, the mantra is “location, location, location.” When you look for a job, the mantra is “network, network, network.”

How will potential hiring managers find you? You have to be at the top of their minds. That means you need to have networked with them before they know they need you. You want to do background networking all the time. In addition, you need to have a targeted marketing plan, so you can target the kinds of organizations that you think you will be happy at. If you have a targeted marketing plan, you can avoid the spray-and-pray approach to résumés.

Which kinds of networking do you do first? It depends on what you are comfortable with. If you are not comfortable networking at all, if you haven’t ...