You’ve heard the old saying:

"When it comes to looking for a job, it's not what you know, it's who you know."

Well, there are a couple of major problems with that nugget of wisdom:

If you know a lot of people, but they are not aware of (a) the collection of skills, experience and talent you offer or (b) the types of employment you are seeking, they can’t help you.

If you know a lot of people, but you don’t have personal credibility with these people, they won’t help you.

Contacting everyone you know and saying “I’m looking for work, let me know if you hear of anything” is not networking. It’s lazy! It’s asking your contacts to do the hard work for you; that is, figuring out what kind of work you want and identifying who the best networking contacts for you might be. Defining that information is your job. Using that information is how you can help your contacts help you.

Why you need to network.

According to US Labor Department statistics:

• 70% of all jobs are found through networking (personal/professional contacts and research)
• 15% are through search firms (and these are primarily managerial and executive positions, not entry-level)
• 10-12% through want ads/classified ads
• 4% by people going into business for themselves/creating their own jobs
• 2% by blindly sending out resumes

That means that 85% of people are hired as the result of networking or some other type of referral or personal contact. The primary resource for these referrals is your job-search network, so 85% of your job search efforts should be focused on developing and nurturing your network. Only 15% should be focused on responding to ads or blindly sending out resumes.

Effective networking is a combination of what you know, who you know, and how effectively you use both to learn about new opportunities, make new contacts, and connect with potential employers.

For more information on how to network effectively, download our Professional/Business Networking handout or schedule an appointment with a CCS career advisor by calling 512-471-9421. Career advising is available to CCS registrants only.