Reach out to your Network

If you are seriously looking for employment you need to let your network know you are looking. Otherwise if someone you know, who knows about a job, won’t know you are looking and won’t contact you. So you need to contact them.

Even if you make initial contact with key folks in your network, you must periodically remind them you are seeking employment. Otherwise they may forget! I suggest job seekers email their contacts once a week and call every other week.

As a recruiter I stress to some of my candidates that it is okay to remind me that they are still on the job market. If I don’t hear from them I tend to forget them. I try not to let this happen but with unemployment at 10% I average 25 new résumés and contacts a week.

Also f someone if your network gives you a name or lead on a job, you better follow-up on that lead. An old friend called me today to see if someone she knew called me after she suggested the person contact me. I told her I did not recognize the name. She immediately understood the person did not follow up.

If you are seriously looking for work, use your network, maintain regular contact and follow up on leads and referrals.