How and Why You Must Be a Smart Job Search Networker

How and Why You Must Be a Smart Job Search Networker 99 It's all about who you know and how you met them. This is a guest post by Rosa Elizabeth Vargas. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. If you are waiting for a magic wand so you swiftly “apparate” a new jobâ€"while it is a marvelous idea â€"you will be highly disappointed. If you are banking only on online résumé submissions to do the trick â€"sorry to tell ya â€"more disappointment is forthcoming. What you must fold into your job search plans, in addition to acquiring a résumé which positions you above other qualified candidates and attaining game-changing interview techniques, is networking so you create opportunities for yourself!eval Let’s integrate the following into your job search concoction, shall we? LinkedIn. Become a LinkedIn wizard and explore all the power LinkedIn offers you! For example, summon some moxie and ask for introductions to dealmakers in your industry. You definitely should consider looking up and approaching old acquaintances. True story: One of my clients fashioned her own luck by stretching her networking comfort zone on LinkedIn.eval She contacted one of her connections, who was connected to another person she did not know, who worked at a company she was highly interested in. She asked to be introduced and boy, did they answer! She personally willed an interview, earned the job offer, and they even provided full relocation. (Poof!) Have a clear view of your path. Don’t attend every networking event you hear about. Be selective and wise! Where would you most likely meet the right people? Will companies you are interested in be represented at this event? What can you offer? Don't waste your time or that of others. Be prepared. Opportunities will come up and completely blindside you. Be 100% ready for them. Picture this: You are at the supermarket (play along, please) and you hear someone calling your name. You scan for the source and are surprised to see an old colleague. They ask you how you are doing and where you are working now. You, slightly embarrassed, explain you are out of work but actively looking. They ask for your details. You put down the tomatoes you are holding and begin to look for a pen and piece of paper so you can write down your email address and phone number. You hope against hope that they will remember to look again at that little scrap of paper when they arrive homeâ€"but what if they don’t? Now picture this: Your former colleague inquires where you are currently working. You share that you are in between jobs at the moment, as you conveniently reach into your wallet and then hand to them your personal networking card which contains all your social medial links, your job target, and your value offer! Below is a front-and-back-example of a job-winning network card. I leave you with this quote: “The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.” ~ Robert Kiyosaki About the Author Rosa Elizabeth Vargas is a Certified Master Resume Writer who is quadruple-certified. She helps careerists as owner and principal writer for www.careersteering.com with marketing tools such as resumes, bios, social profiles, brand development, blog and website development, job search coaching, and interview coaching. You can follow her career advice on Twitter at @resumeservice or reach over email at writer@careersteering.com. This article is part of the Over $6000 in Prizes: It’s The 6th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest, which was made possible thanks in large part to our sponsors: WebHostingBuzz is a reliable web hosting company with the servers hosted at multiple US and Europe locations and over 30,000 happy customers worldwide. If you want Rosa Elizabeth Vargas to win, share this article with your friends. If you liked this article, you'll also enjoy Clever Career Networking Tip Inspired By McDonald’s Big Mac.