Networking

80 - 85% of jobs are never advertised…How do you tap into this hidden job market?  Networking can be the link to your next job. 

Have you ever asked advice of other people for a good mechanic or hairdresser?  Have you ever moved to a new city and asked for suggestions on where to live?  The same approach can be used in your job search.  Your social contacts can be priceless forms of information and encouragement. 

Networking and informational interviewing involve a unique approach to job searching.  Both take time, effort and follow through, but provide a long term payoff.  The networking you do now may be what secures your job ten years from now, if done correctly. 

Networking vs. informational interviewing
Who do I target?
How do I get started?

Networking defined:
"To interact or engage in informal communication with others for mutual assistance or support; an interconnected system of things or people" 
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Informational interview defined:
"A conversation…in which facts or statements are elicited from another… to obtain knowledge derived from study, experience or instruction" 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition