Networking In Your Job Search

When we talk about networking, many people think of the old saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Without a doubt, who you know is very important in your job employment search. Studies from a variety of sources, including outplacement firms, executive search firms, and the U.S. Department of Labor, have consistently shown that about 65 to 85 percent of jobs opening are never advertised in newspaper or on the Internet, these jobs are filled through referral.

Discovering these unadvertised job opportunities requires net-working and knowing the right person. So what is net-working all about? According to Webster Dictionary, net-working is the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups or institutes. For the purpose of job search, net-working involves finding new contacts and expanding your existing contacts into new ones. For example, you call someone for some job information which he couldn't provide, so you ask for recommendation of people who might be able to help you. You have just expanded your contacts.

Here are some excellent online sources for your job search:

Alumni Groups:

• Alumni.net
• Classmates.com
• Scholars Stuff

Professional Associations:

• Associations Directories
• Associations And Societies
• University Of Waterloo Societies Projects
• Virtual Community of Associations

Diversity Groups:

• IMinorities
• WITI
• SHRM

Recruiters Associations:

• Recruiters Online
• National Association Of Personal Services
• The Recruiter Network
• Go to Google.com and type in locaiton (city or state name) +recruiter (or recruiting) +Association (or network)

Online Societies:

• Linkedin (Recommended)
• Ryze
• Zerodegrees
• Tribe.net

LinkedIn is funded by GreyLock and Sequoia Capital, the venture capitalists behind Google, Yahoo, Cisco and Apple. For jobseekers, you can find many top executives and recruiters here who can help you. Your private information is protected and you can search contacts by name, location and industry, etc.

Some tips of net-working:

• Net-working is a not about bothering, pestering or using people. It's a mutual beneficial relationship and you need to constantly build and maintain your contacts.
• When making a connection to someone, do not use a name of a person who you don't know or have received permission to use.
• The quality of who you know is equally important to the quantity of who you know.
• Be specific about what you need and be honest.
• Don't be pushy on someone who's trying to help you.
• Always write or call someone who helped you in your job search.