1. Prepare a contact list. Include not just important decision-makers, but everyone who may be able to help you. You never know who is going to give you that golden lead. Also consider the kinds of contacts/referrals that would be most likely to help you accomplish your new goals (if you have gotten that far with your self-evaluation). Without doubt, you have at least 50 friends or acquaintances who might be helpful. How many of these present contacts might be able to help you? Consider the following list for starters:
- Family members-father, mother, brothers, sisters, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins.
- Friends from the past-coworkers from earlier jobs, neighbors, customers, military friends, fraternity or sorority members, former schoolmates. No matter how old, don't overlook them. Whether or not they can help you immediately, they will be delighted to hear from you, and may come up with useful leads later on.
- People from your most recent job-employers or employees, fellow workers, competitors, salespeople, customers or clients. If necessary, mend your fences. You may want to use some of these people for references as well as for information and possible leads.
- People from your social contacts or organizations-church, synagogue, lodge or club members, sports groups-bowling, tennis, golf, sailing, hunting, etc.-hobby groups, contacts made through your children (little league, band parents, etc.).
- People whom you've contacted through charitable or public service groups.
- Professionals who have provided services for you -bankers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, accountants, etc.
3. Use your contacts effectively. Be aware that your network contacts will usually think more in terms of jobs that are open or not, than in terms of your individual skills and background. Help keep each contact focused on you-on what you have done before and can do in the future.
- Consider each contact as a resource whose time is valuable. When you ask for a meeting, be very specific about the length of time you'd like to talk to them (no longer than fifteen to twenty minutes). Then, be on time for the meeting, and after your specified time is over, thank them for meeting with you, and leave. Only stay longer at the insistence of the contact-and even then, be careful not to overstay your welcome.
- When you ask him or her for referrals, specify exactly what kind of organizations, departments, specialties or persons you'd like to be directed to, and specify which of your skills would be appropriate.
- Be especially careful when friends have gone out on a limb to help you by arranging interviews with others. Go to the interviews prepared to meet new friends and to present yourself in the best possible light as a worthy representative of your friends. One note of caution: since your friends may never have had to look for jobs, they may arrange some interviews which appear to be nonproductive from your standpoint. You still owe it to your friends to put your best foot forward so that you don't blow friendships by making them look bad.
- Go to your meeting with each contact armed with a prepared list of questions you'd like answered.
- Try to develop other possible leads from each new contact. Ask if they know someone who might have information about a particular field, or who has exceptional knowledge about an area in which you are interested. However, don't press in such a way that he or she becomes uncomfortable.
You may not find out all the information you need on these initial visits. But you'll meet some nice people-and find that these meetings force you to think and to focus more closely on the market segments that might match your "product attributes," as well as on your overall employment goals and objectives. Also, devote some part of the meetings to mining the possibilities for secondary contacts. Try to get the names of at least one (or more) people who might more directly be able to help you. Contact these new people, again using the name of the referral as an entree. In this way, you can use your current network to build a new network that might enable you to locate a job that's "just right."
